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Bertone's Lamborghini-V12-powered minivan was ahead of its time

PARIS — Italian design house Bertone traveled to the 1988 edition of the Turin auto show (which was still a big deal in the late 1980s) to unveil a Lamborghini-powered design study. This wasn't unusual, as the two companies had worked together for decades, but the Genesis concept turned every head in the convention center because it was a van. Now it's turning heads again this week at the Retromobile Show in Paris. Bertone's styling and prototype-building teams allegedly spent a total of 30,000 hours making the Genesis look more futuristic than the minivans many kids carpooled to school in during the late 1980s, and much sportier. It needed to tick both boxes. It was a concept car, so it had captivate the public's attention, and it was powered by a 455-horsepower, 5.2-liter V12 borrowed from the Countach Quattrovalvole, so looking the part was a must. The mighty, front-mid-mounted 12 channeled its power to the rear wheels through a rather lame three-speed automatic transmission provided by Chrysler, which owned Lamborghini at the time. Sliding doors gave the rear passengers access to one of the more unusual interiors we've seen. There were two front-facing seats positioned over the rear wheels, and a single rear-facing chair in the middle of the interior. The front passengers faced forward, as you'd expect, but they could also move their seat cushion around to look at the folks riding in the back. Someone still needed to drive, so this configuration was best used when parked. While naming the concept Genesis was a little bit optimistic on Bertone's part, putting a Lamborghini engine in a minivan with butterfly doors was a courageous move. It was ahead of its time, too, because blob-shaped vans are a dime a dozen at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and they're almost universally welcomed as the transportation of the future. Bertone may not have had autonomous technology to play with, but it had a V12. Related Video:     Featured Gallery 1988 Bertone Genesis at Retromobile 2020 View 9 Photos Auto News Lamborghini Minivan/Van Performance Classics

Lamborghini Urus gets the green light for production [UPDATE]

UPDATE: We've gotten the official press release from Lamborghini, which you can read below. In it, company president Stephan Winkelmann does say that the new vehicle will be built in Sant'Agata Bolognese in a move to demonstrate "our commitment to safeguarding the values of 'Made in Italy' worldwide." It's been a long time coming, but the official word has finally come down: Lamborghini is going to build the Urus. The Italian automaker first gave us a sneak peak at the crossover concept in New York, before revealing the Urus in concept form at the Beijing Motor Show back in 2012. And we had a chance to catch up with it again in Monterey that summer. That's a lot of buildup. Ever since, Lambo has been toying with putting it into production as its third model line, alongside the existing Huracan and Aventador two-door supercars. All it's been waiting for is the go-ahead from parent Volkswagen, which it has now received. Autoblog received confirmation from a spokesman at Lamborghini of the Urus' production approval, with official details to be announced within the next few hours. Word has it that the high-riding Raging Bull will hit showrooms in 2018, but watch this space for more details as we find them. The Urus (or whatever it's ultimately called) will join a burgeoning market for high-end crossovers, alongside the likes of the Bentley Bentayga, Jaguar F-Pace, Aston Martin DBX and Maserati Levante. Unlike those forays, however, Lamborghini's will not be its first SUV. That honor will forever belong to the LM002, nicknamed the "Rambo Lambo" that came out just before the original Hummer and was powered by the Countach's V12 engine. Just what will power Sant'Agata's new crossover remains to be seen. However the signs have been pointing towards it at least being offered with the company's first hybrid powertrain, as previewed in the Asterion concept from Paris. With substantial incentives being offered by the Italian government, it is expected to be built in Italy – or at least assembled there. Much of the production work is likely to be carried out in Slovakia where the Audi Q7, Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne (with which the Urus is destined to share its underpinnings) are made. Scroll down to read the official announcement.

Lamborghini battery electric 2+2 GT coming by 2027

Lamborghini's Sant'Agata factory hasn't put out a production four-seater car since the last Espada blasted down the road in 1978. We haven't stopped hearing rumors about another four-seat Lamborghini car since the Italians introduced the four-door Estoque at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. The subject's been especially warm over the last three years, ever since former Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali told Automotive News in 2018 there was a five- to seven-year window to add a fourth vehicle to the lineup. Matters have firmed up since then, current CEO Stephan Winkelmann telling Autocar a few months ago that this fourth vehicle is in the initial stages of development and will hit the market "in the second half of the decade." Winkelmann said the company hasn't decided on the platform or the bodystyle — those answers come next year — but he favors a 2+2 GT. AutoNews' crystal ball gazing into future product says we'll get a battery-electric version of just that between 2025 and 2027. Porsche and Audi will contribute to the project, which is only natural seeing as they're the Volkswagen Group's mainstream performance brands leading the way with spicy EV sedans. With the changes that have happened at VW, the timeline means that the Italian brand might not adopt the Porsche Taycan's J1 platform nor the Audi A6 E-Tron's PPE platform, but could get the highly modular Scalable Systems Platform that debuts under the Audi Artemis in 2026. The SSP bones combine aspects of Volkswagen's mainstream MEB and performance-oriented PPE electric architectures. The conglomerate expects 80% of Group products to use it, counting some 40 million unit sales across all brands over the platform's lifetime. The only details we have about what's coming concern the EV's mission statement. Winkelmann said he told designers "this car has to be recognized as something different to what weÂ’ve done before" ... "[showing] a new way of designing cars" while still clearly being a Lamborghini. We would just like Lamborghini to remember that it has the Asterion (pictured) saved on a hard drive somewhere. Hint. As a middle child between the scarab-looking screamers the bull brand is most known for and the Urus SUV the brand makes the most money on, the electric GT is expected to sell annual volumes somewhere in between those siblings. As for capability, in 2019, company head of R&D Maurizio Reggiani mentioned 350 miles of range as a suitable figure.