2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder! E-gear! Carbon! Rare! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The 2016 Pebble Beach Concept Lawn was nuts as always

The Concept Lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is like the smallest, most expensive car show you can imagine. A bunch of unobtanium concepts and almost-production models line an irregularly shaped putting green for people to stare at while on their way to see other, older insane cars. This year's crop was a particularly good one. We'll walk through the gallery above in order: That's a new Ford GT. Not quite a concept, but it's not in production yet, so we'll let it slide. Then there's the one-of-a-kind Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo that was recently bought by a Saudi Prince along with a matching Chiron. Next up is the Lamborghini Centenario Roadster, which was unveiled last week and is already sold out. This orange automobile is BMW's 2002 Hommage with its latest livery, a Jagermeister-themed affair called Turbomeister. This silver Infiniti, the Q80 Inspiration Concept, is an oldie but a goodie. It first appeared in Paris in 2014. The extremely long automobile after that is the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, which was unveiled in Monterey this year. The 6 in the name is because it's 6 meters, or about 18 feet, long. Most of that's the hood. Next we have the one-of-99 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato coupe, which continues to be beautiful. After that is a Fisker Karma with a V8, the VLF Destino. Thank you, Bob Lutz. The black sedan you see after that is the Cadillac Escala Concept, which also made its debut in Monterey this year. Then we have a Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge. Not a concept, but exclusive enough to join the others. Next is the McLaren 570GT customized by MSO that arrived for Pebble 2016. It has special design touches plus an electrochromic panel to replace the normal glass roof. The light blue car is the Genesis New York concept. The name didn't change even though it was in Monterey. Then we have the large and in charge Lincoln Navigator concept, taking up two regulation concept spots. The red car with suicide doors is Acura's Precision Concept, which we first saw at the Detroit show this year. Another non-concept, the Lexus LC 500h at least looks futuristic enough to be a show-specific car. And here's a 2017 Maserati Quattroporte, which is definitely not a concept. A Bentley Mulsanne EWB, because why not? It's not available in the US, so that almost qualifies for concept status. Then there's a reproduction Lister Knobbly, which we could stare at all day.

Five different Huracans? Lamborghini's thinking about it

Lamborghini will make sure there's a Huracan for every potential (supercar) customer by offering at least five versions over the model's lifetime, including one with even more performance. Company boss Stephan Winkelmann might be on the way out at Lambo, but he opened up to Autocar about the future. Winkelmann confirms that Lamborghini has a more hardcore Huracan under development. "For sure there will be a car that is going in the direction of lighter and faster," he said. Spy shots from earlier this year possibly show the model testing with tweaks to the rear end and camouflage that suggests relocated exhaust pipes. The company also could offer a droptop version of the incredible LP580-2 (pictured above), which we recently drove. The current boss didn't detail other specific versions of the Huracan, but suggested that more variants might be possible. "It could be more than five derivatives over the life cycle. We have a lot of ideas that are already planned, but the more we think, the more things are coming up," he said. Adding more versions of the already popular Huracan could help Lamborghini boost volume further before the release of the Urus around 2018. The company had a sales record in 2014 and was on track for an even better result this year. Related Video:

Lamborghini reveals more details about the Aventador's hybrid successor

Lamborghini has released additional details about the Aventador's long-awaited successor. Called LB744 internally, the model will stand out as the company's first series-produced hybrid car, and the latest teaser gives us a better idea how the system is set up to behave. Quick recap: Power comes from a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain rated at about 1,001 horsepower and made up of a new, 6.5-liter V12, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and three electric motors. This configuration allowed Lamborghini to dial in a 44% front and 56% rear weight distribution; engineers also fitted stiffer anti-roll bars and reduced the steering ratio by 10% compared to the Aventador Ultimae.  Enthusiasts will have four driving modes called Citta, Strada, Sport, and Corsa, respectively, to choose from. They'll also be able to select one of three powertrain modes named Recharge, Hybrid, and Performance. As its name implies, Recharge relies on the V12 to charge the lithium-ion battery pack in a couple of minutes, for example. The LB744 is also capable of driving on electricity alone for short distances. Selecting Strada ("road" in Italian) caps the drivetrain's output at about 873 horsepower. Sport mode unlocks 894 horsepower and brings with it profile-specific settings for the transmission, the suspension system, and the active aerodynamic parts. Finally, selecting Corsa ("race" in Italian) unleashes the drivetrain's full potential and configures the drivetrain's electrified components for maximum performance. Drivers will also have the option of disabling the electronic stability control system, and the LB744 will come with a launch control function. Going hybrid allowed Lamborghini to add electric torque vectoring to the front axle. We're told that slowing down the front wheel that's on the inside part of a corner makes the LB744 more agile while improving stability during high-speed driving. This technology works hand-in-hand with the four-wheel steering and brake-energy recuperation systems; it sounds like there's a lot of electronic wizardry happening here. Details such as the car's weight haven't been released yet. All we know at this stage is that Lamborghini designed the LB744 around a new carbon fiber monofuselage that includes a carbon fiber front structure (in contrast, the Aventador used an aluminum front structure).