2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder Convertible 2-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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World's most expensive model car will be wrapped in thin gold sheet [w/video]

A couple of years ago, we featured a car that had a body made out of carbon fiber and an interior and wheels fashioned from gold and platinum and lined with diamonds. The price for that supercar, based on the Lamborghini Aventador, was a staggering $4.7 million. The hook: it was a 1/8-scale model! The man behind that model, Robert Gülpen, is at it again, and will offer for sale at an auction house another baby Aventador, but this one is wrapped in gold and will command a price of at least $7.5 million - making it the most-expensive model car in the world. Compare the model's price with that of the real thing - $397,500 - which means you could have 18 real Aventador coupes (!) for the price of the gold-wrapped model.
The car's details are even more impressive than the last model Gülpen produced, starting with the gold wrap. After baking the carbon-fiber model at a high temperature and under pressure, the body is wrapped in a gold sheet that's 1/1,000-mm thin. The resultant effect allows one to admire the gold hue, but the wrap is so thin that the carbon-fiber weave is plainly visible. The interior is lined with high-carat gemstones and the wheels are cast in gold and platinum, just like the last model. The doors open and close, the wheels turn and, while the engine looks like a smaller version of the V12 found in the full-size car, it does not function.
The materials used in the build are valued at $2.6 million, so what the buyer is paying for is the work behind putting the model together. The car will be mounted inside a bulletproof showcase with a Lamborghini logo made of gold, platinum and gemstones, among other goodies that are included for one well-heeled buyer.

Mexico to auction Lamborghini, other seized assets to help poor

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's government will auction a Lamborghini, homes and other assets seized from gangsters and at least one former politician, officials said on Tuesday, part of a "Robin Hood" program to use millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains to aid the poor. The first auction, set for Sunday, will seek bids for 77 vehicles with a total starting price of around $1.5 million, Ricardo Rodriguez, head of the newly created Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People, said at a news conference. "Before, this worked like a reverse Robin Hood ... taking from the people and giving to the corrupt. Not anymore," Rodriguez said. The proceeds will go to two municipalities in the southern state of Oaxaca, which President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said are among the poorest in the country. The vehicles up for auction include Porsches, Corvettes, Mercedes-Benzes, a Mustang convertible and a 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago. A 2017 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that recent studies estimated Mexico lost between 5% and 9% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to corruption annually. Since taking office in December, Lopez Obrador, a leftist, has rolled out a string of welfare programs for the poor and the elderly, cut salaries for top civil servants and said he is saving public money by eliminating corruption. He announced plans for a "Robin Hood" institute in April. The Mexican president, who has shunned the often luxurious trappings of the country's wealthy elites and was known to drive through the capital in a modest white Volkswagen Jetta, added that two cars and an ambulance donated by the King of Jordan will go to the National Guard, a new security force. One of the auctions will seek to sell three homes worth at least $7 million, including one with an indoor pool in an upscale Mexico City neighborhood. The money will go towards a youth drug rehabilitation program. Proceeds from another auction of jewelry seized from organized crime groups will go to communities in the mountains of Guerrero state, where many families struggle to eke out a living by growing opium poppies. Not all the assets come from drug lords. Rodriguez said one of the homes up for auction belonged to a former politician. Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon.

2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO Track Test Review | The limits of performance

ROSAMOND, Calif. — Our first drive of the Lamborghini Huracan EVO in Bahrain earlier this year revealed that its dramatically reworked new tech makes it far more than simply an evolution ­– hence the EVO name – of its LP 610-4 predecessor. If you care about lap times, it even managed to best the outgoing LP 640-4 Performante around Nardo. While our first drive left us impressed with the EVO's responsiveness, forward-thinking performance enhancements, and (finally) modernized multimedia interface, we did have some lingering questions about its at-limit dynamics on the track. With all-wheel steering altering its responsiveness at higher speeds, it begged the question: Is something getting sacrificed on the road to supercar perfection? To find out, we got more seat time in the latest iteration of Lamborghini's $261,274 entry-level supercar at Southern California's Willow Springs International Raceway. First and foremost, the mighty 631-horsepower V10 roars to life with a familiar, free-breathing bellow that triggers one hell of a distinct sense memory. It's gloriously devoid of sound-sapping forced-induction, and it still fires up via a missile launcher-style button on the center console. Once the exhaust valve opens, the engine sings in a refreshingly sonorous way that turbocharged competitors simply can't hold a candle to. Hallelujah. Gone (but certainly not missed) from the cabin is the ancient Audi-derived MMI system, replaced by an 8.4-inch capacitive touchscreen that's a quantum leap over the old system, making the EVO feel fully modern inside – at last. Outside, a subtle restyling integrates improved aerodynamics; the front bumper and rear spoiler collectively create seven times more downforce than before. It looks muscular enough to park next to the steroidal Performante, with its big, fixed rear wing, and not look like a letdown. Behind the wheel in pit row, there's little clue to the EVO's multitude of lurking electronics, which includes three accelerometers and three gyroscopes. It's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit here at Willow Springs, and unlike cobbled-together Lamborghinis of yore, the EVO stays cool after running hot laps. It's more palpable evidence of the Volkswagen Group's dramatic improvements to Lamborghini's functionality and durability. Before attacking the full track, I put the EVO through a low-speed slalom run, which showcases the all-wheel steering system quite successfully.