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Lamborghini Murcielago SV reverse-engineered by a team from Iran

Iranian engineers successfully made themselves a copycat Lamborghini Murcielago SV. In looks, if not in performance, that is. The most interesting aspect behind the project is that they say it was created using Lamborghini's original data. They took a serious left turn when it came to the powertrain though, because sitting behind the driver is a 3.8-liter Hyundai V6. Not quite the 6.5-liter V12 monster in the actual Murcielago SV. Massoud Moradi, the director of the project, thinks that nobody would be able to tell the difference between this car and Lamborghini's from an appearance standpoint. "All parts of the body, inside the car and precise mechanics of the car are manufactured and mounted based on the original ... Murcielago platform. Its chassis is also one and one with the original," Massoud says. One of the reasons Massoud and his team embarked on this project was to learn how Lamborghini made its supercars. They made their replica after taking apart a real Murcielago and designing new parts based on the original Lamborghini bits. The project to make this thing started four years ago, and the team didn't spend "any time planning or testing the car." Now that's a clear indication you probably don't want to drive this thing. Just because it's designed to be a copy of the Murcielago doesn't mean it's going to perform anything like it on the road. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We'll admit the exterior design is pretty spot-on compared to the actual Murcielago SV, as you can see in the video above (which comes from RT, a network funded by the Russian government). Everything apparently lines up to the original dimensionally, and it uses a bunch of carbon fiber and composite components throughout. Moradi claims a top speed of at least 174 miles per hour — there's no word on what, if any, modifications have been done to the Hyundai engine and transmission to achieve such a speed. So count us skeptical for the time being. The Iranian team wants to make more of them too. Moradi suggested that the small company could make 50-100 units per year if they were to go into production. He'd like future iterations of the car to have larger V8 and even V10 engines, too. Might we suggest some testing first? And what does Lamborghini think of this whole operation? These guys purposefully copied one of Lamborghini's designs with an intent to eventually make money off of it.

Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour Concept

Coachbuilt Italian Finery Rides High In The Mediterranean
Apparently, the appropriate gift to give for the 45th anniversary of almost anything is a blue sapphire stone. I cannot imagine Autoblog readers craving a story about that, so I'm glad that Italdesign Giugiaro spared me that gig and instead created this truly interesting Parcour concept to mark its 45th anniversary.
Parcour is named after the generally urban activity of French origin (spelled "parkour"), of throwing one's (presumably) agile body off walls and railings in an anti-gravity freestyle momentum ballet. This sometimes ends up being broadcast on YouTube, particularly to show a parkour session gone horribly wrong, with the star taking a metal banister in the cojones or receiving a fetching bouquet of twisted fingers. Clearly design boss at Giugiaro, Fabrizio Giugiaro (son of legend Giorgetto), and his squad had more coordinated good parkour-ing in mind when they let me drive their cool creation on the island of Sardinia. (I live not far away, so it's a one-hour flight with the herds on a low-cost airline.)

Rare U.S.-spec 1990 Lamborghini LM002 fetches $467,000 at auction

A rare "Rambo Lambo," an American-spec 1990 LM002 that was Lamborghini's first SUV and arguably the first high-performance sport utility, has sold at auction in New York for $467,000. RM Sotheby's says the luxury ute, which has 19,153 miles on the odometer, underwent a comprehensive five-year mechanical and cosmetic restoration and was originally priced at $158,000 when it arrived in the U.S. through a Florida port of entry. The auction sale price is more than twice the cost of the new Urus, the sleek new crossover that Lamborghini unveiled earlier this week. The LM002 traces its lineage to the Cheetah, a rear-engine-mounted 4x4 that Lamborghini made with an American defense contractor for the U.S. Army, which did not reward the automaker with a contract. It was Lamborghini's first production SUV, based on the Cheetah's basic engineering, and it added luxurious wood and leather to the interior, a spacious cargo area and the 5.2-liter Countach V12 engine that took it from 0-60 in 7.7 seconds. Only 301 examples were ever made between 1986 and 1993, with just 48 of them built to the LM/American specs and delivered to the U.S. Sotheby's notes that the exotic car market of the early '90s "was in full flourish thanks to a new generation of millionaires and billionaires seeking the ever-greater 'toy' — and nothing was bigger or better than the LM002." It boasts a massive 76-gallon fuel tank, and the model that just sold was equipped with specially designed Pirelli Scorpion run-flat tires. Jay Leno took an LM002 of the same model year for a spin two years ago on an episode of "Jay Leno's Garage." The restoration effort was valued at $325,000 and covered the Countach engine, new exhaust and a full, new interior, adding an Alpine stereo head unit and integrated Bluetooth to bring things up to modern speed. It also features the rare rear cargo toolbox, tonneau cover, and correct LM/American floor mats and chrome bumpers. The owner also got correct tools, keys, books, jack, full receipts and photographic documentation of the restoration process, plus two OEM ECU computer units.Related Video: