2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Black Over Ivory Interior. E-gear. Wheels. on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini Aventador SVJ sets Nurburgring lap record

It seems everyone is out to claim a lap record at the Nurburgring. Having a car sit at the top of the Green Hell's lap board is huge point of pride for people. Just scroll through past Autoblog posts about the track. You'll find Porsche, Lamborghini and Nio all claiming lap records in different categories. The Dodge Viper used to hold the crown before falling to faster and more modern cars. There's speculation as to what might break the record in the future. Today, Lamborghini announced that the new Aventador SVJ has broken the production car record with a lap time of 6:44.97 minutes. That's a hair faster than the Nio EP9 lap time from last year. The Nio knocked off the then-new Lamborghini Huracan Performante, so we're sure Nio is eager to get back out and have another go. While the times from Lamborghini and Nio might be impressive, they're way off the actual lap record. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Just a couple of weeks ago, Porsche announced that its 919 Hybrid Evo — an unrestricted version of its Le Mans prototype race car — set a record of 5:19.546. That's nearly a minute and a half faster than road-legal cars. The Aventador SVJ was piloted by Marco Mapelli, a factory-backed race car driver. The car was fitted with cameras and VBOX telemetry equipment to measure and verify the lap time. The Aventador SVJ's record was teased earlier this month with a new video, though a video of the full record-setting lap has yet to be released. Expect something soon, as well as outside verification so we don't get the whole "Lamborghini cheated" back and forth that went on after the Hurcan set its record. Related Video:

Tourist in Dubai nets more than $47,000 in speeding fines in four hours

Before I went to Dubai last fall, I imagined a sea of supercars running rampant with few repercussions. I couldn't have been more wrong (at least when it comes to the repercussions bit). Speed cameras in Dubai are no joke. The drivers, though occasionally erratic, steadfastly follow speed limits. And the penalties for breaking the law in the United Arab Emirates are quite severe. Apparently, a 25-year-old British tourist was expecting more freedom when he racked up more than $47,000 in fines in a rented Lamborghini Huracan in fewer than four hours. The list of fines is impressive in its own way. All the infractions occurred between 2:31 a.m. and 6:26 a.m. on July 31, the day after he rented the car. He was caught driving between 78 and 143 mph on two stretches of road — 32 times on Sheikh Zayed Road and once on Garn Al Sabkha Road. That's nearly twice the legal limit in some areas. Several of the fines were fewer than two minutes apart. Once, he managed to rack up two fines in under a minute. Rather than waiting for a ticket in the mail, the fines were immediately sent to the registered owner, in this case Saeed Ali Rent a Car. The tourist paid just over $1,600 to rent the Lamborghini for two days. He left his passport with the rental agency as a guarantee. The tourist listed his address as a hotel. Because there's a disagreement over who pays the fees, according to The National, he's still in possession of the car, and the rental agency has his passport. The rental company doesn't want to take the car back because it knows it will be stuck with the bill to get it out of impound. The impound fees totaled more than $27,000, more than the cost of the speeding fines themselves. The rental company filed a motion for a travel ban, but it was denied. It has since contacted the British embassy, letting the embassy know that the passport is in their possession in case the tourist claims it's lost. One way or the other, someone is going to have to pay. Related Video:

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse brings one-make series to the road

Lamborghini announced a new Gallardo model today, the all-wheel-drive LP 570-4 Squadra Corse, and it's almost identical to the LP 570-4 Super Trofeo single-series race car. Its world premiere will be held at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
The street-legal Squadra Corse shares key components with the Super Trofeo - both of which are based on the Gallardo Superleggera - including the 570-horsepower V10, carbon fiber rear wing and removable engine hood made in the same material. The rear wing produces up to three times more downforce than what's found on the LP 560-4. Through the generous use of weight-saving materials and components, the Squadra Corse weighs in at 2,954 pounds, which is 154 pounds lighter than the LP 560-4. To stop all of that mass, standard production carbon-ceramic brakes are used.
Carbon fiber bucket seats with Alcantara center inserts replace the regular seats, though buyers can option them back in. Alcantara also covers the underside of the dashboard. The door panels, center console cover, handbrake frame and lower section of the steering wheel are all made in carbon fiber.