Lamborghini Replica 02 Diablo on 2040-cars

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Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

Lamborghini Countach LP 500 prototype reconstruction baptized on track

After making a static debut at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, the reconstructed 1971 Lamborghini Countach LP 500 prototype has met the track for a proper shakedown. A banner day for all involved, no doubt, Pirelli loaned its Vizzola Ticino test track to Lamborghini, collector Albert Spiess from Germany and the contributors who helped create the car from scratch. Spiess said he saw the original prototype at the Geneva Motor Show and then put a Countach poster on his wall as a kid, determined like so many other children for the next 15 years to have one. With the Geneva show car destroyed during crash testing, Spiess eventually determined to convince Lamborghini to build one anew. It likely didn't take him more than 25,000 hours of cajoling to get a "Si" from the principals in Sant'Agata Bolognese, but that's how long the carmaker's historic division, Polo Storico, spent on the reconstruction. Polo Storico chief Stefano Castricini said it took "mad and desperate" research through archival materials, on top of the interviews with original workers and help from suppliers like Pirelli and PPG.   It doesn't look like they worked the LP 500 too hard on track, but it's not like they needed to. In a world awash in seven-figure customs and restomods from manufacturers, and smaller makers putting out cars with specs to make your eyes go googly — there will probably be three more announced next week — this one is special at any speed. For any who'd like to see it for themselves, this very item will be on display at Lamborghini's MUDETEC Museum of Technologies in Sant'Agata Bolognese until November 15, alongside the bare tubular chassis of the production LP 400 (the customer cars got a more reliable 4.0-liter 12-cylinder instead of the prototype's 5.0-liter unit), the second production LP 400 to go down the line, and a Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lamborghini Gallardo successor to rock us like a Huracan?

Lamborghini is expected to drop the sheet on its replacement for the Gallardo later this month (think of it as an automotive Festivus gift), which means that speculation on the new supercar's looks and performance is reaching a fever pitch. While the discussion centers on powertrains, though, we're overlooking something equally important - the car's name.
We've been operating under the impression that it would be named Cabrera, after the Detroit Tigers eight-time All-Star and Triple-Crown-winning first baseman a famous line a fighting bulls, as per Lamborghini tradition. Now comes word that Lambo might be moving away from the bovine nomenclature, based on a 2012 trademark filing for the name Huracan. (Of course, it's entirely possible that Lambo historians will dig up some dusty lineage on a fighting bull with a breezy name).
That's left some wondering if the collective auto industry has it wrong. As AutoExpress points out, though, the Huracan trademark was filed at the same time the Italian brand registered the "Urus" name for its SUV concept. During that filing, Lambo also registered the name "Deimos," so really, this should all be taken with a grain of salt.