2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Base Coupe 2-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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As VW electrifies, it questions the role of Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen needs to change to stay relevant in the electric and digital vehicle era and will announce "important steps" to that end before the close of the year, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Wednesday. "Volkswagen needs to change: From a collection of valuable brands and fascinating combustion-engine products that thrill customers with superb engineering — to a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices worldwide," Diess told shareholders at the company's virtual general meeting. Vehicles need to stay in contact with customers, offer new services and comfort functions on a weekly or even daily basis, he said. "We will take further important steps to set the course for this in the rest of 2020," Diess said. Senior executives told Reuters the company is reviewing what role its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati will play as the company increasingly focuses on electric, digital and autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen, which also owns VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, is looking at whether it has the resources to accelerate development of electric platforms for smaller brands at a time it is investing billions to transform its more mainstream cars. Asked whether Ducati, which is known for making noisy combustion-engined motorbikes, has an electric future, Markus Duesmann, who oversees research and development for the group, said: "It will not take long until we see an electric Ducati." Whether Ducati, which is a medium-sized premium motorbike brand, would offer an electric variant, depends on whether a bike could offer range comparable to a combustion-engined variant, Duesmann said. Advances are being made in battery technology which could make this possible, he added. Separately Frank Witter, the company's chief financial officer, in response to a question about whether a sale of Lamborghini is planned, said Volkswagen does not comment on speculation about potential divestments. Lamborghini's Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali this week announced his departure from the sports car maker to take on a new job as president of Formula One. VW needs cash Volkswagen is reviewing the future of these three high-performance brands as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.

Listen to Lamborghini's 830-horsepower track special scream its heart out

Lamborghini's next V12-powered hypercar is around the corner, and there's a good chance you'll hear it coming before you see it. The company released a preview video that confirms its 12-cylinder sounds better than ever. The 17-second clip shows the as-yet-unnamed model lapping a race track as part of its shakedown testing program. We can clearly hear the naturally aspirated, 6.5-liter V12 whirring away as it approaches its redline. It's an evolution of the engine found in the mighty Aventador S, among other cars, but it's tuned to deliver 830 horsepower. As to the transmission it's paired with, your guess is as good as ours, but we wouldn't expect the manual gearbox to make a glorious comeback. Lamborghini's in-house design center, Centro Stile, and its triumphant racing division, Squadra Corse, joined forces to create the model. Developed exclusively for track use, it's decked out with numerous vents, wings, and scoops. The video suggests the widespread use of composite materials like carbon fiber keeps weight in check; we notably spot it on the massive rear diffuser and on the equally large spoiler. Odds are it's all over the interior, too. The company has pointed out the front sub-frame is manufactured from aluminum, and that an innovative self-locking-type differential makes the car more drivable as it approaches its limits. Center-locking wheels wrapped by sticky Pirelli tires are part of the package, too. The video does a formidable job of hiding the car's overall lines. It looks like the driver enters the cabin via a scissor door, which suggests the model is Aventador-sized (or, like rumors claim, Aventador-based). Alternatively, it might be a preview of the Aventador's replacement, which is due out in the early 2020s with hybrid power. What's certain is that it wears a low-slung design; it's no minivan, though Lamborghini has made one before. Lamborghini will release additional information in the coming months, and the car's full unveiling is scheduled to take place this summer. It's a limited-edition model, and while there's no word yet on how many examples will be built, it's reasonable to assume they'll all be spoken for by the time we see it. Lamborghini Performance

This fresh Lambo Diablo SV could be yours for $500k

This Diablo isn't just any Diablo: it's a Diablo SV – shorthand for Super Veloce, or really fast. It was the last model that Sant'Agata offered with a V12, a manual, and rear-wheel drive. Despite being 17 years old now, it has just a single mile on the odometer. It features a titanium exterior paint and a black interior, and could hardly appeal to our childhood sense of wonder any more if it had rocket launchers popping out of the fenders. It's offered for sale by the Lamborghini dealership in Montreal – one of North America's great racing capitals, where supercars are thick on the ground in the summer. It can be yours for $499,900. Now if you're thinking that much money could get you into a new Aventador SV, you would be correct. But though the latest version may be empirically better in just about any way you could measure – including a 223-horsepower advantage – it lacks the Diablo's old-school appeal. If you have the money, the choice is yours. Related Video: