2022 Lamborghini Huracan on 2040-cars

Auto blog

1990 Lamborghini LM002 roars into Jay Leno's Garage

High-performance SUVs have become fairly common in recent years, with vehicles like the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR, Mercedes-AMG G65, and plenty of others to fill the niche. However, the Lamborghini LM002 was arguably the segment's pioneer when it debuted decades ago. Jay Leno welcomes one of these Italian beasts into his garage in a new video, and this thing is fascinating to see on the road. The LM002 is a wonderfully incongruous vehicle. The exterior has a brutish collection of chiseled features, but there's a high-output 5.2-liter V12 from the Countach under the hood. Leno says that the "Rambo Lambo" sounds "like an Italian opera," and he lets the big engine sing several times during the clip. Leno praises the way the Lambo drives, but the LM002 ownership experience sounds difficult. According to guest Damiano Barbuscia, replacement tires are eye-wateringly expensive, and the V12 gulps down fuel. The high price is likely worth it for this SUV's charisma on the road – see for yourself in the latest from Jay Leno's Garage.

Lamborghini Huracan STO revealed as the most extreme Huracan yet

Mercedes-AMG just snagged the Nurburgring production car lap record from Lamborghini, but the Italians might already have an answer. It’s called the Lamborghini Huracan STO, with the STO being short for Super Trofeo Omologata. And yes, this one is even more extreme than the already bonkers Huracan Performante. Lamborghini says two of its race cars inspired it to make this road-legal high-po Huracan — the Super Trofeo EVO and the GT3 EVO. As weÂ’d expect, itÂ’s still powered by the 5.2-liter V10. The good folks in SantÂ’Agata have found 10 more horses above the Performante, meaning the STO makes 640 horsepower. Torque sits at 417 pound-feet, which is actually down quite a bit from the 443 pound-feet of the Performante. ThereÂ’s no lack of acceleration, though. Lamborghini claims a 0-62 mph time of 3.0 seconds and top speed of 192.6 mph. Those numbers are great, but theyÂ’re not what the STO is about. No, this Lamborghini was designed to set fast lap times, meaning aerodynamics and weight were the two key areas that were enhanced. The STO is 95 pounds lighter than the already light Performante. We imagine the bulk of that can be attributed to Lamborghini making the STO rear-wheel drive, not all-wheel drive. Yes! A rear-drive Lamborghini — we love to see it. But thereÂ’s also a greater use of carbon fiber for exterior panels (75% are made of carbon now). Additionally, the windshield is 20% lighter than a Performante, and itÂ’s riding on magnesium wheels as opposed to aluminum alloys wheels. On the inside, Lamborghini uses carbon fiber sport seats, full carbon door panels, removes the carpeting (replaced with bare carbon fiber) and coats other surfaces with its Alcantara-like Carbonskin. All this combined results in a car with a dry weight of 2,952 pounds. Pushing it into the ground is an impressive downforce package. Lamborghini has added air ducts in the front hood for better airflow to the radiator and to generate downforce. A new front splitter better directs air to a totally new underbody meant to create greater downforce. And the front endÂ’s new design better directs air around the front wheels to reduce drag. New front brake ducts enhance cooling to the improved “CCM-R” brakes (new design drawing on racing brakes for even more thermal durability than standard carbon ceramics).

Lamborghini still working on SUV, no decision yet

If Lamborghini adds another model to round out its supercar portfolio, it will be a sport utility vehicle, CEO Stephan Winkelmann said. "We are working on it, but there is no decision taken," he told Autoblog in an interview in April. The Italian automaker currently has the V12-powered Aventador and V10-powered Huracan in its lineup. Both are two-seat supercars that cater to a niche of sporting-minded enthusiasts. Lamborghini has flirted with several kinds of vehicles in recent years that could add to its volume and customer base, including the hybrid Asterion revealed at the Paris Motor Show last year, and the Estoque sedan that debuted in Paris in 2008. It also showed the Urus SUV prototype at the Beijing Motor Show in 2012. Seemingly a sure thing three years ago – the Urus even had sales projections of 3,000 per year – the project's future has remained uncertain to enthusiasts. "If we do a third model, then it's better to have the SUV as this is a growing segment, a more emotional segment, a segment which is very well-distributed in terms of volume all over the planet," Winkelmann said. And therefore this is a car which is more likely." While Lamborghini has focused on building high-powered, carbon-fiber intense supercars lately, it has also produced iconic grand tourers, like the Espada and 350GT. And of course, it once made an SUV, the LM002, from 1986-1993. The potential new SUV, however, would be different than the Rambo Lambo. The Urus had a contemporary design – more Porsche Macan or Cayenne than military grade – and it would appeal to Lamborghini owners that also have an SUV in their garage. It would also add significant volume for the company, which delivered 2,530 cars in 2014. The SUV offers Lamborghini a logical platform for a hybrid system. "Due to packaging, due to the weight of the entire vehicle, it's more likely that the hybridization is getting in place," Winkelmann said. "It's less a car which is about absolute performance. So this could be an opportunity." Put it all together and it seems likely a hybrid SUV is in Lamborghini's future. We're just not sure when. Related Video: