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Lamborghini set an all-time sales record in 2019

Growing demand for the Urus helped Lamborghini set an all-time sales record in 2019. The company delivered 8,205 units, a significant 43% increase compared to 2018, and well over half of its sales came from its only SUV. Annual sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 66% to 2,162 units, but the United States remains the company's largest market by a long shot. This partially explains why the Urus (pictured) raced ahead the Aventador S and the Huracan Evo to become Lamborghini's best-selling model by a long shot. The assembly line at Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, rolled off 4,962 examples of the SUV in 2019, followed by 2,139 units of the Huracan Evo, which Lamborghini manufactures in a separate building at the same facility. The V12-powered Aventador S also made there logged 1,104 sales, an impressive figure considering it's Lamborghini's oldest and most expensive model. While Lamborghini is celebrating a record year, and its ninth-consecutive year of growth, it previously announced it plans to cap production at 8,000 units in 2020 in order to maintain a degree of exclusivity. "We must not go on growing forever," company boss Stefano Domenicali warned in 2019. It could ultimately reach the 10,000-car threshold, but only after it adds a fourth series-produced model to its range to balance it out. There's no word yet on what form the fourth car will take, though unverified rumors point to an electrified 2+2 tourer. Lamborghini nonetheless entered 2020 on a positive note. It's in the process of developing a hybrid variant of the Urus, it's putting the final touches on the track-bound ST-X variant, and it's shaping the Aventador's successor. It remains confident in its overall outlook, it affirmed in a statement accompanying its 2019 result. Enthusiasts devote a considerable amount of energy to bashing high-riding models made by luxury brands, but sales figures prove entering the SUV segment makes a lot of sense from a business standpoint. In 2019, Porsche delivered 92,055 examples of the Cayenne (a 29% increase over 2018) and its bestselling model was the smaller Macan, which found 99,944 buyers. Rolls-Royce thanked the Cullinan for the 25% jump in sales it recorded in 2019 (up to 5,152 units), while Bentley credited the Bentayga for a 5% increase to 11,006 cars. It's no wonder Aston Martin allegedly ditched the RapidE to focus on the DBX, and Ferrari wants a piece of the pie. Related Video:

Lamborghini Urraco ownership is traumatic but awesome

Gene Ondrusek and his 1975 Lamborghini Urraco have a relationship forged in heartache. He bought the car on a whim in 1987 and had barely driven it when the timing belt snapped thanks to a bad previous engine rebuild. With the interior already a wreck, Ondrusek set off on a restoration that would take years to get the Lamborghini back together.
All of that time arm-deep in the car's mechanicals has turned Ondrusek into a pretty persnickety owner. Passengers have to remove their shoes before getting in, and he has a mat to protect the carpet on the driver's side. However, despite his fastidious temperament, this Urraco isn't a garage queen and gets driven often.
Ondrusek doesn't exactly make the Urraco sound like an unmitigated joy behind the wheel, either. The seating position forces the driver to sit at an angle, and with no power brakes or power steering, the wedge-shaped coupe is not exactly easy to handle at low speeds. Still, all that time fixing the car has clearly created a strong bond behind man and machine, and we think the wedgy, underappreciated mid-Seventies Marcello Gandini design has held up well. Get a feel for both the car and the owner's connection by watching this latest video from Petrolicious.

Jon Olsson drives his Lambo up a glacier because why not?

The latest stunt by Jon Olsson has no particular purpose, but we love it just the same. Olsson, a former ski racer, always has a neat car with an equipment carrier stuck on top, and in this video he puts his customized rear-drive Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 to work at Fonna Glacier Ski Resort in Norway. Makse sense to us. As he says in the short video, the aim is to have fun. He drives the Lambo up the Norwegian glacier aided by monster rear tires with some frightening studs, and then he makes things a little more interesting by creating a giant giant slalom course for the car. Olsson even clips the gates with the mirrors and front tires as he makes the turns, like you would on skis (except replace mirrors with pole guards and tires with skis). Snow is sprayed, there's lots of V12 revving, and it's all beautifully shot. It looks like he accomplished his modest goal. A little more about the car: On his website, Olsson says it took three years to build. One year was wasted by the first guy that offered to build it for free and ended up selling parts off of it to make rent. It then took two years to make things right again and add a carbon-fiber body kit, an IPE exhaust, a suede interior, a carbon steering wheel from a Gallardo, bigger brakes, and convert it to rear-wheel drive. His signature ski box sits on top, supported by a custom rack, and of course the whole car is plastered with logos from Olsson's sponsors, because those winterized supercars cost money, you know? Oh, and Olsson has owned a lot of cars. Mostly Audis and Lamborghinis lately, but his past includes a couple of track-prepped 3 Series and a Mazda B2000. Our kind of dude. Related Video: