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Bulls on vacation: Lamborghini Giro 2015

Twenty-one owners were on hand for the Lamborghini Giro 2015, the tenth edition of the exclusive brand's most exclusive event. Hailing from the US and Canada, the small group blazed over some of the best roads in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Luxury accommodations were provided at each stop on the four-day tour in late July. Twenty-one owners may sound like a minuscule showing, but it represents nearly 3% of the yearly American customer base. The colorful collection of Aventadors, Huracans, and Gallardos charged around New England like a high-speed string of Skittles. Challenging drives included the storied climb of New Hampshire's famed 6,288-foot Mount Washington and a mad dash up sinuous Route 17 through Vermont's Appalachian Gap. It all concluded with a police-escorted romp into the heart of Boston. Brilliant as the driving is, the Giro is also an opportunity for the Italian brand to connect with and take the pulse of owners in America, its largest market. Twenty-one owners may sound like a minuscule showing, but consider this: Lamborghini sold just over 2,000 cars globally in 2014, 736 of them in the US. This privileged few represents nearly three percent of the yearly American customer base. For comparison, Ford Motor Company sold 2,480,942 vehicles in 2014. If a similar portion of American Ford owners breezed into New England for a Ford Giro, that would equate to more than 70,000 "Ford-istas." Begun in 2006 in the US, the event is relatively unknown, even among Lamborghini owners. Capped at a maximum of 25 couples/cars, the Giro draws some of the most loyal customers of the Bologna-based icon. Exclusivity – participants mix with top management and are looked after by Lamborghini "concierges" – is what sets it apart from larger yet still select activities for the faithful, including the Lamborghini Esperienza (track events for owners) and Accademia (track and winter driving academies). Given the statistical significance of the participants, we couldn't help but survey the well-heeled swells running their bulls on the 2015 Giro about what they thought of the company's gamble on a third Lamborghini model in the form of an SUV – the upcoming Urus. Will it diminish the flamboyant brand's street cred? Half said "No", citing the celebrated Porsche Cayenne parable. Half said, "What the ****?!" "It's not only a nice drive," says Alessandro Farmeschi, Lamborghini America Chief Operating Officer.

Lamborghini Huracan Evo Rear-Wheel Drive promises lots of oversteer

The debut of the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Rear-Wheel Drive can be seen as a propitious start to the Gregorian New Year, or a starburst finale for the Chinese Year of the Rat – either take works. Coming 12 months after the reveal of its all-wheel-drive sibling, and true to its label, the Huracan EVO RWD sends all of its firepower to the rear wheels. That means 610 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque, spun from a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10, turning a set of 19-inch Kari wheels on Pirelli P Zeros. Lamborghini says putting the front axle on vacation lets the coupe "deliver the most emotive, fun-to-drive experience in both dry and wet conditions, and even snow." If our last experience with an RWD Huracan holds true, the driving experience – albeit a touch slower at the limit than the four-wheel version – is more fluid in every phase of handling that involves a crook in the road. Jettisoning mechanicals to drive the front wheels saves 73 pounds, the Huracan EVO RWD coming in at 3,062 pounds dry. The dash to 62 miles per hour takes 3.3 seconds, 0.4 seconds adrift of the EVO AWD, but the top speed holds steady at 203 mph. Engineers reprogrammed the Performance Traction Control System (P-TCS) for the new power delivery in all three driving modes; "Strada" minimizes slippage for everyday piloting, "Sport" opens up slip angles and drifting potential, "Corsa" balances slip and traction for ideal, kerb-kissing corner exits. When the driver's right foot demands more performance than the tires can provide, the P-TCS is calibrated for smooth cuts to and restoration of torque delivery  Designers differentiated the rear-driver from the all-wheel driver with a new, more conservative front fascia with three polygonal intakes above a new front splitter. In back, there's a new diffuser design under the high-gloss black bumper.    Deliveries begin in spring this year, the starting price in the U.S. $208,571, compared to $261,274 for the all-wheel drive coupe. Related Video:

Lamborghini outlines electrification strategy, announces first EV

Lamborghini, one of the industry's fiercest defenders of the naturally-aspirated engine, is planning to electrify its range during the 2020s. It detailed the path it will follow to electrification, and it announced the road leads to an EV. Company boss Stephan Winkelmann named the three-part electrification strategy Direzione Cor Tauri, which is Italian for "towards Cor Tauri," a reference to the brightest star in Taurus — the constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere, not the Ford built over six generations. Significantly, he stressed that adding batteries and electric motors to a supercar's driveline will not dilute the hardcore performance that Lamborghini's image is built on. The first phase of the plan calls for celebrating the non-electrified internal combustion engine. Lamborghini wants to send it off with a bang, if you'll pardon the pun. It will flex its engineering muscles by unveiling two models powered by a naturally-aspirated V12 in 2021. Our crystal ball tells us at least one will be the long-awaited successor to the Aventador S. Act fast if you want one, because it undoubtedly won't stick around for as long as its predecessor. Lamborghini's first production-bound hybrid, the Sian (pictured as a roadster), arrived in 2019 as a sold-out, limited-edition model with a V12-electric powertrain. Some of the lessons learned during the project will permeate a series-produced hybrid model that's expected to make its debut in 2023. Advances in carbon fiber solutions and new technologies will help engineers offset the weight added by the battery pack. We don't know what kind of system the model will use, or where it will slot in the firm's portfolio. It might be a replacement for the Huracan Evo, however. The entire Lamborghini range will be electrified to some degree by 2024. Reaching this ambitious goal will require investing 1.5 billion euros (around $1.8 billion at the current conversion rate) to develop powertrains and other technologies. That's the largest cash injection the firm has ever received since its inception in 1963. Finally, the first series-produced electric Lamborghini will arrive at some point during the second half of the decade. It will arrive as a fourth model, meaning it likely will not be merely a battery-powered version of an existing car, but it's far too early to provide details like its name, the segment it will compete in, and the technology it will use.