2022 Lamborghini Huracan Sto on 2040-cars

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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 Lanzador Concept — what it's like to drive an extreme EV vision of the future

MONTEREY, Calif. — ItÂ’s not every day that an automaker gives you the chance to drive a priceless, one-of-one concept car on regular roads. ItÂ’s not every day that the car is LamborghiniÂ’s Lanzador concept, an EV thatÂ’s LamborghiniÂ’s (VOW3.DE) vision of what an electric, Lamborghini hypercar will look and feel like, when it comes out in 2028 — a distant five years from now. Yahoo Finance was one of only a handful of outlets allowed to drive the Lanzador. There are many rules in life, but when an automaker gives you the keys to a one-of-a-kind supercar — you take them. 'It looks like a spaceship' Many industry experts were surprised that Lamborghini even debuted this car, a 2028 model, during last month's Monterey Car Week — let alone allow a few select journalists to drive it, but here we are. At first blush, the Lanzador is unmistakably a Lamborghini. Industry watchers expected the car to be a GT-style sport touring car with two rows, or in this case a 2+2 seating design, but Lamborghini went with a two door coupe setup. WeÂ’ll see if this holds for the production model. The Lanzador sits higher up, with extra ground clearance, giving the car an almost crossover look, though with a much lower roofline. The car has LamborghiniÂ’s shark-like front and strong shoulder line, which flows into sporty, wide haunches and an extremely raked rear windshield housed in the rear hatch door. The car is all hard angles, no curves. “The starting point is a super sports car proportion in a higher position, a pilot position,” said Lamborghini head of design Mitja Borkert to Yahoo Finance. “Lamborghini is always designed with this one single center line — this is our trademark — this is where you recognize a LamborghiniÂ… So if I'm doing this and if I'm doing the sculpture already, you've got a beautiful Lamborghini because it looks like a spaceship, and something really innovative.” Inside, the Lanzador is even more “concept car,” with a floating dash and center console, featuring sharp angles you might see in an alien starcraft. The seats sit low in the cabin, though higher than in a sports car, and feature impossibly thin cushions giving it a stark, futuristic look. My first thought was, "Does the interior, with its amped up and dramatic vibe, give the EV the emotion it needs, given the fact an EV drivetrain usually subdued?" Rouven Mohr, LamborghiniÂ’s chief technology officer, thinks so.

Lambo to quarantine twin-turbo V8 to Urus

Lamborghini is planning to slot a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 into the Urus sport utility vehicle. But don't expect the engine to make its way into the Italian firm's supercars anytime soon. According to the latest report, that forced-induction mill will be limited exclusively to the sport ute for the foreseeable future. Speaking with Autocar, CEO Stephan Winkelmann reiterated that the Urus will be the only Lamborghini model powered by the turbo eight. "On the supersports cars we are convinced that the choices we have made with the naturally aspirated engines are still the right ones," said Winkelmann. "We are not saying that future engines will never beat what we have in our cars; we are saying as long as there is nothing that is better, especially at low revs or in terms of the sound that the V10 and V12 have, we stick to them." While its rivals have embraced turbocharging, Lamborghini has been a steadfast holdout for high-revving, naturally aspirated engines with two-digit cylinder counts. Ferrari, for example, has slotted a turbocharged V8 into both the California T and 488 GTB. McLaren uses a turbo V8 in all its models. Lambo's own sister brands Porsche and Bugatti also use turbochargers. But the Huracan eschews forced induction for an atmospheric V10, as does the Aventador for a V12. The Volkswagen Group of which Lamborghini is part employs a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 for both the Bentley Continental and numerous Audi models. We'll likely be looking at a version of this engine to power the Urus, which is also expected to offer additional powertrain options in the future. The last time Lamborghini offered an SUV was with the LM002 of decidedly different orientation, powered by a version of the V12 engine from the Countach. Related Video: