2012 Lamborghini Gallardo Lp 570-4 Supertrofeo Stradale on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen decides to keep Lamborghini and Ducati, transfers Bentley to Audi

Investors in the market for a high-end Italian manufacturer that peddles performance will need to keep looking. Volkswagen announced it will hang on to Lamborghini and Ducati in the foreseeable future. Executives in Wolfsburg, Germany, are making far-reaching changes to the Volkswagen Group to reboot it with a big focus on technology. Credible rumors claimed that the people in charge of the carmaker wanted to carve out Lamborghini — which owns Ducati — and ultimately list it, or at least a chunk of it, on the stock market in order to fast-track the group's electrification strategy. Going electric is expensive, so selling Lamborghini would have helped fund the expansion, and high-octane supercars don't easily go hand-in-hand with zero-emissions cars. "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," summed up Herbert Diess, the group's boss, during a September 2020 meeting. His team ultimately decided not to fully divest both brands. It's too early to tell whether part of Lamborghini will be listed on the stock market, as some insiders have suggested, or if those plans are off the table, too. Changes are coming to Bentley as well. While it's not being spun off either, it will fall under the Audi umbrella starting on March 1, 2021. Volkswagen explained linking the two companies will "allow for synergies to be achieved as part of the electrification strategy of the two premium brands," a statement which suggests they will share a growing number of components during the 2020s. Unverified rumors claim that Bentley will notably get its own version of an ultra-luxurious electric SUV code-named Landjet that Audi is currently developing. We've reached out to Bentley for more details, and we'll update this story if we learn more. Bugatti's future wasn't mentioned in the release; unconfirmed reports suggest it will be traded for a stake in Croatian start-up Rimac. Volkswagen's supervisory board also reaffirmed its support for Diess, who was appointed CEO in 2018 and who has played a significant role in the company's transformation. Finally, the board approved the development of what a statement refers to a future leading electric vehicle sold by the Volkswagen brand that will be developed and manufactured in Wolfsburg.

Watch this Lamborghini Aventador shoot flames and light itself on fire

The stationary revving of high-horsepower, high-cylinder-count Italian engines may be an adolescent pleasure among the world's wealthy, but it's a mechanical display of machismo we're usually prepared to indulge simply because it sounds so great. And it's a spectacle made all the better when one's exhaust spits flames, right? Well, most of the time. Check out this Lamborghini driver, who gets a bit exuberant with his right foot only to have disaster strike.
The driver's Aventador has no problem shooting long flames, and apparently they're hot enough to catch portions of the supercar's body alight. However, the driver's reaction might be even more unbelievable. Watch the video to see what happens - his response certainly isn't how many people would react to their supercar being on fire, perhaps because he isn't completely comprehending what's going on.
One final note; while the video's title claims that the fire is the result of a design flaw, there's not really enough information here to know if that's actually the case. The Lambo could be running an unsuitably modified exhaust or ECU to help it shoot big flames, or the issue could be as simple as debris caught in the rear vents lighting up.

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