Lamborghini Aventador Roadster on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Roadster ends non-hybrid V12 production

To quote Hall & Oates: "She's gone," the "she" here being the Lamborghini Aventador. The last of the scissor-doored supercars with a naturally-aspirated V12 rolled off the line in LP 780-4 Ultimae Roadster form colored an Ad Personam light blue, headed for a quiet life in Switzerland. That also closed the chapter on the 350 coupes and 250 roadsters made in Ultimae spec. This is a belated end-of-life, the Italian concern restarting production lines after 85 Lamborghinis, 15 of them Aventador Ultimaes destined for the U.S. market, got torched on the cargo ship Felicity Ace in March of this year. The final tally for the latest V12 spreadsheet counts 11,465 cars delivered in 11 years, more than doubling the entire sales count of its predecessor, the Murcielago, and exceeding the combined sales of every one of Lamborghini's V12 models since the 3.5-liter V12 in the 350 GT in 1964.  What began with the 6.5-liter 12-cylinder with 691-horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque in 2022 ended with that engine making 760 hp and 531 lb-ft in the Ultimae. The official 0-to-62 mile per hour dash came down a tenth of a second in that time, depending on where you look, from 2.9 seconds to 2.8. Top speed rose from 217 mph to 220. Plenty fast then, plenty fast now. Between those yardposts there have been more than 10 one-offs and limited editions. The former group includes the Jota, SVJ Xago, and the SC18 Alston track car. The latter group counts the Anniversario, Veneno, Centenario, and Sian FKP 37. There were also innovations like the enclosed carbon fiber monocoque supported by "flying doctors" that traveled the world to help diagnose and repair damage that benefited owners. There was the pushrod suspension that turned a heavyweight into a flickable canyon runner, benefiting all drivers. There was the Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) single-shift transmission, which Lamborghini says was "chosen for lightweight compactness and the most emotive shift." Given its tidal shifting motion and occasionally clumsy changes under partial throttle or when trying to figure out what the driver wanted in changing conditions, we never figured out who that benefited. What comes next will be a hybrid V12 powertrain wrapped in looks that, based on spy shots, will evolve the latest design language with details like new lights, bladed B-pillars, and high-rise exhaust. Shouldn't be long to wait now.

The 2016 Pebble Beach Concept Lawn was nuts as always

The Concept Lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is like the smallest, most expensive car show you can imagine. A bunch of unobtanium concepts and almost-production models line an irregularly shaped putting green for people to stare at while on their way to see other, older insane cars. This year's crop was a particularly good one. We'll walk through the gallery above in order: That's a new Ford GT. Not quite a concept, but it's not in production yet, so we'll let it slide. Then there's the one-of-a-kind Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo that was recently bought by a Saudi Prince along with a matching Chiron. Next up is the Lamborghini Centenario Roadster, which was unveiled last week and is already sold out. This orange automobile is BMW's 2002 Hommage with its latest livery, a Jagermeister-themed affair called Turbomeister. This silver Infiniti, the Q80 Inspiration Concept, is an oldie but a goodie. It first appeared in Paris in 2014. The extremely long automobile after that is the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, which was unveiled in Monterey this year. The 6 in the name is because it's 6 meters, or about 18 feet, long. Most of that's the hood. Next we have the one-of-99 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato coupe, which continues to be beautiful. After that is a Fisker Karma with a V8, the VLF Destino. Thank you, Bob Lutz. The black sedan you see after that is the Cadillac Escala Concept, which also made its debut in Monterey this year. Then we have a Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge. Not a concept, but exclusive enough to join the others. Next is the McLaren 570GT customized by MSO that arrived for Pebble 2016. It has special design touches plus an electrochromic panel to replace the normal glass roof. The light blue car is the Genesis New York concept. The name didn't change even though it was in Monterey. Then we have the large and in charge Lincoln Navigator concept, taking up two regulation concept spots. The red car with suicide doors is Acura's Precision Concept, which we first saw at the Detroit show this year. Another non-concept, the Lexus LC 500h at least looks futuristic enough to be a show-specific car. And here's a 2017 Maserati Quattroporte, which is definitely not a concept. A Bentley Mulsanne EWB, because why not? It's not available in the US, so that almost qualifies for concept status. Then there's a reproduction Lister Knobbly, which we could stare at all day.

Hyundai Santa Cruz, Kona N and Elantra Hybrid | Autoblog Podcast #691

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor, James Riswick. They've been driving a lot of new cars, including the 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup, 2022 Hyundai Kona N, 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid, 2021 Acura TLX Type S and 2022 Hyundai Genesis G70. Lamborghini revealed a modern interpretation of the Countach, for better or worse. Finally, they heelp a listener replace a 2013 Ford Edge in this week's "Spend My Money" segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #691 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz 2022 Hyundai Kona N 2021 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid 2021 Acura TLX Type S 2022 Hyundai Genesis G70 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 revealed Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video: