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Lamborghini unveils customer-commissioned one-off SC20 barchetta

Lamborghini unveiled the mysterious roof-less supercar it has been testing on and off the track for the past few months. Called SC20, it's a one-of-a-kind model positioned at the intersection of road cars and track cars. Developed by Squadra Corse, the firm's in-house racing division, the SC20 was built at the request of a customer who eagerly participated in nearly every step of the design process. Lamborghini explained the project's goal was to transfer some of the lessons it learned on the track (notably those related to aerodynamic technology) to a street-legal car that falls in line with its current design language without copying an existing model. Mitja Borkert, the head of the company's design department, cited the Diablo VT Roadster, the Aventador J, the Veneno Roadster, and the Concept S as sources of inspiration. Up front, the SC20 is less angular than the Aventador S, though it's still immediately recognizable as a member of the Lamborghini family, and its vents are modeled after the Huracan Evo GT3's. Out back, the rear lights are reminiscent of the ones fitted to the Sian, but the fascia wears a markedly more aggressive design that incorporates a sizable wing with three positions called low, medium and high load, respectively, a deep diffuser and vents that let hot air escape the engine bay. Viewed from the side, the SC20 is characterized by the complete lack of a windshield, a layout which provides an unobstructed view of the Alcantara upholstery on the dashboard and of the carbon fiber panel that covers the digital instrument cluster. All told, the SC20 is much closer to a barchetta than to a conventional convertible. Bare carbon fiber on the dashboard, the firewall, the door panels and the center console hints at the SC20's lightweight construction. Lamborghini used the composite material to make the seat shells, too, and it machined the door handles out of solid aluminum. The center console houses a slanted touchscreen which displays the infotainment software that the Italian company developed in-house and released on the Huracan Evo. Although the Aventador's replacement will go hybrid, the SC20 eschews electrification. It's powered by a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 which produces 770 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm. It spins the four wheels via an Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) seven-speed automatic transmission linked to a pair of shift paddles and a central electronic differential.

Lamborghini Aventador SV clocks sub 7 minute Nurburgring lap

The list of cars that have lapped the Nurburgring in under seven minutes is about as short as the ride heights on the supercars of which it's composed. There's the Radical SR8 (that's just barely street-legal), there are hybrid hypercars like the Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1, and now there's one more in the Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV. Lambo unveiled its latest Superveloce in Geneva just a couple of months ago, boasting an upgraded version of its free-revving V12, unburdened by 110 pounds of excess weight and fitted with enhanced equipment. The result of all these improvements is 740 horsepower, 509 pound-feet of torque, a 2.8-second 0-62 time, a top speed of 217 miles per hour and a Nordschleife lap time of 6:59.73. No turborchargers, no hybrid assist, no type certification or regulatory loopholes. Just an old-fashioned twelve-cylinder supercar doing what it does best, and trouncing just about everything else in the process. The lap time was clocked during development tests for the Lambo's P Zero Corsa tires, and appears to have been run with a roll cage in place, but we don't know if there were any other modifications carried out (or for that matter if the time was verified by any external authority). The timing of this video's release comes right on the heels of Seat having claimed the lap record for wagons and both the 24-Hour and World Touring Car Championship races taking place at the Green Hell this weekend.

Lamborghini Accademia heading to Laguna Seca

If you want to learn how to get the most out of your Lambo, who better to teach you than Lamborghini itself. That's why the Bolognese automaker has launched the Lamborghini Accademia. Developed by the factory's Squadra Corse competition department, the Lamborghini Accademia is set up to show customers how to handle their supercars on a closed track and with the expert tutelage of factory instructors.
The trouble for American customers, though, is that the Accademia has (this year, at least) only held sessions at European tracks like Imola in Italy and Hockenheim in Germany. Not that the cost of a transatlantic flight would deter someone splurging six figures on a supercar, mind you, but we're glad to report now that the program is coming to North America for the first time.
Between September 14 and 17, the Lamborghini Accademia will be setting up shop at California's legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. That's where instructors will run groups of 24 students through the finer points of slalom, acceleration, braking, drifting and section-by-section learning of the famous track, from the Andretti Hairpin to the famous Corkscrew... all from behind the wheel of the new Huracán LP 610-4. Not a bad place to experience the Raging Bull marque's latest creation, or a bad car in which to experience one of America's finest racing circuits.