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2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2 First Drive [w/video]

The most enjoyable – not necessarily the "best" or "fastest" – driving machines permit latitude with their exactitude, using ruthless precision to support a driver's personal style instead of smother it. Very few cars get it right. The Porsche 911 GT3 is one that does. Add the Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2 – the new rear-wheel drive variant of the all-wheel drive Huracan LP 610-4 – to the short list. To get a sense of how the rear-drive car stacks up, let's revisit our impressions of the all-wheel version. We drove the LP 610-4 at Laguna Seca back in May for the brand's Intensivo driving school, and two idiosyncracies stood out. The first is that it ticked around corners like the second hand on a watch. That's great for an autocross, pivoting through cones like a Tron lightcycle. But on a circuit, you want the freedom to find your own best way to move the machine around the track, and the all-wheel-drive Huracan won't relent on its commitment to ultimate precision. You aim at grace but you get mechanics – a robot trying to follow your instructions for dancing the Tarantella. The second peculiarity was that it squirmed under heavy braking, coming down from triple-digit speeds into a hairpin like a bull shaking off a swarm of flies. The timed run from 0-62 miles per hour is just 0.2 seconds slower than the 610-4. The LP 580-2 is the prescription to cure both symptoms. As the name attests, output drops from 602 horsepower to 572 hp and torque is reduced from 413 pound-feet to 398 lb-ft, all of it sent to the rear wheels. The timed run from 0-62 miles per hour is just 0.2 seconds slower than the 610-4. No mere devaluation of potency, engineers remapped the 5.2-liter V10's power and torque delivery so it's different from the AWD version. Power delivery is further differentiated between the 580-2's manual and automatic shifting, and it feels more linear when you're working the paddles. You need a fetish for grilles to spot the variance between this car and the all-wheel drive version. Designers reworked the strakes on the lower front intake and removed the hexagonal mesh ornamentation, so you peer straight at radiators. The corners of a larger rear grille cut deeper into the bumper. The badge ahead of the rear wheels says, "LP 580-2." The standard 19-inch wheels are of a new design called "Kari." Those are the visual differences. The cabin is identical.

'The Cannonball Run' Lamborghini Countach now on the National Historic Vehicle Register

Just a few months ago the National Historic Vehicle Register, which documents historically significant automobiles, added the "Back to the Future" Delorean to its ranks. Now another big-time '80s movie car joins the ranks: the 1979 Lamborghini Countach from "The Cannonball Run." And in case you hadn't guessed, the film is a comedy based on the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash cross-country rally that Brock Yates organized. Funny enough, the Countach isn't really the hero car. The film's main protagonists played by Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise drive a Dodge ambulance. But the Countach still got high billing and some key shots. Not only was it on the film poster, but it got the opening scene featuring its drivers, two women in close-fitting jumpsuits. Add in its own striking looks, and it's understandable that the Lamborghini stuck in many people's minds. According to the Register's organization, the Hagerty Driver's Foundation, the car was restored in 2009 back to film specification. The car really wasn't much different from a factory model save for its various antennae, auxiliary lights and oodles of exhaust tips. The interior apparently had to be redone in the film's tan, as it had been changed to maroon at some point in its life. It doesn't have too many miles on it either at just over 16,000, and it's had three owners. The Countach joins a wide array of other automobiles from films, motorsports and elsewhere. One of the other major movie cars is the original "Bullitt" Mustang. You can find the full list, here, and the Countach will be on display at the National Mall in Washington D.C. from Sept. 24 to Sept. 30. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Leno hops behind the wheel of Adam Carolla's 1968 Lamborghini Islero

The Last time Adam Carolla was on Jay Leno's Garage with his 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, the vintage Italian ran out of gas while out on the drive. Leno has found endless humor in this since, and continues to rib Carolla about not driving his cars enough. With the famous comedian and podcaster's return to JLG, he has switched Italian supercar brands to show off his recently restored 1968 Lamborghini Islero. One of just 125 made, the Islero is a rare piece of Lambo history. The styling is a bit of a departure from the brand's early GTs with a more angular shape and pop-up headlights. The rear is also especially beautiful, with four exhaust outlets poking out like stingers. Underneath the hood is the Italian brand's famous and aesthetically beautiful V12 with four liters of displacement. Take a short ride in this sports coupe and listen to Leno's constant needling of Carolla right up until the very end.