1999 Lamborghini Diablo Vt Roadster Black 35k Miles 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.

Zagato rolls out second Lamborghini 5-95 in yellow

Unless you live in one of the supercar capitals of the world, seeing a Lamborghini on the street is a rare opportunity. Even the Gallardo, of which Lamborghini produced over 14,000 to go down as the most prolific Raging Bull in the marque's history, is still far from an everyday sight. But at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este a few months ago – just shortly after the reveal of the new Huracan – Zagato presented an even more exotic version of the Gallardo. It's called the 5-95, and if features substantially overhauled coachwork that contemporizes the Raptor concept which the two Italian firms presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 1996. Rumors immediately began to circulate that Zagato would build a short run of these rebodied Gallardos, and here we have the evidence: the second 5-95, pictured at the Zagato factory in Milan. Wearing a more Lamborghini-like pearl yellow paintjob, this second of five 5-95s said to be in the pipeline looks more akin to the Cala concept of 1995 designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign. There's no telling who the customer is or how much he paid to get his hands on this rare bull, but you can bet it cost considerably more than a Gallardo or Huracan, even with the premiums customers are said to be paying for them these days.

Teen Who Stole Guy Fieri's Lamborghini Receives Life Sentence

A California man received a life sentence with possibility of parole Thursday for attempted murder and the theft of celebrity chef Guy Fieri's Lamborghini. Max Wade was only 16 when he stole the $200,000 super car owned by Fieri, the Food Network star. In a carefully planned heist inspired by too many secret-agent movies, Wade repelled from the rooftop window of a San Francisco garage and stole the Lambo on March 8, 2011, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Later, the newspaper says, Wade texted a friend that "it doesn't get any better than boosting a lambo and picking up chicks at 17." Among them was Eva Dedier, 18. After Wade flirted with her, Dedier told him she was seeing another man, Landon Wahlstrom. On April 13, 2012, Wade fired five shots into Wahlstrom's pickup truck as the couple occupied the vehicle. Wade was tried as an adult and convicted on Oct. 30, 2013. In addition to the life sentence, the judge added 21 years and four months for the premeditated use of a firearm. Wade will be eligible for parole in no less than 17 years. Lamborghini Safety murder guy fieri