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Lamborghini set an all-time sales record in 2019

Growing demand for the Urus helped Lamborghini set an all-time sales record in 2019. The company delivered 8,205 units, a significant 43% increase compared to 2018, and well over half of its sales came from its only SUV. Annual sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 66% to 2,162 units, but the United States remains the company's largest market by a long shot. This partially explains why the Urus (pictured) raced ahead the Aventador S and the Huracan Evo to become Lamborghini's best-selling model by a long shot. The assembly line at Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, rolled off 4,962 examples of the SUV in 2019, followed by 2,139 units of the Huracan Evo, which Lamborghini manufactures in a separate building at the same facility. The V12-powered Aventador S also made there logged 1,104 sales, an impressive figure considering it's Lamborghini's oldest and most expensive model. While Lamborghini is celebrating a record year, and its ninth-consecutive year of growth, it previously announced it plans to cap production at 8,000 units in 2020 in order to maintain a degree of exclusivity. "We must not go on growing forever," company boss Stefano Domenicali warned in 2019. It could ultimately reach the 10,000-car threshold, but only after it adds a fourth series-produced model to its range to balance it out. There's no word yet on what form the fourth car will take, though unverified rumors point to an electrified 2+2 tourer. Lamborghini nonetheless entered 2020 on a positive note. It's in the process of developing a hybrid variant of the Urus, it's putting the final touches on the track-bound ST-X variant, and it's shaping the Aventador's successor. It remains confident in its overall outlook, it affirmed in a statement accompanying its 2019 result. Enthusiasts devote a considerable amount of energy to bashing high-riding models made by luxury brands, but sales figures prove entering the SUV segment makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint. In 2019, Porsche delivered 92,055 examples of the Cayenne (a 29% increase over 2018) and its bestselling model was the smaller Macan, which found 99,944 buyers. Rolls-Royce thanked the Cullinan for the 25% jump in sales it recorded in 2019 (up to 5,152 units), while Bentley credited the Bentayga for a 5% increase to 11,006 cars. It's no wonder Aston Martin allegedly ditched the RapidE to focus on the DBX, and Ferrari wants a piece of the pie. Related Video:

Lamborghini unveils customer-commissioned one-off SC20 barchetta

Lamborghini unveiled the mysterious roof-less supercar it has been testing on and off the track for the past few months. Called SC20, it's a one-of-a-kind model positioned at the intersection of road cars and track cars. Developed by Squadra Corse, the firm's in-house racing division, the SC20 was built at the request of a customer who eagerly participated in nearly every step of the design process. Lamborghini explained the project's goal was to transfer some of the lessons it learned on the track (notably those related to aerodynamic technology) to a street-legal car that falls in line with its current design language without copying an existing model. Mitja Borkert, the head of the company's design department, cited the Diablo VT Roadster, the Aventador J, the Veneno Roadster, and the Concept S as sources of inspiration. Up front, the SC20 is less angular than the Aventador S, though it's still immediately recognizable as a member of the Lamborghini family, and its vents are modeled after the Huracan Evo GT3's. Out back, the rear lights are reminiscent of the ones fitted to the Sian, but the fascia wears a markedly more aggressive design that incorporates a sizable wing with three positions called low, medium and high load, respectively, a deep diffuser and vents that let hot air escape the engine bay. Viewed from the side, the SC20 is characterized by the complete lack of a windshield, a layout which provides an unobstructed view of the Alcantara upholstery on the dashboard and of the carbon fiber panel that covers the digital instrument cluster. All told, the SC20 is much closer to a barchetta than to a conventional convertible. Bare carbon fiber on the dashboard, the firewall, the door panels and the center console hints at the SC20's lightweight construction. Lamborghini used the composite material to make the seat shells, too, and it machined the door handles out of solid aluminum. The center console houses a slanted touchscreen which displays the infotainment software that the Italian company developed in-house and released on the Huracan Evo. Although the Aventador's replacement will go hybrid, the SC20 eschews electrification. It's powered by a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 which produces 770 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm. It spins the four wheels via an Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) seven-speed automatic transmission linked to a pair of shift paddles and a central electronic differential.

Take a ride in a Lamborghini Countach with Evo

Sure, the 1970s and '80s were full of crap cars like the Chevrolet Chevette or the Ford Granada. Dark times, but not completely. Take the mind-blowing Lamborghini Countach. Its sharp and angular styling was shocking at the time. It was and still is the archetypal bedroom wall supercar. But it's far from perfect. As Evo explains in its latest Icons drive, the clutch is heavy, the seating position is wonky, and the visibility is notoriously awful. It was the first Lamborghini in which it was a good idea to hang halfway out of the car while backing up, because the rear window was useless. As far as rare Lambos go, though, this 1981 LP400S is pretty impressive. It's being auctioned by RM Sotheby's as part of its Paris auction in early February. You can check out both the bad stuff and the much more substantial good stuff in Evo's latest, embedded above. News Source: Evo via YouTube Lamborghini Auctions Coupe Classics Videos RM Sotheby's evo Lamborghini Countach