2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Black Over Ivory Interior. E-gear. Wheels. on 2040-cars

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Performance doesn't matter anymore, it's all about the feel

We've just had a week of supercars and high-end EVs revealed. Many of them boast outrageous performance specs. There were multiple vehicles with horsepower in the four-figure range, and not just sports cars, but SUVs with 0-60 mph times under 3.5 seconds. And it's not just a rarified set of supercar builders, comparatively small tuners are also building this stuff. Going fast is easy nowadays and getting easier. So what will distinguish the greats from the wannabes? It's all about how a car feels. This may seem obvious. "Of course it matters that a car should have good steering feel and a playful chassis!" you say. "Why are you being paid for this stuff?" But a lot of automakers have missed the memo. This past week I spent some time in a BMW M4 Competition convertible, and it's a perfect example of prioritizing performance over experience. It boggles my mind how a company can create such dead and disconnected steering; the weight never changes, there's no feel whatsoever. The chassis is inflappable, but to a fault, because it doesn't feel like anything you're doing is difficult or exciting. The car is astoundingly fast and capable, but it feels less like driving a car and more like tapping in a heading on the Enterprise-D. I also happened to drive something of comparable performance that was much more enjoyable: a Mercedes-AMG GT. It was a basic model with the Stealth Edition blackout package, and even though it had a twin-turbo V8 instead of a six-cylinder, it only made 20 more horsepower. The power wasn't the big differentiator, it was (say it with me) the feel. While not the best example, the steering builds resistance as you dial in lock, giving you a better idea of what's happening up front. Pulses and vibrations come back to you as you move over bumpy pavement in corners. The chassis isn't quite as buttoned down, either, providing a little bit of body roll that tells you you're pushing it. It's also easier to feel when the car is wanting to understeer or oversteer, and how your throttle and steering inputs are affecting it. The whole thing is much more involving, exciting and fun. 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Stealth Edition View 8 Photos That's also to say nothing of the Merc's sounds. That V8 is maybe not the best sounding engine, but its urgent churn through the opened-up exhaust gets your heart racing. It also seems like it's vibrating the whole cabin, so you feel it as much as you hear it.

New Lamborghini Urus variant shown racing up Pikes Peak

Lamborghini set an all-time sales record in 2021 thanks in part to the Urus. The super-SUV has predictably been a hit, and it's getting an update in the near future to remain competitive. Footage published on social media gives us a preview of what to expect from the model. Posted on Instagram, the short video shows a camouflaged Urus prototype racing up Pikes Peak in Colorado. "When you're going that fast anything can happen," the narrator warns, but the preview stops short of revealing exactly what we're looking at. The footage of the SUV isn't much help, either: the Urus moves fast and is rarely in focus. Earlier spy shots may provide better insight into what's coming, however. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Images of a pre-production prototype testing in the snow published in January 2022 suggest that the visual changes made to the Urus will be relatively minor. They include additional vents integrated into the front bumper and a redesigned rear bumper. We're also expecting that the interior will receive new tech features, and it's not too far-fetched to speculate that a handful of mechanical changes will be found under the sheet metal. And, unverified rumors claim that a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain will be made available in the coming years. Lamborghini will release additional details about its new Urus flavor in the not-too-distant future. That's also when we'll find out more about the Pikes Peak connection. Is the Italian firm planning to dethrone sister company Bentley and set a new SUV record? Stay tuned. For context, the current record holder is a Bentayga that raced up the 156-corner mountain in 10 minutes and 49.9 seconds in June 2018. The updated Urus isn't the only new Lamborghini model in the pipeline. The final evolution of the Huracan will make its debut before the end of 2022 and it will be worth waiting for: it will be a production-bound version of the off-road-ready Sterrato concept unveiled in June 2019. Lamborghini SUV Luxury Performance

Police find lion cub in Lamborghini on Champ-Elysses

Paris police found a lion cub inside a green Lamborghini last night. The Lamborghini and the cubs' reported owner were sitting near the Champs-Elysses when bystanders alerted the police of what they thought was a lion cub in a car. These people were right, because the police officers found the 33-year-old man in the Lamborghini taking selfies with the lion cub. According to reports, authorities took the driver into custody and gave the lion to the 30 Million Friends Foundation (animal rescue foundation). The Lamborghini didn't even belong to the lion owner — it was a rental, possibly explaining the lack of concern for the Lamborghini's leather-extensive interior (with the claws, and all). We still don't know which Lambo the lion was charioted (trafficked?) around in, but the Aventador would be our best guess. Nobody that owns a lion is going to drive around in the cheaper Lamborghini, especially if it's a rental. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. To thicken the plot, police say the man named his lion Putin, but it has since been renamed Dadou. Although, one has to expect things like this from people who keep exotic animals as play things. France seems to have an ongoing problem with lions being kept as pets. This past month, a man was sentenced to six months in prison for attempting to sell a lion cub. The government is also currently investigating the presence of three other lion cubs in Paris suburbs. Needless to say, we here at Autoblog urge everyone to refrain from toting lion cubs around in cars, exotic supercars or otherwise. We also dissuade the transport of jaguars, pumas, tigers, ocelots and those tiny jungle cats in South America shown on Planet Earth that really just look like house cats. Actually, just letting a house cat roam around your car seems like a terrible idea. Related video: