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11 exotic cars seized by Indian authorities for tax evasion

On Sunday, road transport officials in India intercepted a convoy of 15 supercars out for a drive in Hyderabad. By the time the traffic stop had ended, 11 of the luxury and sports cars had been seized. Cars involved included those made by Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce, and Maserati. According to The Times of India, the 11 confiscated vehicles were impounded on charges of tax evasion. In India, the so-called "life tax" applies to all motor vehicles, but each state levies their own rates. In Telangana state, where the 6.8 million-large city of Hyderabad is located, taxes are more expensive than other states. The seized cars – estimated by The Times to be worth between $500,000 and $1.3 million a piece – were registered in states where the life tax rates are cheaper, the article reports, while authorities say that the cars had been operating on Hyderabad's roads. Authorities had been following the cars on CCTV for six months prior to Sunday's traffic stop. In addition to the tax issues, some of the cars had outstanding traffic violations as well. "They have been living and playing in Hyderabad. We have enough evidence for it," said Papa Rao, the enforcement team leader who led the seizure. Rao had another message for those who might be bankrolling the drivers. "We are also requesting the parents of the youngsters to ensure that these youngsters do not speed." According to the news outlet, the drivers were between 25 and 35 years old. In recent years, there's been talk in India of creating a single, country-wide road tax. While the move will help reduce confusion for car buyers, one of the goals is also to close the loophole of paying taxes in states with lower rates. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 revealed

Lamborghini confirms Veneno Roadster is coming

As it turns out, there might just be more than three lucky souls on the planet who will be able to claim ownership of a Lamborghini Veneno. While Lamborghini still plans to make triplets out of the winged and vented hypercar, we hear that there is a Veneno Roadster in the works.
Early yesterday, our own Matt Davis caught wind of an open-top Veneno, but Car and Driver has some more details about the car. The article says that a total of nine Veneno Roadsters could be built with each carrying a price tag of around $4.4 million US. If you're keeping track at home, that's a premium of a cool half-million bucks to get the Veneno to go topless, and with all three of the coupes already accounted for, we're sure Lamborghini won't have a hard time unloading the Roadsters.
There is no additional information about the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, but if we had to guess, we'd figure it will likely use some lightweight removable roof panels like the Aventador Roadster.

Top Gear names BMW i8 Car of the Year, Corvette, Ferrari, Mercedes also win big

The lads at Top Gear have released their listing of the finest cars of the past year, handing the ultimate honor to BMW's revolutionary i8 plug-in-hybrid supercar. "The i8 is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers - and then some," the British mag wrote. The i8, though, was far from the only hybridized car to take victories. James May and Richard Hammond both highlighted hybrids as their personal cars of the year, with May saluting the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Hamster, unsurprisingly, heaping praise on the Porsche 918 Spyder. Jeremy Clarkson, meanwhile, opted to shock many by selecting not only an American car as his best of 2014, but giving the honor to of all things, a Corvette. Clarkson wasn't the only person to honor the USA's iconic sports car, with the new, 650-horsepower Z06 variant being named TG's Muscle Car of the Year. Other big winners include Mercedes-Benz, which TG honored for S-Class Coupe (Luxury Car of the Year), the new AMG GT (Sports Car of the Year) and the not-for-US C-Class Estate (Family Car of the Year). The 458 Italia Speciale A snagged a second win for Ferrari. The best of the rest include the Citroen C4 Cactus, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Golf R, Lamborghini Huracan and Audi TT. Take a look below for the celebratory press blast from BMW. The BMW i8 wins Top Gear Car of the Year The BMW i8 has been named as Top Gear magazine's global Car of the Year 2014. The plug-in hybrid performance vehicle beat off some stiff competition from a host of other premium and luxury manufacturers to win the overall award. The editorial team of Top Gear commended the BMW i8 for its breadth of abilities. Its 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with an electric motor gives searing acceleration and driver enjoyment but all wrapped in a package that takes BMW's EfficientDynamics philosophy to the extreme courtesy of CO2 emissions less than 49g/km and a 135mpg combined cycle figure. Charlie Turner, Editor in Chief at Top Gear magazine, said: "The BMW is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers – and then some. It's the kind of car we should celebrate, a beautiful vision of the future, delivered now.