Scorpious Whls + Nav + Q-citura + Rr Camera + Bluetooth on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lamborghini's first US Winter Accademia should be snow freaking cool

Though they are equipped almost exclusively with all-wheel drive, a Lamborghini might not be our first choice to drive in the snow. Not for practical reasons, anyway. But the idea sure does sound like fun – and probably more than a little bit educational, too. That's why Lamborghini established the Winter Accademia. Similar to the warm-weather Lamborghini Accademia we recently undertook at Laguna Seca, the Lamborghini Winter Accademia is a factory-organized advanced driving course, only this one takes place in the snow. The program was previously held only in Livogno, Italy, but the Bolognese automaker is now bringing it to the United States. Lamborghini will hold its Winter Accademia program during two sessions in early February at Snowmass in Aspen, Colorado (the same resort town where Ferrari held its winter driving program for the FF). During those sessions, pupils will have the chance to drive the Aventador and Huracan in the snow under the tutelage of factory instructors who will teach them techniques like emergency braking, drifting and lapping a makeshift roadcourse in the snow. Which sounds not only like a whole lot of fun, but like good skills to anyone who doesn't want to put their high-performance sports car in the garage for the entirety of the winter season. LAMBORGHINI ANNOUNCES FIRST-EVER NORTH AMERICAN WINTER ACCADEMIA FOR 2015 High Performance, Dynamic Ice and Snow Driving Coupled with Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity in Aspen/Snowmass HERNDON, Va., December 9, 2014 – Lamborghini Squadra Corse is gearing-up for its first-ever North American-based winter driving school. The 2015 Winter Accademia at Aspen/Snowmass will provide driving enthusiasts and brand aficionados an opportunity to push exclusive Lamborghini cars and themselves to the limit. For those who crave the opportunity, the Lamborghini Winter Accademia program, which takes place February 5-7 and 6-8, 2015 in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado, will allow enthusiasts to experience the all-wheel-drive supremacy of the Aventador LP 700-4 as well as the Huracan LP 610-4 on ice and snow. Under the guidance of passionate, professional Lamborghini instructors, participants will not only handle critical winter-driving conditions, but learn techniques exclusive to the Lamborghini Winter Accademia Program.

Lamborghini Veneno makes full appearance before Geneva debut

This is it: The Lamborghini Veneno supercar that will debut later today in Geneva and, along with the the McLaren P1 and Ferrari Enzo successor, give this motor show in Switzerland no less than three world supercar premieres. A number of images of the Veneno have leaked early, which we've assembled in the attached gallery for your slack-jawed, drool-stained perusal.
The Veneno is reported to mark Lamborghini's 50th anniversary, and will be built in a production run of just three, each with a price tag of around $4.6 million and each one bearing a color of the Italian flag (green, white or red). And no, Richie Rich, you can't have one, because all three are already sold.
As for its mechanicals, the Veneno is supposedly based on the Aventador, which makes sense, though it wears a completely different carbon fiber body that's even more extreme than other recent hypercars from Lamborghini, including the Sesto Elemento and Reventon. It will almost certainly be powered by Lamborghini's 6.5-liter V12 producing around 740 horsepower, while a seven-speed single-clutch transmission will carve up that output on the way to the Veneno's reported top speed of 220 miles per hour.

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.