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Second Lamborghini Revuelto Opera Unica inspired by Sardinian coastline

Not long after debuting its new Revuelto, Lamborghini rolled out a one-off example prepared by the Ad Personam personalization division called the Opera Unica, which is Italian for "unique work." That "purely artistic" exercise of Ad Personam's capabilities, fittingly launched during Miami's Art Basel show, required 435 hours to paint the bodywork and another 220 hours to paint and stitch the interior. Nine months later, a second Revuelto Opera Unica stays closer to Lamborghini's home, being inspired by the coastline of Sardinia and revealed at the island's Hotel Cala di Volpe. The resort lies on the island's Emerald Coast, and while emerald gems run from yellow-green to blue-green, Lamborghini artists emphasized the blue for this Revuelto, using brushes, trowels, spatulas, and more by hand to complete a 475-hour paint job.  CEO Stephan Winkelmann said, "This Opera Unica takes our creativity a step further, demonstrating paint techniques and interior finishes that are reserved for Opera Unica one-offs, presenting a truly unique art-piece reflecting the distinctive seascape and emotions of Italy’s most beautiful island destination." Outside, Nero Bocca paint provides the canvas, complemented by the carbon splitter and sills, and wheels in Shiny Black with Diamond Polished Altanero. From there, a Light Blu Tawaret base blends with an even lighter Blu Cepheus, Blu Okeanos, sometimes to suggest waves, sometimes as a gradient, sometimes with sharp separation following the vehicle lines.  The automaker didn't say how long the craftsmen spent on the interior, only noting that it took 85 hours to make the tool required for the embroidered accents on the seats. Thread colors in Blu Amon, Blu Cepheus, and Bianco Leda are meant to suggest waves and wash against the primary cabin colors of Blu Delphinus and the lighter Blu Amon. Even the start button gets in on the wavy look, a Blu Mira Carbon plaque on the rear bulkhead acting as a signature for the artwork. It's business as usual for the gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain, a new 6.5-liter V12 working with three electric motors and a 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack to make 1,001 horsepower and 793 pound-feet of torque. And as with the last Opera Unica, we're not sure where this one will end up. But now that you've seen (again) what Ad Personam can do, there's no reason you can't commission a V12-powered postcard of your own.

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 caps 2020 production at 8,000 to preserve cachet, resale values

Lamborghini chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali told Car Advice that the Sant'Agata Bolognese automaker will cap production at 8,000 cars in 2020. Even though the cap doesn't take effect for a year, it has caught us by surprise — we didn't realize just how well Lamborghini is doing. In 2010, Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide, while its rival in Modena sold 6,461 units. Last year, Lamborghini broke all of its records on the way to a 51 percent sales increase and 5,750 cars delivered. The cap maintains two post-sale hallmarks required to fuel Lamborghini's new-car sales: exclusivity and resale values. Ferrari has led the way with public declarations of voluntary caps to maintain brand cachet, and Lamborghini's happy to shadow that leader. Domenicali, an ex-Ferrari man, didn't miss an opportunity to put the running bull's nose ahead of the prancing horse's in his comments, though. He told the Australian publication, "I can also say that for us, Ferrari has always been a reference ... as well as others in the super sports car segment, but we have already achieved higher residual values for our cars, especially with some of our older models." The boss marked out half the 2020 allotment for the Urus, two-thirds of the remainder for the Huracan, and the rest for the Aventador. We expect any 2020 cap to apply only to 2020, though. If Lamborghini can hustle a 40 percent increase in deliveries this year — 2,300 more units, and that's not outside the realm of possibility since this is the first full year of Urus sales — then in 2019 the carmaker will exceed the 2020 cap by 50 units. In such case, shrinking supply next year would help sustain the lather of acolytes, as well as copy another page from Ferrari's handbook. In 2013, then-Ferrari CEO Luca Montezemolo held production to under 7,000 units, after building 7,318 cars in 2012. In 2014, then-Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne said he'd stick to the "willful and intended" 7,000-unit cap. But when Ferrari announces its 2018 results soon, we expect uncapped shipments to exceed 9,000 units. Other upward pressures on Lamborghini's sales would be the success of the Huracan GT3 EVO, which won the GTD class in the weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, a year after the Huracan GT3 won in 2018. Lamborghini Squadra Corse has built more than 200 customer racers, and no one would rule out a few more orders phoned in on Monday.