1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Iconic Car, Rare Silver Color on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini's path to the future is paved with forged composites

As far back as 1983, Lamborghini has been researching carbon fiber for automotive use. The automaker felt confident enough in its ability to work with the high-tech material in 1985 that a team led by Maurizio Reggiani, now the Lamborghini Board Member in charge of Research and Development, crafted a revolutionary Countach with a chassis made almost entirely of hand-laid carbon fiber. The result was spectacular in that the car's chassis weighed about half of its all-metal counterpart. It turned out that first foray into carbon fiber was just as spectacular when it was finally tested for crashworthiness, but in a completely different way. Catastrophic would be an appropriate word, according to Paolo Feraboli, who now leads Lambo's brand-new Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory in Seattle, Washington. Proving how far Lamborghini has come since that ill-fated carbon-fiber Countach Evoluzione, Feraboli told us during the ACSL's grand opening that today's Aventador, which boasts a high-tech carbon chassis, aced its very first crash test in 2009. Chalk that success up to high-tech computer modeling and the practical application of lessons learned over several decades of trial and error. The dull red monocoque of that crashed Aventador now hangs on the wall at the ACSL like a functional piece of art, a reminder of Lamborghini's cutting-edge milestones of the past. Lamborghini's future will be hewn from what the company calls forged composites. First seen on the stunning Sesto Elemento Concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show, the patented carbon-forging process forgoes hand-laid sheets, injected resins, and high-heat autoclaves. Instead, wads of randomly oriented carbon fibers that sort of resemble the kind of dough you'd use to make pasta undergo a three-minute press inside a mold. The resulting parts are just as strong as other carbon-fiber bits, but can be mass-produced at a fraction of the cost. While it's true that cost is often a secondary consideration for high-end supercars, it's still relevant. By reducing the cost and increasing the scale of composite pieces, Lamborghini can then afford to spend more money on other parts of the car. It's not just body panels and chassis components that Lamborghini thinks it can build using forged composite technology. The Sesto Elemento featured forged-composite suspension control arms that haven't yet made it into production, but probably will soon.

Chinese automaker readies a Lamborghini Urus fake

Do you love the absurd angular looks of the Lamborghini Urus, but don't have anywhere near the $200,000 needed to buy one? We have good news, then. A Chinese automaker is building a knockoff that costs about a tenth the price. Of course, you'll probably have to go to China to own and drive it. According to carnewschina.com, the vehicle in question comes from Huansu, one of several brands under major Chinese automaker BAIC. The company's name translates to "Magic Speed" according to the news outlet, as well as a Google translated version of PCAuto, a Chinese car news website. The model name is reportedly called C60, but it also has the name Hyosow on the back. It certainly hits the design on the head. Or at least 90 percent of the head. The silhouette of the grille is nearly identical, but it picks up a quartet of LED foglights on each side. The massive hexagons in the Lamborghini's grille are replaced with slats. The headlights are similar with individual LEDs, but the shape is much simpler. Continuing around the side, the Lambo's triangular fender vents have morphed into something that looks more like a shovel. The doppelganger lacks some of the sharp creases of the Italian car, and the resemblance really starts falling apart at the back. The large taillights of the Huansu have some of the angular lighting designs of the Lamborghini, but they aren't nearly as striking as the Lambo's narrow elements. There aren't any big vents, and the diffuser is far more boring on the Huansu. All that being said, though, this sucker is a blatant knockoff, regardless of how accurate it is or isn't. Despite a name like "Magic Speed," we don't expect this C60 Hyosow will have much of it, since it will reportedly have just a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 195 horsepower. At least it will be practical, housing between 5 and 7 people depending on how it's equipped. And of course, it's way cheaper. Converting Car News China's price estimate to U.S. dollars, the Huansu will only cost between $15,000 and $24,000. It may be a shameless knockoff, but we have to admit it probably isn't going to cost Lamborghini sales. People with Toyota Corolla money aren't on the verge of buying a supercar anytime soon. The official reveal of the SUV will be on June 6 at the Chongqing auto show, according to PCAuto. Related Video: News Source: China Car News, PCAuto Lamborghini Crossover SUV chinese copy

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.