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Lamborghini to show Gallardo replacement concept in Frankfurt

Lamborghini will give us a big clue as to the look and feel of the impending replacement for its Gallardo model at this September's Frankfurt Motor Show. According to a report by Autocar, the Italian supercar maker will have a concept car in Frankfurt that will preview a 2015 replacement for the current Gallardo (pictured above).
While nothing is set in stone, the word is that Lamborghini is still considering "Cabrera" as the Gallardo-successor's name. We didn't know the company had so many Tigers fans, but the Autoblog Detroit office is stoked.
The same report tells us that the new Lamborghini, currently going by the internal designation LP724, will be based on the same platform as the second-generation Audi R8, rather than on the more exotic Aventador underpinnings. That means a modular spaceframe, aluminum and carbon fiber construction and a reduction in curb weight as a result - the target is less than 3,300 pounds. Even with the diet, the next Gallardo will be slightly longer than the current car, but about the same height and width.

Urus could be Lamborghini's first turbo

Ferrari has used turbochargers off and on over the years. Porsche has long embraced them. McLaren uses them exclusively these days. As do Pagani and Bugatti. Lamborghini never has, but that could all change in the near future.
According to Auto Express (whose reports we usually take with a grain or two of sodium chloride) in speaking with Sant'Agata's R&D chief Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini could be forced to start using turbocharged engines in the next three to four years. And their first application in the Raging Bull marque's history could be on the upcoming production version of the Urus concept.
The Urus, for those who may not recall, was a crossover concept unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show two years ago and which we saw in a closed-door preview just before that during the New York Auto Show. Taking a sportier approach than the unapologetically utilitarian LM002 (popularly known as the "Rambo Lambo"), the Urus followed the Estoque sedan concept in testing the waters for a different kind of Lamborghini - one to which potential buyers apparently responded positively, as the Italian automaker has been working on bringing it to production ever since.

Maserati and Lamborghini pull out of Iran

Daimler is out, Toyota is out, Porsche is out, Hyundai, PSA Peugeot-Citroën are out and when it comes to selling cars in Iran, now Maserati and Lamborghini are out, too. The definitive pullouts of those last two automakers are said to be reactions to a press conference held by a group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The group highlights businesses that sell in both the US market and Iran, and works to get those businesses to choose one market or the other.
UANI said it had sent letters to Maserati and Lamborghini about their dealings in Iran, but that the letters went unanswered. Mark Wallace, head of UANI and a former US ambassador to the United Nations, held a press conference in October of last year that referenced the two companies. Apparently Lamborghini contacted Wallace just after the press conference and told him "they were out, they weren't doing any business in Iran anymore."
Discussions with Maserati then took place, and the Italian automaker said it had been out of Iran ever since Fiat announced it was leaving the country in May 2011. UANI said Maserati had been in talks with an Iranian distributor, however, and that distributor was continuing to use the Maserati name. The carmaker has since cut all ties with Iranian interests and has prevented its name from being used, adding that its new models will not be able to be sold there because they won't pass regulations the country's regulations.