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Chinese patent filing may mean Lamborghini Urus closer to production

The Urus SUV still hasn't received the official green light for production, but that hasn't stopped Lamborghini from protecting its performance crossover in the land of stolen vehicle designs. These patent drawings submitted in China show what appear to be the Urus in the same concept form that we first saw last year at the Beijing Motor Show.
Last we heard, the Volkswagen Group had put development of the Urus on hold even though, more recently, the Bentley EXP 9 F (aka, the Falcon) has reportedly been given the nod. Although the existence of these patent images don't necessarily mean the Urus is going into production, they are at least another excuse to debate the SUV's stealth-bomber-style lines.

2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante revealed: less weight, more power

The name and design of the Pikes Peak record-setting Lamborghini Urus have finally been revealed. The 2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante is the new range-topper featuring aerodynamic improvements, lighter weight, new suspension and a dash of extra power for good measure. Together, the improvements make it the best performing Urus yet. The design changes are subtle, but noticeable, which is ironic for what's arguably the least subtle SUV on the market. The front bumper, hood and rear bumper have all been redesigned and feature more carbon fiber. The hood has an air extractor, too. A new front splitter and a rear wing have been added. The fenders have been widened, too to accommodate wider wheels and tires. Overall, downforce has been increased by 8%, and though no number was given, Lamborghini says drag has actually been decreased. Lamborghini also made some  Weight has been decreased by a sizable 104 pounds in total. The increased use of carbon fiber parts is part of that equation, and another part is the standard Akrapovic titanium exhaust system. The Urus Performante drops the standard SUV's air suspension for fixed steel springs that have a stiffer spring rate and lower the SUV. It still has electronically adjustable shocks, four-wheel steering, rear torque vectoring and multiple drive modes. Tuning on all of these have been updated for the Performante, and a Rally mode has been added for tail-happy dirt driving. Horsepower from the twin-turbo V8 is slightly increased, as well, to 657 horsepower (or a hellacious 666 CV in European units) and 627 pound-feet of torque. All of these changes allow the Urus Performante to get to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds, an improvement of 0.3 over the regular model. Its top speed remains at 190 mph. So it's slightly slower to 60 mph than a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, but has a higher top speed. And of course, it holds the Pikes Peak record for a production SUV at 10 minutes 32.064 seconds. The previous record holder was the Bentley Bentayga Speed with a 10-minute 49.902-second time. Lamborghini will begin delivering Urus Performantes by the end of the year. Pricing without destination starts at $260,676. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

VW has received several tentative bids for Ducati

Italy's Benetton family is vying with motorbike firms and buyout funds for control of Italian motorcycle brand Ducati, which is being sold by Germany's Volkswagen, sources involved in the process told Reuters. Volkswagen, whose Audi division controls Ducati, has received several tentative bids with the Benetton family's investment vehicle Edizione Holding valuing the Monster motorbike maker at $1.2 billion, one of the sources said. As well as Edizione Holding, U.S. buyout fund Bain Capital, which owns a stake in Ski-Doo snowmobiles maker BRB, and two Indian motorbike firms, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Auto, have also bid for Ducati, the sources said. Indian carmaker Eicher controls Royal Enfield, a motorcycle brand established in 1893 which ranks as one of the oldest. Strategic bidders also include U.S. automotive firm Polaris Industries, which earlier this year said it would wind down its struggling Victory Motorcycle brand. A shortlist of bidders for a second stage of the auction could be selected as soon as Saturday, two of the sources said. Volkswagen adviser Evercore has a long list of bidders including private equity funds such as Ducati's previous owner Investindustrial, CVC Capital Partners, Advent and PAI, all hoping to outbid industry players, the sources said. If it gets to the second round, Edizione Holding could seek to form a consortium with a financial investor, two of the sources said, in a bid to secure control of Ducati, whose racers have won the Superbike world championship 14 times, with Carl Fogarty and Troy Bayliss its most successful riders. Audi, Edizione Holding, Investindustrial, Advent and PAI declined to comment, while the other interested groups were not immediately available for comment. PRICING CHALLENGES For some buyout funds, Ducati's valuation of up to $1.4 billion – which sources said is based on a multiple of more than 10 times its core earnings of roughly 100 million euros – is a tall order as they lack the synergies that some motorbike makers could achieve. But Investindustrial founder Andrea Bonomi, who sold Ducati to Audi for about 860 million euros in 2012, is serious about a comeback, one of the sources said. China's Loncin Motor was among a group of industry players that initially showed interest in Ducati, alongside Harley-Davidson. The latter has, however, decided against making a bid due to Ducati's price tag, while it could not be established if Loncin Motor had carried on bidding.