2017 Lamborghini Aventador Lp 700-4 Miura Edition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Watch 14 hot rides take over concept car lawn at Pebble Beach

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an annual celebration of the beautiful, old cars that grace Monterey Car Week. But Monterey – and Pebble – features lots of newer metal, too, and that includes the concept lawn at Pebble Beach. Now, "concept lawn" isn't a totally accurate name anymore, and you'll see why in the list below. This year especially, plenty of production cars can be found in the area once reserved for the conceptual. Still, we're happy to see them. Here's what's featured this year: Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Audi R8 BAC Mono Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R Buick Avenir Galpin-Fisker Rocket Speedster Hyundai HCD-16 Vision G Coupe Icona Volcano Infiniti Q60 Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 Maserati Ghibli McLaren 570S Rolls-Royce Wraith By our count, that's seven concepts out of fourteen cars. But it still makes for one hot group of metal. Check 'em out in the gallery above. Related Video: Related Gallery 2015 Pebble Beach Concept Car Lawn View 38 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Design/Style Alfa Romeo Audi Bentley Buick Infiniti Lamborghini Lincoln McLaren Porsche Concept Cars Videos Original Video Pebble Beach

Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 is an 830-horsepower track weapon

Following in the footsteps of the likes of the Diablo GTR and the Miura Jota, the new Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 is the latest limited-run, uber-performance GT car that offers more power than any other naturally aspirated V12 model Lamborghini has ever produced. To say the Essenza SCV12 is purpose-built would be understating it. From the carbon fiber monocoque and the adjustable aerodynamics to the structurally integral gearbox, everything about the Essenza SCV12 was engineered expressly for speed by Lamborghini's motorsports division. Lamborghini says the V12 actually makes more than 830 horsepower, but didn't offer us anything more specific. Its multi-function wheel was even inspired by the control interfaces found in Formula One, and the rest of the cockpit is similarly racecar-spartan, down to the FIA-homologated carbon-shell seats. The exterior bodywork comprises just three sections to facilitate quick repair and replacement. All four wheels are magnesium alloy and the brakes were developed by Brembo. "Essenza SCV12 represents the purest track driving experience that our brand can offer, an engineering feat that highlights the inextricable link between our cars and the asphalt of the track," said Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali in the company's announcement. "Lamborghini is a brand constantly looking to the future and searching for new challenges, but we never forget our roots and who we are: Essenza SCV12 is the perfect combination of our unconventional spirit as a super sports car manufacturer and our true passion for motorsport." The Essenza SCV12 puts all 830 horsepower to the ground via the rear wheels. The aforementioned structural gearbox is a six-speed sequential unit and the mounting point for the rear pushrod suspension. The aero elements, which were borrowed (with modifications, of course) from Lamborghini's racing cars, produce more than 2,600 pounds of downforce at 155 MPH — more than you get from the aero on a GT3 race car.  Making the deal even sweeter is the fact that purchasing one of these 40 Essenza SCV12s also confers access to a series of exclusive track events along with storage space in a new building (a hangar, Lamborghini says) that the company has built at its facility in SantÂ’Agata Bolognese.  "We wanted to elevate not only performance and driving pleasure but also the experience off the track," said Giorgio Sanna, Head of Lamborghini Motorsport.

Lamborghini Sian's supercapacitor hybrid system explained by company's CTO

"We are a game-changer and a provocateur," Lamborghini's CTO, Maurizio Reggiani told Engadget. The automaker has a long history of making waves with traffic-stopping designs and more recently, innovative tech. At last week's Frankfurt Motor Show, the Italian company unveiled its Sian hybrid supercar. But it ditched the traditional battery pack in favor of a supercapacitor to power an electric motor, which is exactly what you would expect from the Italian company. Typically a hybrid uses a lithium-ion battery pack to store energy. Then when needed, it transfers an electrical current to a motor (or motors) to either help the gas-powered engine or take over propulsion entirely. It's a recipe that has successfully improved gas mileage and sold over six million examples of the Toyota Prius, not to mention countless other hybrids. "It's too easy to follow," Reggiani said. "If you want to move for the first time in electrification you must guarantee that the implementation will not destroy the DNA of a car and brand." With that in mind, the automaker went with a supercapacitor instead of a battery. According to Reggiani, the supercapacitor offers up three times the power of a battery pack from the same weight and packaging. Plus, it stores and discharges energy much quicker. The spent power can be fully regenerated very quickly during normal braking. Reggiani explained that this could be particularly useful while cornering. Going into a corner, the driver applies the brakes and replenishes any spent energy. Then, as the driver accelerates out of the corner, all the available power is there for acceleration. Then as the driver brakes for the next curve, the process starts all over again. Plus, the supercapacitor doesn't have to cool down like traditional battery, it's just ready to go at all times -- which is exactly what Lamborghini owners want. The output of the 48-volt motor installed into the gearbox is 34 horsepower which brings the total power output of the V12 Sian to 819 horsepower. While 34 horsepower doesn't seem like much, it means the vehicle can do zero to 62 miles per hour in under 2.8 seconds. That's Tesla Model S Performance and Porsche Taycan levels of fast. But there are other benefits. The electric motor reduces the torque hits of the gears shifting. You know those momentary losses -- then explosions of power -- you feel in the car as it speeds up, that's the vehicle going through its gears.