2005 Lamborghini Murcielago 2dr Cpe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ares Design Panther a worthy tribute to the De Tomaso Pantera

Ares Design finally has its Panther ready. Codenamed Project 1 because it launches the Italian coachbuilder's Legends Reborn series, the Panther prowls as a modern interpretation of yesteryear's De Tomaso Pantera. Based on an all-wheel drive Lamborghini Huracan, the Panther does well to mimic the fat-back wedge of the original, and restores pop-up headlights to the 21st century performance cars. The specs go some way beyond De Tomaso's effort. Thanks to an ECU tune, sports catalytic converters and a new exhaust, the 5.2-liter V10 is rated at 650 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. That's 300 hp and 110 lb-ft away from the Ford-sourced 5.8-liter Cleveland V8 in the 1988 Pantera GT5 S. It's also 20 hp beyond the current Huracan Evo. The bodywork's been spun from carbon fiber, yielding a 3,138-pound dry curb weight, which is 91 pounds more than the Huracan Performante, four pounds more than the Evo version. Six-piston Brembos up front and four-piston units in back clamp carbon carbon ceramic discs behind a sweet set of staggered bronze wheels, 20 inches ahead, 21 inches astern. Those brakes will come in handy considering the 202-mph top speed. The interior can be dressed up any way an owner wishes, naturally. The demo model smothers the Lamborghini interior in even more carbon fibers, leather, Alcantara and cross-stitching. Ares Design will build only 21 Panthers, with first deliveries in May. The conversion takes three months, the price opens at 615,000 euros before options, or $696,300 in U.S. specie. None of those figures have any bearing on you, though, because all 21 build slots have already been paid for. So enjoy the gallery.

1996 Zagato Raptor concept is a lighter Lamborghini Diablo VT and is up for sale

It's hard to out-do Lamborghini when it comes to design, but when Lamborghini partnered with Zagato on a concept car, that's just what happened. The 1996 Zagato Raptor concept was the result, and it was even planned for production. That never happened, but you'll be able to own the lone concept as it's going to be sold by RM Sotheby's. According to the auction house, the Zagato Raptor was developed as a stop-gap model between the Diablo and its proposed successor, the Canto, another stillborn design that gave way to the Murcielago. The car is distinctly more rounded than the wedge-like Diablo, but it's no less wild with its wide haunches, sci-fi taillight bar, and aggressive roof scoop. The party piece, though is the huge tilting canopy for access, which also featured a removable targa roof. The design process and its materials were impressive, too, as the car was completely designed on computers, and went from idea to complete car in just four months. The entire body was made of carbon fiber, too, and that made it about 660 pounds lighter than a Diablo. Some of the weight savings also came from the fact that it lacked the traction control and ABS that came with a Diablo. The Raptor naturally was quick as it shared the Diablo's 6.7-liter V12 and the Diablo VT's 6-speed manual gearbox and all-wheel drive. It could hit 60 mph in under 4 seconds. The car has led a fairly reclusive life following its debut at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show. It's last public appearance was at the Pebble Beach Concours back in 2008. As such, RM Sotheby's recommends a thorough mechanical refresh before doing much driving with it. As a show car, don't expect it to register it for street use, but we're sure it would be fun on private courses. The auction house didn't provide any pre-sale price estimate, though it probably won't go cheap. If you're interested, it will cross the block at the RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi auction on November 30.

1971 Lamborghini Countach LP prototype 500 lives again

On March 11, 1971, Lamborghini unveiled the Countach LP 500 prototype at the Geneva Motor Show on the Carrozzeria Bertone stand. Lamborghini had also brought the reworked Miura P400 SV to the show, and believing it would be the star, had placed the Miura at its own stand and dispatched the Countach to the design house stand. Admittedly, Lamborghini had done the same thing in 1966 when the Miura debuted in Geneva. The Countach ruled the 1971 show and was soon on magazine covers around the world. The Italian house spent three years developing the prototype for production, putting the Countach LP 400 on sale in 1974. The prototype sacrificed its life during crash testing for the production model. Now the prototype is back, or the best facsimile thereof. Lamborghini says "an important collector" approached the firm in 2017 asking if they could recreate the yellow shock that started the 50-year craze for V12 engines and scissor doors. That customer might have got his idea from the 1971 Miura P400 SV prototype that Lamborghini restored in 2017 using archival documents. So the automaker's classics division, Polo Storico, went back to the archives for drawings, documents, meeting notes and pictures; interviewed people who were there at the time; and contacted suppliers like Pirelli for an updated version of the Cinturato CN12 and paint maker PPG for the Giallo Fly Yellow Speciale color. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. It took 2,000 hours for the design house, Lamborghini Centro Stile, to reproduce the bodywork, all of it hand-beaten as it was in 1971. It took more than 25,000 hours to recreate the entire coupe with parts that were either original, restored, or fabricated from scratch ranging from the platform frame (instead of the tubular frame in the production car) to the partially electronic instrumentation. Lamborghini didn't mention the engine, though. The prototype contained a 5.0-liter V12; the production model downsized that for a more reliable 4.0-liter unit. We'll guess a collector committed enough to pay for 25,000 hours of Lamborghini work wouldn't compromise on the heart of the matter. Whatever's back there, it sounds righteous in the video.  The result is now on display in the concept class at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.