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Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato could be bound for limited production

Lamborghini has been seriously upping its production overt the years. When Audi took over in the late 1990s, the company's production was measured in the 200-unit range. Now it's making over 2,000 cars every year. But at the same time, Sant'Agata has been focusing on low-volume production as well, with a separate assembly line dedicated to putting together concept cars and limited editions like the Sesto Elemento and Veneno. And now it may just have another on its hands.
That would be the Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato, a unique coachbuilt supercar based on the Gallardo and unveiled last week at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Italy's glamorous Lake Como. It was commissioned as a one-off custom for noted Lambo and Zagato collector Albert Spiess, but reports suggest that it could be put into limited production.
The viability of the project would likely depend on how many orders the Italians might garner for an expanded production run. Whether the project would be undertaken at Lamborghini's special projects facility or off-site by Zagato remains to be seen, but you can bet it would fetch a pretty penny or two, despite the fact that the platform on which it's based is now over a decade old and has since been replaced by the newer Huracán.

Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, the Lamborghini rally car we didn't know we wanted

Usually, the answer to a question no one asked is a bad thing. But every now and then, it leads to something wonderful, like the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato concept car you see above. It's Lamborghini's take on a rally version of the 2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO, and it's something we weren't asking for but now desperately want. The Sterrato (translation: "dirt") is mostly a stock Huracan EVO underneath, but that's not bad with a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 making 640 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. It also retains its all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and torque vectoring, but they've all been retuned for dirt and loose surfaces. To get around on rougher surfaces, Lamborghini raised the car by 1.85 inches, which the company says improves the approach angle by 1% and the departure angle by 6.5%. The Sterrato's exterior receives huge fender flares that allow for a one-inch wider track front and rear. It wears 20-inch wheels with chunky off-road tires. Aluminum skid plates have been added to the front and rear, and the rear plate doubles as a diffuser. The rocker panels also get aluminum plates for extra protection. Mud guards are fitted, too, as are little deflectors ahead of the intakes to keep rocks from flying in and doing damage. Finally, like any good rally car, it gets huge auxiliary lights with a pair of hexagonal units on the front, and a wide bar on the roof. Inside the Sterrato are a pair of carbon fiber bucket seats plus four-point racing harnesses. But the real showpiece is a full titanium roll cage. Lamborghini didn't say anything about putting the Sterrato into production. But this concept isn't particularly out there, especially compared with some of Lamborghini's concepts, so we suspect if the car gets a good enough reaction, Lamborghini might consider production. And if it doesn't, we're sure there are some aftermarket companies that would be happy to help wealthy car enthusiasts re-create the car.

2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder First Drive

Convertibles get a bad rap when it comes to performance cars. Once, a lack of a roof meant extra performance. Now it means added weight and loss of structural rigidity. This stigma even applies to supercars, maybe more so. In the case of Lamborghini, the Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder is the "lifestyle" version. Which is silly, but doesn't diminish the appeal. Essentially, the Spyder is a Huracan with a fabric roof. Same 602-horsepower V10 inches behind the cabin, same hybrid aluminum-and-carbon-fiber construction, and same all-wheel-drive (though updated across the line for 2016). The performance compromise is a mere one mile per hour drop in top speed, and two-tenths of a second slower claimed 0-62 mph time of 3.4 seconds. (We suspect this is generously slow, to protect the egos of coupe owners). All told, the Spyder adds about 220 pounds in curb weight versus the coupe (Italian "dry" weight numbers are notoriously optimistic, so take the 3,650-pound Spyder claim with a grain of salt). The aerodynamic management on the Spyder is so good that the 201-mph top speed is valid with both the top up and retracted. In detail, the conversion in making the Huracan convertible is extensive. The roof itself is three layers of fabric, with a middle rubberized ply to cut down on interior noise. The design brief was to maintain the Huracan's hexagons-gone-wild theme with the top up and down. Spend 17 seconds waiting for the fully automatic top to lower, and the shape retains the coupe's motif. Part of the top's electronic ballet is a pair of flaps that extend out to preserve the shape of the B-pillar. Those flaps also feature narrow slits that smooth the wind along the side of the car, reducing turbulence near the driver's and passenger's ears. Additional side deflectors keep more wind away from your head. And with the top down the rear window's maximum height is restricted to prevent it from catching air. The aerodynamic management on the Spyder is so good that the 201-mph top speed is valid with both the top up and retracted. Suck on that, coupe aficionados. The Huracan's performance is so ridiculous that few can explore the margin between the two bodystyles. In any case, we didn't get much chance to stretch the Huracan's legs on our press drive in Miami, due a torrential downpour and the fact that South Florida is a terrible place for driving. Maybe that's where the "lifestyle" portion comes in, because Miami is a fantastic town for flaunting wealth.