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6 things you should know about the Lamborghini Urus

Lamborghini has finally revealed its second SUV in history. The road-oriented vehicle has a 641-horsepower twin-turbo V8 and highly creased body panels. There are plenty of interesting factoids packed into its four-door shape. We highlight the most interesting of them, here. It's named after a breed of cattle. Though many Lamborghinis have been named after specific fighting bulls, this one is named after an entire breed. The extinct breed is called urus, or sometimes aurochs, that is closely related to Spanish fighting bulls of today. It's the first Lamborghini with active roll control. When a car gets tall and heavy, it wants to lean a lot more when cornering. To counter that, Lamborghini fitted the Urus with an active roll control system to help keep the body flat going through turns. It's also one of a number of technologies meant to improve handling, such as adaptive damping, rear-wheel steering ( borrowed from the Aventador S) and torque vectoring on the rear differential. It has huge wheels and brakes. Standard wheels on the Urus are 21 inches, but for those with a desire for bigger dubs, there are optional 23-inch models. These wheels are stopped by standard carbon ceramic rotors. The fronts are 17.3 inches in diameter, and the rears are 14.5 inches. It has the best weight-to-power ratio of any SUV. Besides having the highest claimed top speed for an SUV, and acceleration on par with the 707-horsepower Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, Lamborghini claims the Urus has the best weight-to-power ratio of any SUV on the market. That ratio, with the SUV's roughly 4,850 pound curb weight and 641 horsepower, is 7.57 pounds per horsepower. It is worth noting that the aforementioned Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is still close with a ratio of 7.59 pounds per horsepower. It can be mostly rear-wheel drive, but not fully. The big Lambo is all-wheel-drive all the time, with its Torsen center differential providing a default torque split of 40 percent to the front, and 60 percent to the rear. This can change all the way up to 87.5 percent to the rear depending on conditions, or it can shift 70 percent of the torque to the front. Its chassis is all steel and aluminum. Unlike the Lamborghini's sports cars that use extensive carbon fiber in the chassis, either for the passenger cell in the case of the Aventador, or for reinforcement as in the Huracan, the Urus has a steel and aluminum chassis. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

Volkswagen posts quarterly profit despite drop in sales

Volkswagen returned to profit in the third quarter as surging Chinese demand for luxury cars helped offset a 1.1% drop in vehicle deliveries due to the pandemic, sending its shares as much as 3% higher on Thursday. The German automaker's return to the black comes amid spiking coronavirus cases in Europe that led governments in France and Germany to order their countries back into strict national lockdowns on Wednesday. "The coronavirus remains a central problem," Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said in a conference call with reporters. "This situation now is anything but relaxed." But Witter said the group expected the economic recovery to continue and did "not anticipate any nationwide lockdowns in larger markets." Witter said the takeover of U.S. truck maker Navistar International by Volkswagen's trucking unit Traton was an important acquisition, but the "current economic climate will not make this easy." Volkswagen reiterated it expects to post a profit for the full year, saying its business "recovered noticeably" in the third quarter as sales in China of premium vehicles, including Audi and Porsche sports cars, rose 3%. The quarterly performance was also aided by a series of cost-cutting measures launched earlier this year. Volkswagen said its net liquidity rose to 24.8 billion euros from 18.7 billion at the end of the second quarter. Excluding one-time items, third-quarter operating profit was 3.2 billion euros ($3.8 billion), down from 4.8 billion euros a year earlier, but up from a second quarter loss of 1.7 billion. In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois described the results as a "solid performance with strong cash, but relatively muted in the context of the (auto) sector recovery." Last week, German rival Daimler reported a record 24% jump in Chinese demand for its Mercedes-Benz cars, boosting its margins in the third quarter. Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group both also posted solid results this week. Witter said Volkswagen could not say for sure whether it would meet EU CO2 emissions targets this year, adding "it will be a tough race." At 1030 GMT, Volkswagen shares were up 2.9% at 129.20 euros. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Porsche Volkswagen

Lamborghini Miura, Porsche 911 highlight Techno Classica

Visitors to the Techno Classica show in Germany this weekend were treated to the spectacle of all manner of classic cars under the roof of the Messe Essen. Not surprisingly, the Volkswagen Group was well represented, with the historical departments of two of its flagship marques showcasing their in-house restoration projects – albeit in radically different states of repair. While Porsche brought a completely restored example of a particularly storied 911, Lamborghini went the opposite route by displaying the bare body-in-white for a Miura. With the Miura now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Lamborghini's recently launched PoloStorico division is in the process of restoring several examples. Chassis #5030 is a Miura SV that, as you can see, is still in the middle of its refurbishment, its frame corrected but still unfinished – but that didn't stop the Raging Bull marque from putting it on display. It was joined by the freshly completed green example (chassis #4846) that was the department's first project, as well as the engine from a Miura P400S. Meanwhile, Porsche Classic arrived with a lovely 911 2.5 S/T, the precursor of the 911 RSR. One of only 24 examples made, this particular vehicle won its class at Le Mans in 1972 at the hands of works driver Jurgen Barth (who would alter claim victory overall in '77). It was rediscovered in poor health decades later by a collector, who commissioned Porsche Classic to bring it back to life. The task proved monumental, the vehicle having been modified, crashed, rusted, and used as a playground for children. Both vehicles aptly demonstrate the kind of care that these manufacturers' own restoration departments put into preserving their company's legacy. If you weren't in Essen this weekend to see them first-hand, you can check them both out in the pair of image galleries. Related Video: LAMBORGHINI POLOSTORICO AT TECHNO CLASSICA 2016: RESTORATIONS CELEBRATE MIURA 50TH ANNIVERSARY Lamborghini PoloStorico is at Techno Classica in Essen, 6-10 April 2016, celebrating the Miura's 50th anniversary and illustrating its scope of expertise in restoring classic Lamborghini models. Showing the original Miura SV first unveiled at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show and the subject of a full restoration by Lamborghini PoloStorico, the stand also displays a Miura chassis demonstrating work in progress and a fully overhauled Miura engine.