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2006 Lamborghini Concept S split-cockpit Gallardo heads to auction yet again

Many Lamborghini concepts are completely wild, but the 2006 Lamborghini Concept S is unique in that it's totally wild but also somewhat practical. The practical part comes from the fact that it's effectively a Lamborghini Gallardo, but with a split cockpit and speedster shape. According to RM Sotheby's, which is selling the car, there were plans to build 100 of them for special customers, but that never happened. So this is your only chance to own this speedster. The concept's Gallardo bones are obvious. Most of the lower body is the same as a production Gallardo, with slightly different grille openings. But the complete lack of a roof, the vestigial nubs of windscreens and angular roll hoops transform the car. From the side, it's about the wedge-iest Lamborghini of all time. The split cockpit is also extreme, and it's accomplished by placing a beam between the driver and passenger seats. Mechanically, it's about the same as a regular Gallardo. In the middle is a V10 bumped up to 520 horsepower coupled to the Gallardo's E-Gear automated manual transmission and all-wheel drive. It would have been cool if Lamborghini had fitted the regular six-speed manual and its lovely gated shifter, but we suppose they didn't want drivers whacking their hands and arms into that center beam to shift. This car has less than 125 miles on the clock, which is remarkable, if also a little sad. It has also been shown at Pebble Beach twice. No price estimate has been given, though when RM Sotheby's offered at an auction in 2015, the company expected upwards of $3 million for the car. It goes across the block at the RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi auction on November 30.

Lamborghini plans to release four new models in 2022

Lamborghini set an all-time delivery record in 2021, and almost all of its production capacity for 2022 is already spoken for. It plans to keep the momentum going by releasing four new models in 2022, according to a recent report, including updated variants of its best-sellers. Speaking to British magazine Car, Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann revealed that 2022 will be the last year that the firm launches only cars powered exclusively by an internal combustion engine; everything that comes after will be either a hybrid or electric. We're not there yet, though, and Lamborghini has a few exciting non-electrified products in its pipeline. We'll see two evolutions of the Huracan, the executive confirmed, and we're guessing that one is the rally-inspired model that our spies have spotted testing in the snowy parts of Europe. It looks like the V10-powered coupe will draw inspiration from the Sterrato concept (pictured) that made its debut in June 2019. At the other end of the Raging Bull spectrum, the hot-selling Urus will receive its first major update since its unveiling in 2017. What's intriguing is that Winkelmann said that "the facelift will be split in two." Could one be the hybrid model that's in the works? Time will tell. Those are the four new models that Lamborghini will unveil in 2022 — unless the company has other surprises up its sleeve. Enthusiasts waiting for the Aventador's successor will need to be patient because it's not due out until 2023, according to the same report. When it lands, it will pack a plug-in hybrid powertrain built around a new naturally-aspirated V12 engine. Separate reports claim that the model will be its own thing; it won't borrow styling cues from the Sian introduced in 2019 or from the sold-out born-again Countach presented in 2021. "And then, in 2024, we will have the Urus and the Huracan follow-ups, [and they'll be] plug-in hybrid cars," Winkelmann said. He stopped short of telling Car which engine will power the Huracan's replacement, but the publication speculates that the model will ditch the sonorous V10 and downsize to a V8. Interestingly, the eight-cylinder will reportedly be developed in-house. It will feature a 10,000-rpm redline and it will be capable of burning synthetic fuel. Unverified reports claim that the hybrid system's total output will lie in the vicinity of 850 horsepower.

Lamborghini says handling, not flat-out speed, is the new benchmark

Speed has played a significant role in defining Lamborghini's image since the brand's inception in 1963, but the type of velocity it aims to achieve is changing direction. One of its top executives opined that handling, not 0-60-mph times or maximum speed, is the new benchmark in the supercar segment the company calls home. Francesco Scardaoni, the head of the Italian company's Asia-Pacific operations, explained achieving the quickest possible sprint from 0-60 mph and the highest possible top speed used to be what defined a Lamborghini. Rivals aimed to rule the chart, too, so exotic brands spend decades taking turns trying to outgun each other by shaving a tenth of a second from — or adding a few miles per hour to — their respective times. EVs moved the goalpost in the 2010s, according to Scardaoni, because their powertrain develops maximum torque right away. "If you go back to 10 years ago, probably when we were asked the parameters to measure a car with we would say top speed, acceleration, and then handling. Top speed then became a secondary measure, and acceleration the first one. Now, basically [with electrification] is no more that important. because it's quite easy for those kind of power units to have amazing results in acceleration," he explained in an interview with Car Advice. Exemplified by the Huracan STO introduced in 2020, the shift represents a dramatic about-face for the engineering team led by Maurizio Reggiani. Speed is easy to quantify; if we tell you that a Bugatti Chiron takes 2.4 seconds to reach 60 mph from a full stop, or that it maxes out at 304 mph, you know exactly what it can do. Handling, on the other hand, is difficult to put a number on. Gs on a skidpad is one measure, but that's only a small part of the handling equation. There's no unit of measurement that describes how a Divo feels on a winding Sicilian road. Scardaoni hinted that focusing on handling is a way to keep exotic supercars relevant in the coming years. Electric hypercars are ostensibly on their way, including the Rimac C_Two and the Pininfarina Battista. Closely related, both allegedly take under two seconds to sprint from 0-60 mph thanks in part to a 1,900-horsepower drivetrain, yet they weigh approximately 4,300 pounds; they're heavier than a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Neither are in the same league as, say, the Huracan, but they're good examples of the pros and cons of electrified performance.