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Lamborghini explains how (and why) it designed the Huracan Sterrato off-roader

Lamborghini broke new ground (literally and metaphorically) by launching an off-road-ready variant of the Huracan called Sterrato. It's not the brand's first off-roader; that branch of the family tree includes the LM002 built in the 1980s and the Urus. But it's the only Lamborghini that has made the improbable leap from the track to the trail. I sat down with Rouven Mohr, the head of the firm's research and development department, to find out how and why the Sterrato came to life. Interestingly, it started with a wild idea floated by executives during a dinner. [The following has been edited for clarity.] RG: What's the story behind this car? RM: I have a personal connection to this project. The basic idea was born at a dinner I attended the first time I worked for Lamborghini, in 2017. I was eating with Maurizio Reggiani, my former boss, and Mitja Borkert, our chief designer, right after a test of the Urus. We were so happy talking about how much fun the Urus is to drive on gravel, and we said, "This would be even cooler with a super-sports car." At that time, I was responsible for whole vehicle development. When I got back to the office, I decided to take an old Huracan durability test car that was scheduled to be scrapped and build a demo car. Everybody was so in love and agreed it was very cool, but based on other priorities the company decided to stop [the project]. When [CEO] Stephan Winkelmann returned to Lamborghini, he saw the car and asked why we didn't build it. So, we restarted the project. I'm back at Lamborghini now, and it's a big pleasure for me to bring this project to the market. RG: Beyond the cool factor, what was your goal during the project? RM: This car's mission is quite easy to explain. At Lamborghini, we always have two pillars. One is performance, which means pure numbers like top speed and lap times. It's not only Lamborghini [that can deliver this], however, because a lot of other brands also have the numbers. We are always looking for something unexpected that improves the driving thrill, the overall experience, and we recognized after testing the demo car that there is really nothing comparable from the perspective of pure emotional driving behavior on the market. The mission of this car is to bring maximum driving fun, not only on the track but also on low-grip surfaces. The mission of this car is transferring the driving experience that we have from the Huracan STO on the track to low-grip surfaces.

Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.

This fresh Lambo Diablo SV could be yours for $500k

This Diablo isn't just any Diablo: it's a Diablo SV – shorthand for Super Veloce, or really fast. It was the last model that Sant'Agata offered with a V12, a manual, and rear-wheel drive. Despite being 17 years old now, it has just a single mile on the odometer. It features a titanium exterior paint and a black interior, and could hardly appeal to our childhood sense of wonder any more if it had rocket launchers popping out of the fenders. It's offered for sale by the Lamborghini dealership in Montreal – one of North America's great racing capitals, where supercars are thick on the ground in the summer. It can be yours for $499,900. Now if you're thinking that much money could get you into a new Aventador SV, you would be correct. But though the latest version may be empirically better in just about any way you could measure – including a 223-horsepower advantage – it lacks the Diablo's old-school appeal. If you have the money, the choice is yours. Related Video: