2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder Egear Pearl Orange on 2040-cars

Auto blog

1971 Lamborghini Countach LP prototype 500 lives again

On March 11, 1971, Lamborghini unveiled the Countach LP 500 prototype at the Geneva Motor Show on the Carrozzeria Bertone stand. Lamborghini had also brought the reworked Miura P400 SV to the show, and believing it would be the star, had placed the Miura at its own stand and dispatched the Countach to the design house stand. Admittedly, Lamborghini had done the same thing in 1966 when the Miura debuted in Geneva. The Countach ruled the 1971 show and was soon on magazine covers around the world. The Italian house spent three years developing the prototype for production, putting the Countach LP 400 on sale in 1974. The prototype sacrificed its life during crash testing for the production model. Now the prototype is back, or the best facsimile thereof. Lamborghini says "an important collector" approached the firm in 2017 asking if they could recreate the yellow shock that started the 50-year craze for V12 engines and scissor doors. That customer might have got his idea from the 1971 Miura P400 SV prototype that Lamborghini restored in 2017 using archival documents. So the automaker's classics division, Polo Storico, went back to the archives for drawings, documents, meeting notes and pictures; interviewed people who were there at the time; and contacted suppliers like Pirelli for an updated version of the Cinturato CN12 and paint maker PPG for the Giallo Fly Yellow Speciale color. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. It took 2,000 hours for the design house, Lamborghini Centro Stile, to reproduce the bodywork, all of it hand-beaten as it was in 1971. It took more than 25,000 hours to recreate the entire coupe with parts that were either original, restored, or fabricated from scratch ranging from the platform frame (instead of the tubular frame in the production car) to the partially electronic instrumentation. Lamborghini didn't mention the engine, though. The prototype contained a 5.0-liter V12; the production model downsized that for a more reliable 4.0-liter unit. We'll guess a collector committed enough to pay for 25,000 hours of Lamborghini work wouldn't compromise on the heart of the matter. Whatever's back there, it sounds righteous in the video.  The result is now on display in the concept class at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.

Lamborghini Sian's supercapacitor hybrid system explained by company's CTO

"We are a game-changer and a provocateur," Lamborghini's CTO, Maurizio Reggiani told Engadget. The automaker has a long history of making waves with traffic-stopping designs and more recently, innovative tech. At last week's Frankfurt Motor Show, the Italian company unveiled its Sian hybrid supercar. But it ditched the traditional battery pack in favor of a supercapacitor to power an electric motor, which is exactly what you would expect from the Italian company. Typically a hybrid uses a lithium-ion battery pack to store energy. Then when needed, it transfers an electrical current to a motor (or motors) to either help the gas-powered engine or take over propulsion entirely. It's a recipe that has successfully improved gas mileage and sold over six million examples of the Toyota Prius, not to mention countless other hybrids. "It's too easy to follow," Reggiani said. "If you want to move for the first time in electrification you must guarantee that the implementation will not destroy the DNA of a car and brand." With that in mind, the automaker went with a supercapacitor instead of a battery. According to Reggiani, the supercapacitor offers up three times the power of a battery pack from the same weight and packaging. Plus, it stores and discharges energy much quicker. The spent power can be fully regenerated very quickly during normal braking. Reggiani explained that this could be particularly useful while cornering. Going into a corner, the driver applies the brakes and replenishes any spent energy. Then, as the driver accelerates out of the corner, all the available power is there for acceleration. Then as the driver brakes for the next curve, the process starts all over again. Plus, the supercapacitor doesn't have to cool down like traditional battery, it's just ready to go at all times -- which is exactly what Lamborghini owners want. The output of the 48-volt motor installed into the gearbox is 34 horsepower which brings the total power output of the V12 Sian to 819 horsepower. While 34 horsepower doesn't seem like much, it means the vehicle can do zero to 62 miles per hour in under 2.8 seconds. That's Tesla Model S Performance and Porsche Taycan levels of fast. But there are other benefits. The electric motor reduces the torque hits of the gears shifting. You know those momentary losses -- then explosions of power -- you feel in the car as it speeds up, that's the vehicle going through its gears.

Lamborghini applies to trademark 'Huracan STJ' for another limited edition

When Lamborghini showed the 60th anniversary Huracans at Milan Fashion Week last April, automaker CEO Stephan Winkelmann said "The special editions of the Huracan not only celebrate the 60th anniversary of our brand, but also give our customers maybe the last chance to purchase an otherwise sold-out V10-powered Lamborghini." We wrote at the time that we thought "maybe" was a vital qualifier. The Huracan's twin-turbo V8 hybrid-powered successor isn't due until the end of this year; 18 months is a long time for the Sant' Agata brand to go without a special edition for the growing legion of buyers ready with six or seven figures sight-unseen. CarBuzz might have restored order to the world and proved us right, finding a couple of trademark applications with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for a vehicle called the Huracan STJ. The J is for "Jota," the Spanish pronunciation of the letter "J," representative of the FIA rule book's Appendix J detailing sports car racing and homologation regulations (a connection that might or might not be true), and of Lamborghini's most focused road-going models for retail customers going back to the Miura Jota prototype in 1970. Since then, there's been a Miura SVJ, Diablo SE30 Jota, Aventador J one-off speedster and the Aventador SVJ.   The short money says this is a turned-up version of the Huracan STO, itself the most raucous version of the Huracan that sold out through the end of production more than a year ago. The long money says this could be a track-only coupe, despite every previous J designation being legal for the street. The fans of all things bully at Lamborghini Talk say there will only be ten made, one for each of the automaker's global regions, and all are sold out. One poster wrote that in December and January, Lamborghini approached prospective buyers with the chance to purchase the sole unit for their region. Our bet is that nary a "No" was heard.  It's possible the public will get its first and perhaps only look at the Huracan STO — outside of Pebble Beach or an RM Sotheby's auction — at Lamborghini's takeover of Italy's Imola Circuit on April 6 and 7. The festival is called Lamborghini Arena, the automaker calling it "The most extraordinary event in our brand's history." Could make a worthy entrance for an extraordinary new J. Related video: