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Lamborghini: We did not cheat on Nurburgring record

"Why would we [cheat]? We have all the data, all the GPS data. It's verified. It's already verified." – Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali Lamborghini is doubling-down on the legitimacy of the Huracan Performante's production-car record at the Nurburgring. The Italian supercar maker should have been on a high when it launched its Huracan Performante at the Geneva Motor Show, but it was instead forced to defend the 6:52.01 lap time on the Nurburgring's Nordschleife circuit in the wake of criticism. Skeptics suggested the footage had been sped up from a rate of 24 frames per second to 25, arguing the 'authentic' lap time would have been closer to 7:08. James Glickenhaus, the owner of ultra-low volume supercar maker Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, even called for the circuit to hold a special day to verify production car lap times. View 12 Photos "Why would we [cheat]?" Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali asked incredulously. "We have all the data, all the GPS data. It's verified. It's already verified. "The simulation we did before we did the lap was already better than the previous time [set by Porsche's hybrid supercar, the 918 Spyder]. "What we saw was the great potential of active aerodynamics. The Nurburgring is a lot of partial throttle and long corners. The SV [Aventador] was for sure faster on the straight, but the lap [by the Performante] was all recorded." A Lamborghini spokesman suggested the entire controversy was rooted in "one blogger's business model [of] paying for clicks." Audi Sport development head, Stephan Reil, also weighed in during last week's Audi RS3 launch, insisting Lamborghini would have had no reason to cheat at anything and that its active aerodynamics would have more than made up for any power shortfalls. Audi is a sister brand of Lamborghini under the ownership of Volkswagen Group. "We also know that architecture well [the Huracan shares its architecture with Reil's R8]. We know what it's capable of," Reil said. "The Performante 'Ring time is absolutely credible. Active aero makes a huge difference. "We did a TT production racer for the 'Ring with about 380 horsepower and gave it maximum wing. It was so slow down the straight that everybody passed it, but the overall lap time was very, very fast. Much faster than without the aero downforce.

Autoblog's Editors' Picks: Our complete list of the best new vehicles

It's not easy to earn an “EditorsÂ’ Picks” at Autoblog as part of the rating and review process that every new vehicle goes through. Our editors have been at it a long time, which means weÂ’ve driven and reviewed virtually every new car you can go buy on the dealer lot. There are disagreements, of course, and all vehicles have their strengths and weaknesses, but this list features what we think are the best new vehicles chosen by Autoblog editors. We started this formal review process back in 2018, so there's quite of few of them now. So what does it mean to be an EditorsÂ’ Pick? In short, it means itÂ’s a car that we can highly recommend purchasing. There may be one, multiple, or even zero vehicles in any given segment that we give the green light to. What really matters is that itÂ’s a vehicle that weÂ’d tell a friend or family member to go buy if theyÂ’re considering it, because itÂ’s a very good car. The best way to use this list is is with the navigation links below. Click on a segment, and you'll quickly arrive at the top rated pickup truck or SUV, for example. Use the back button to return to these links and search in another segment, like sedans. If youÂ’ve been keeping up with our monthly series of the latest vehicles to earn EditorsÂ’ Pick status, youÂ’re likely going to be familiar with this list already. If not, welcome to the complete list that weÂ’ll be keeping updated as vehicles enter (and others perhaps exit) the good graces of our editorial team. We rate a new car — giving it a numerical score out of 10 — every time thereÂ’s a significant refresh or if it happens to be an all-new model. Any given vehicle may be impressive on a first drive, but we wait until itÂ’s in the hands of our editors to put it through the same type of testing as every other vehicle that rolls through our test fleet before giving it the EditorsÂ’ Pick badge. This ensures consistency and allows more voices to be heard on each individual model. And just so you donÂ’t think weÂ’ve skipped trims or variants of a model, we hand out the EditorsÂ’ Pick based on the overarching model to keep things consistent. So, when you read that the 3 Series is an EditorsÂ’ Pick, yes, that includes the 330i to the M3 and all the variants in between. If thereÂ’s a particular version of that car we vehemently disagree with, we make sure to call that out.

Lamborghini unveils Aventador SVJ 63 Roadster and Huracan EVO GT Celebration

Lamborghini didn't stop at removing the roof of the limited edition Aventador SVJ in order to create the Aventador SVJ Roadster. Instead, the Italian carmaker puts its Centro Stile design division in a room with the Ad Personam customization division, and they came up with colored-keyed takes on what's called the Aventador SVJ 63 Roadster. The "63" refers to both the year Ferruccio Lamborghini founded his car company, and the number of open-topped SVJs that will be made. The eight exterior themes that will be exclusive to this car start with the one shown on the Pebble Beach concept lawn, in matte Grigio Acheso with details like the "SVJ" and "63" graphics in Arancio Dac. Matte Titanium center-lock wheels get Arancio locking plates.  The interior will offer three themes in the SVJ's usual materials, Alcantara and Lamborghini's CarbonSkin. A badge on the steering wheel plays off the "63" logo inscribed on the back wall in lasered Alcantara and CarbonSkin. The show car's cabin rocks it up with Grigio Octans, Grigio Cronus, and Arancio Dryope (orange), with the carbon fiber seats finished with white Q-Citura cross-stitching. The news about this car is little more than a public service announcement, though, since all 63 examples are already sold. Lamborghini put two more surprises in its Monterey trailer, the first being the Huracan EVO GT Celebration. Thanks to the Grasser Racing Team and Paul Miller Racing, Lamborghini's won both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring two years in a row. Limited to 36 units — the combined race durations in hours — the Huracan EVO GT Celebration plucks the GRT livery motif for its street version. The display version wears Verde Egeria and Arancio Aten, but there are nine combinations possible by combining the three available primary body colors and three available secondary colors. The Huracan's hexagon design motif is used to frame the “11,” the number of the GRT racer that won Daytona and Sebring this year. Badges on the sides read "Daytona 24" and "Sebring 12," and the driver's B-pillar is adorned with a carbon fiber plate inscribed with "X of 36." Race fans who want to go all the way can order a Lamborghini Squadra Corse shield placed on the roof between Italian and U.S. flags, and laurel wreaths on the rear fenders. The interior borrows the primary exterior color for cross-stitching on the new racing seats introduced on this car.