2008 Lamborghini Gallardo on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour Concept

Coachbuilt Italian Finery Rides High In The Mediterranean
Apparently, the appropriate gift to give for the 45th anniversary of almost anything is a blue sapphire stone. I cannot imagine Autoblog readers craving a story about that, so I'm glad that Italdesign Giugiaro spared me that gig and instead created this truly interesting Parcour concept to mark its 45th anniversary.
Parcour is named after the generally urban activity of French origin (spelled "parkour"), of throwing one's (presumably) agile body off walls and railings in an anti-gravity freestyle momentum ballet. This sometimes ends up being broadcast on YouTube, particularly to show a parkour session gone horribly wrong, with the star taking a metal banister in the cojones or receiving a fetching bouquet of twisted fingers. Clearly design boss at Giugiaro, Fabrizio Giugiaro (son of legend Giorgetto), and his squad had more coordinated good parkour-ing in mind when they let me drive their cool creation on the island of Sardinia. (I live not far away, so it's a one-hour flight with the herds on a low-cost airline.)

Leno stretches Lamborghini Diablo's legs for latest Garage installment

While posters of the Lamborghini Countach decorated the walls of many boys' walls in the 1980s, the Diablo filled that spot for young men in the early 1990s thanks to its extreme styling. In its latest video, Jay Leno's Garage welcomes a beautiful, white 1991 Diablo into his garage for a look back on what is now a classic supercar.
Unlike some of the vehicles Leno shows off, this one doesn't belong to him. Instead, veteran Italian car mechanic Franco Barbuscia owns it. He has been maintaining Jay's Countach for years. A '91 Diablo is an archaic supercar by today's standards. It doesn't have power steering, anti-lock brakes or obviously anything like traction control. It's just a big V12 hanging behind the driver with a wonderfully meaty roar that emanates from the exhaust.
Franco's Diablo might actually be better than new. It has a few upgrades to aid in drivability, like re-spaced pedals, a carbon-Kevlar clutch and more. Apparently all of the tweaks help a lot because, "it rides smoother than my Carrera GT," Leno enthuses about the car. Scroll down to reminisce about this Italian classic and get an ear full of its wonderful sound.

Second, smashed 1989 Lamborghini Countach from 'Wolf of Wall Street' to be auctioned

We're not sure if we should consider this situation trying to steal someone's thunder or, as is done in the NFL, trying to ice the kicker. In August, RM Sotheby's announced that in December in New York it will auction a 1-of-12, white 1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary that starred in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street." Resplendent in Bianco Polo, the auction star was one of two cars used in the film. Notably, it was the undamaged car. The second Bianco Polo 25th Anniversary Countach was damaged rather badly as part of filming, victim of the main character driving under severe influence. We said of the second car, "The location and current condition of the other Countach are unknown, but as far as we can tell, no one has attempted to restore or auction it in the years since filming." We now know the location and condition of the other Countach: Bonhams announced it will auction the other star car this month as part of the festivities around the season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Lamborghini in the same condition as when it was hauled off the set.  In the listing description, Bonham's calls its offering the "Hero Car." Then it makes quite a bit of noise about its Lamborghini having been on screen for "approximately 3 minutes and 11 seconds" in the company of Leonardo DiCaprio as opposed to RM Sotheby's unhurt car being on screen for approximately 16 seconds, part of which was shot by a second unit filming a stunt driver, not DiCaprio. This, we suppose, is like concours judges arguing over whether patina and original condition imbue more value than restored to original condition. Except we're arguing about a famous, crashed Countach potentially being worth as much or more than a famous, uncrashed Countach.  The auction houses set their pre-sale estimates in the identical range, $1.5M to $2M. Bonhams' put some sweeteners in the lot, though: A certificate of authenticity, DiCaprio's costume as character Jordan Belfort, the director’s chair and a clapboard signed by Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie, two hoodies like the kind the film crew wore, and two DVDs of the film. Frankly, the strangest twist in this drama might be someone spending $2 million on a wrecked Lamborghini and having to declare two DVDs to customs on the way home. It's not the star associations alone that justify the estimates.