2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Lp570-4 Superleggera Orange Cam Nav Carbon 3802 Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Egoista concept comes home to Lamborghini Museum

Unless you happen to live in one of the great supercar capitals of the world, seeing a Lamborghini up close is a rare treat. But even in such rarified company, some Lambos stand out more than others. We're talking here about elusive examples like the Reventón (of which only 20 were made), the $3.4-million Veneno (only four made) or this, the one-of-a-kind Egoista.
The Egoista concept was revealed a year and a week ago during Lamborghini's 50th anniversary celebrations. Unless you are a Lamborghini owner who traveled to Italy for the event, chances are you didn't get a chance to see it. But if you're heading to the Bologna region any time in the near future, you'll be able to check it out at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant'Agata.
There the one-of-a-kind single-seater concept with the aircraft-style canopy greenhouse will surely occupy a place of honor, alongside the many classic, racing and otherwise significant models - including the Sesto Elemento, Estoque and Miura concepts. Unfortunately, since Google's crew was there before the Egoista (or before us, for that matter), you won't be able to see it on Street View, so you're going to have to trek to northern Italy to see it for yourself.

Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.

Lamborghini shows off beautifully restored 350 GT

It might not look much like Lamborghini's latest creations, such as the Aventador S, but this gorgeous grand tourer is a very important model in the company's history: its first production car. And this is an early one, one of the first 15 examples to roll off the line. It's getting some attention at the Retromobile Show in Paris thanks to its full restoration by Lamborghini's in-house restoration arm, Polo Storico. Polo Storico is a little like the Heritage divisions of Jaguar and Land Rover, and similar divisions at Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and others. The unit, based in Sant'Agata, gives customers the opportunity to have their classic Lamborghinis restored by the company's expert staff. It is, as you might imagine, expensive. Polo Storico has previously restored a Miura, an LM002, and a Countach. This particular 350 GT is chassis No. 0121, and it received 1,150 hours worth of bodywork and 780 hours of mechanical restoration – in particular, the cooling system for the 3.5-liter V12 was thoroughly checked over. The car was repainted with an original-type paint, and recreation Pirelli Cinturato tires were fitted to match what the car originally had. It'll be on display in Paris if you're in the neighborhood. Related Video: