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Lamborghini Huracan Spyder tipped for Geneva debut

If you're enamored of the Lamborghini Huracan but have been waiting (and saving) for the convertible version, you may have to wait a little longer. According to Motor Trend, the drop-top Huracan won't make its debut before the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. That's almost eight months from now. The basic parameters of what the Huracan Spyder (as it's likely to be called) aren't hard to forecast. It will in all likelihood carry the same 5.2-liter V10 as the coupe, with the same output of 602 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Expect a slight performance penalty in return for the open-top experience as compared to the fixed-roof version, which is expected to boast a 0-62 time of 3.2 seconds and a 202-mile-per-hour top speed. Other powertrain configurations may follow, but the roadster is likely to pack that same configuration at launch. While the larger, more powerful Aventador is about to breed its fourth model variant in the form of the Superveloce Roadster, the Huracan has only been made available thus far in one version. Our sources at Lamborghini tell us that will change soon, however, with numerous variants to follow – just like they did with the prolific Gallardo that came before. And the Spyder could be the first of the many to follow. The bigger question is what kind of roof mechanism Lamborghini will go with for this latest open-top supercar. The Gallardo Spyder used a fabric roof mechanism (removable roof panels are featured on the Aventador Roadster), however the Huracan Spyder will have to contend with rivals like the McLaren 650S Spider and the new Ferrari 488 Spider – both of which incorporate folding hard tops. The latter was just released this week and is set to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September, giving it a good half year before its rival from Bologna hits the scene. Related Video:

Audi: record profit as 'biggest product initiative' in its history gets underway

Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann   Even as the Audi Group (VOW.DE), VW’s luxury division, is in the midst of a huge EV transformation it still needs to perform where it counts — the bottom line. And so it is doing just that.  On Thursday the Audi Group - which is dominated volume-wise by Audi, but also includes Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati - posted record revenue and operating profit in 2022. That shouldnÂ’t be a surprise given what the industry has been seeing at the highest end of the market - record performances despite macroeconomic jitters across the globe. But that it's happening as the group is noteworthy.  “We are on the verge of the biggest product initiative in our history,” Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann said at a news conference earlier on Thursday. “By 2025, we will have launched around 20 new models, more than 10 of which will be all-electric. We have set the course to go 100% electric. By 2027, we seek to offer an all-electric vehicle in each core segment.”   This is all part of Audi GroupÂ’s Vorsprung 2030 plan, which seeks to have all of the groupÂ’s new models be electric by 2026 — and to end traditional gas-powered engine production by 2033. To that end, the group saw EV deliveries jump 44% (in 2022) compared to 2021 to over 118,000 vehicles, with the share of EVs rising to 7.2% from 4.8% in the prior year. Audi is also launching its first EV using the PPE (premium platform electric), which was developed together with Porsche. That EV, the Audi Q6 e-tron, will be unveiled later this year. (Past Audi EVs shared corporate parent VWÂ’s electric platform.) “With the Audi Q6 e-tron, e-mobility is coming from Ingolstadt (Audi HQ) for the first time,” Duesmann said in a statement. “To this end, weÂ’re also building a dedicated battery assembly facility on site. This will enable us to retain important know-how here in Germany and train our employees in future fields.” AudiÂ’s German rivals of course are also leaning in hard on their EV transformations. That makes it all the more important that Audi get its EV strategy right—and launched in a timely manner.

Second Lamborghini Revuelto Opera Unica inspired by Sardinian coastline

Not long after debuting its new Revuelto, Lamborghini rolled out a one-off example prepared by the Ad Personam personalization division called the Opera Unica, which is Italian for "unique work." That "purely artistic" exercise of Ad Personam's capabilities, fittingly launched during Miami's Art Basel show, required 435 hours to paint the bodywork and another 220 hours to paint and stitch the interior. Nine months later, a second Revuelto Opera Unica stays closer to Lamborghini's home, being inspired by the coastline of Sardinia and revealed at the island's Hotel Cala di Volpe. The resort lies on the island's Emerald Coast, and while emerald gems run from yellow-green to blue-green, Lamborghini artists emphasized the blue for this Revuelto, using brushes, trowels, spatulas, and more by hand to complete a 475-hour paint job.  CEO Stephan Winkelmann said, "This Opera Unica takes our creativity a step further, demonstrating paint techniques and interior finishes that are reserved for Opera Unica one-offs, presenting a truly unique art-piece reflecting the distinctive seascape and emotions of Italy’s most beautiful island destination." Outside, Nero Bocca paint provides the canvas, complemented by the carbon splitter and sills, and wheels in Shiny Black with Diamond Polished Altanero. From there, a Light Blu Tawaret base blends with an even lighter Blu Cepheus, Blu Okeanos, sometimes to suggest waves, sometimes as a gradient, sometimes with sharp separation following the vehicle lines.  The automaker didn't say how long the craftsmen spent on the interior, only noting that it took 85 hours to make the tool required for the embroidered accents on the seats. Thread colors in Blu Amon, Blu Cepheus, and Bianco Leda are meant to suggest waves and wash against the primary cabin colors of Blu Delphinus and the lighter Blu Amon. Even the start button gets in on the wavy look, a Blu Mira Carbon plaque on the rear bulkhead acting as a signature for the artwork. It's business as usual for the gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain, a new 6.5-liter V12 working with three electric motors and a 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack to make 1,001 horsepower and 793 pound-feet of torque. And as with the last Opera Unica, we're not sure where this one will end up. But now that you've seen (again) what Ad Personam can do, there's no reason you can't commission a V12-powered postcard of your own.