2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder Convertible 2-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini LB48H hypercar due next year: You might even say it glows

We know there's a hybrid Lamborghini Aventador successor coming sometime between 2020 and 2022. Due to deleted Instagram posts and a fissures in the rumor-verse, we expect a hypercar codenamed LB48H to preview the next electrified V12 Lamborghini. Autocar reports the next model in the Italian carmaker's series of low-volume specials will cost about $2.6 million, making it just another walk in the hypercar park as for price. The weird part is where Road & Track, referencing "a source familiar with Lamborghini's plans," says the LB48H will glow in the dark. The source didn't elaborate, so not even RT knows what that means. The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio concept from 2017 revealed a smattering of Tron-like light sculpture in its launch video. The wheels and engine bay glow, illuminated Italian flag graphics mark the front fenders, LED piping runs down the centerline. But lights don't come under the traditional definition of "glow in the dark." If the LB48H really does sport some kind of overall incandescence, well, we're about to enter a new chapter in hypercars. Other questions remain about how the LB48H will preview the future of Sant' Agata. The company's head of R&D has bemoaned the weight of batteries, admitting that the best-case scenario for the coming series-production hybrid V12 flagship means an additional 330 to 440 pounds. It's thought that the hypercar will use supercapacitors instead of batteries, providing a lightweight solution that would also showcase future technical potential. The all-electric Terzo Millennio employed nascent supercapacitor tech Lamborghini has been developing with MIT. That solution's upside is lighter size and weight compared to batteries, longer service life, a supercapacitor's fast charge and discharge ability, and the fact that it can discharge and recover energy at the same time. The downside is that supercapacitors have low energy density compared to lithium-ion batteries, so it's possible the LB48H could use a battery and a supercapacitor to work a 49-horsepower motor aiding an 789-hp V12. The production V12 is expected to get a more mundane solution. Lamborghini's looking ahead to cities mandating a minimum all-electric range up to 31 miles. One idea in play is a split hybrid layout, with an electric motor in charge of the front axle. That eliminates a prop shaft, and sharpens front axle response and torque vectoring.

Watch this 1,000-mile Lamborghini Espada road trip

The Lamborghini Espada was four-passenger GT built by the Italian automaker from 1968-1978. While some may consider its appearance ungainly, a 60-degree, 4.0-liter V12 fed by Weber carburetors generated 350 horsepower, enough to give the 3,600-pound two-door spirited performance when compared to its peers. Making the driving experience even more engaging was its standard rear-wheel drive, a slick five-speed manual gearbox and a lack of power steering (the automaker offered an automatic and power steering on later models).
Whether or not you are a fan of this unique four-seater or its era, this Evo magazine video of editor Harry Metcalfe touring France as he makes his way along the epic Route Napoléon (today, part of a 200-mile section of Route Nationale 85) is worthy of its 19-minute run time - if not for just the sound of the wailing twelve-cylinder engine.
The mountain portions are simply spectacular, and Metcalfe does his usual excellent job narrating as he joyfully coaxes the GT's narrow tires (205/70-15) around each corner, calling the Lamborghini a "four-wheel drift machine," but actually preferring its high-speed capabilities. We particularly enjoyed his fuel stop, explaining the odd top-off procedure, as well as his early morning pre-flight when he realized that the Lamborghini had been running on only 11 cylinders during the previous day's segment. Watch the joy in the journey below.

Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.