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Audi: record profit as 'biggest product initiative' in its history gets underway

Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann   Even as the Audi Group (VOW.DE), VW’s luxury division, is in the midst of a huge EV transformation it still needs to perform where it counts — the bottom line. And so it is doing just that.  On Thursday the Audi Group - which is dominated volume-wise by Audi, but also includes Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati - posted record revenue and operating profit in 2022. That shouldnÂ’t be a surprise given what the industry has been seeing at the highest end of the market - record performances despite macroeconomic jitters across the globe. But that it's happening as the group is noteworthy.  “We are on the verge of the biggest product initiative in our history,” Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann said at a news conference earlier on Thursday. “By 2025, we will have launched around 20 new models, more than 10 of which will be all-electric. We have set the course to go 100% electric. By 2027, we seek to offer an all-electric vehicle in each core segment.”   This is all part of Audi GroupÂ’s Vorsprung 2030 plan, which seeks to have all of the groupÂ’s new models be electric by 2026 — and to end traditional gas-powered engine production by 2033. To that end, the group saw EV deliveries jump 44% (in 2022) compared to 2021 to over 118,000 vehicles, with the share of EVs rising to 7.2% from 4.8% in the prior year. Audi is also launching its first EV using the PPE (premium platform electric), which was developed together with Porsche. That EV, the Audi Q6 e-tron, will be unveiled later this year. (Past Audi EVs shared corporate parent VWÂ’s electric platform.) “With the Audi Q6 e-tron, e-mobility is coming from Ingolstadt (Audi HQ) for the first time,” Duesmann said in a statement. “To this end, weÂ’re also building a dedicated battery assembly facility on site. This will enable us to retain important know-how here in Germany and train our employees in future fields.” AudiÂ’s German rivals of course are also leaning in hard on their EV transformations. That makes it all the more important that Audi get its EV strategy right—and launched in a timely manner.

Lamborghini sends off the Aventador with a stunning grand finale

Lamborghini created a 770-horsepower swan song to celebrate the end of the Aventador's production run. Known as the LP 780-4 Ultimae, the final evolution of the firm's flagship will arrive as a limited-edition model offered as a coupe and as a roadster. It's also presented as Lamborghini's last non-electrified V12-powered supercar. The roaring, naturally-aspirated V12 engine has played a significant role in shaping Lamborghini's image since the brand's inception in 1963. It's not completely going away, and it's certainly not about to adopt forced induction, but staying on the legal side of looming emissions regulations requires adding an electrified component. In the future, the V12 will be part of a hybrid system that hasn't been detailed yet. In the meantime, it carries on as a high-octane masterpiece with 6.5 liters of displacement and an output bumped to 770 horsepower at a screaming 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm. For context, the same basic engine develops 730 and 759 horsepower in the Aventador S and the Aventador SVJ, respectively. It still spins the four wheels via a seven-speed Independent Shift Rod (ISR) automatic transmission linked to a pair of shift paddles and a Haldex-type four-wheel-drive system. Lamborghini quotes a 0-to-62-mph time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 220 mph. With more power comes less weight: The Aventador lost 55 pounds in its transition from the S to the Ultimae. Like its predecessor, it offers enthusiasts a trick four-wheel steering system, huge carbon ceramic brakes, and four different driving profiles. 2022 Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae View 15 Photos Stylists and engineers worked together to update the Aventador's exterior design. Up front, the changes are relatively subtle and made largely to optimize aerodynamic efficiency. Out back, the tweaks are more noticeable. The two round exhaust outlets notably move up to echo the design seen on the aforementioned SVJ and on the smaller Huracan Evo. Buyers can choose from a palette of 18 paint colors, and they can customize accents like the red accents on the diffuser. Alternatively, a 300-color palette is offered by Lamborghini's Ad Personam division. Lamborghini will present the Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae to the public for the first time during the 2021 edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed opening tomorrow, July 8. Production will be limited to 350 coupes and 250 roadsters, and each one will wear a numbered plaque on dashboard.

Lamborghini Urraco ownership is traumatic but awesome

Gene Ondrusek and his 1975 Lamborghini Urraco have a relationship forged in heartache. He bought the car on a whim in 1987 and had barely driven it when the timing belt snapped thanks to a bad previous engine rebuild. With the interior already a wreck, Ondrusek set off on a restoration that would take years to get the Lamborghini back together.
All of that time arm-deep in the car's mechanicals has turned Ondrusek into a pretty persnickety owner. Passengers have to remove their shoes before getting in, and he has a mat to protect the carpet on the driver's side. However, despite his fastidious temperament, this Urraco isn't a garage queen and gets driven often.
Ondrusek doesn't exactly make the Urraco sound like an unmitigated joy behind the wheel, either. The seating position forces the driver to sit at an angle, and with no power brakes or power steering, the wedge-shaped coupe is not exactly easy to handle at low speeds. Still, all that time fixing the car has clearly created a strong bond behind man and machine, and we think the wedgy, underappreciated mid-Seventies Marcello Gandini design has held up well. Get a feel for both the car and the owner's connection by watching this latest video from Petrolicious.