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Lamborghini Veneno leaks ahead of Geneva

Hey, Lamborghini execs... why the long face? Is it because your double-top-secret Veneno hypercar has leaked ahead of its Geneva Motor Show debut?
This unidentified magazine scan has dribbled its way onto the internet, and the single image shows a radically designed coupe - even by Lamborghini standards - powered by the 6.5-liter V12 from the Aventador tuned to produce 740 horsepower, routed through the company's seven-speed single-clutch gearbox. The bodywork features exposed carbon fiber canards, asymmetric wheel wells, a massive rear wing, and all manner of vents and scoops, all combining for an outlandishly brutal look.
What does "Veneno" mean, exactly? It translates to "poison" in Spanish, but if the company's history is anything to go by, it must also be the name of a noteworthy bull in the history of tauromachia. What the car means to Lamborghini, however, is a celebration of the one-time tractor manufacturer's 50th anniversary.

One-off Lamborghini Revuelto Opera Unica took 435 hours to paint

Lamborghini turned the Revuelto, its new flagship model, into a one-off art car to celebrate its 60th birthday. Unveiled ahead of its public debut at the 2023 Art Basel show in Miami Beach, Florida, the 1,001-horsepower coupe named Opera Unica was designed in-house. Beyond commemorating 60 years of Lamborghini's V12-powered cars, the Opera Unica showcases what the brand's Ad Personam team is capable of. It was painted entirely by hand. The front end is finished in a color called Viola Pasifae, and the livery gradually fades into a shade of black called Nero Helene. That's just the base layer; Lamborghini then added blue, red, and orange accents to emphasize speed. Getting it perfect was more difficult than it might sound. Lamborghini notes that the livery required 76 hours of development and testing plus around 435 hours (that's over 18 days!) to apply. The finish touch is a 60th Anniversary logo on the hood that's only visible in the right light. That's just the exterior; the interior took 220 additional hours to complete. It's characterized by two-tone Nero Ade and Viola Acutus leather upholstery to echo the paint job's base layer and the 60th Anniversary logo embroidered into the seats and door panels. The color of the thread used matches the color of the brush strokes applied to the exterior. This color combination appears on the start button cover as well. "We wanted to create something purely artistic using brushes and a combination of colors, as if the Revuelto was a canvas. This is what fueled our inspiration for this special livery," summed up Mitja Borkert, the head of Lamborghini's design department, in a statement. It's business as usual under the body, meaning power for the Opera Unica comes from a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain built around a new, 6.5-liter V12. Crucially, the engine is naturally aspirated; Lamborghini resisted the urge to downsize and add turbos. The system also includes three electric motors and a 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Its output checks in at 1,001 horsepower and 793 pound-feet of torque, which is enough for a manufacturer-claimed zero-to-62-mph time of 2.5 seconds and a top speed of over 217 mph. Lamborghini hasn't revealed what the future holds for the Opera Unica. It could end up in the company's museum in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, or it might find its way into private hands. Either way, you'll know it when you see it: this is the kind of one-off car you can't miss.

Lamborghini's Aventador replacement will receive a new V12 engine

Lamborghini is about to close one of the longest and most significant chapters in its history. It announced the Aventador Ultimae unveiled in July 2021 is the last non-electrified, V12-powered street-legal model it will build. The car's successor, whose name hasn't been revealed yet, will inaugurate a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain built around a new V12 engine. Company boss Stephan Winkelmann filled us in on some of the details. Sending off the non-electrified, V12-powered supercar is a big deal for Lamborghini, so a lot of time and resources went into increasing the engine's output for the grand finale. It develops 770 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm, figures that eclipse both the Aventador S and the Aventador SVJ. Winkelmann told Autoblog that 770 horses was "the best possible power output we could get" out of the 6.5-liter engine. It's the end of the road for this V12, because the Aventador's replacement will receive a new engine. Winkelmann said it's too early to reveal specific details, like its displacement, but he stressed it's not something we've seen before. And the hybrid system is notably not related to the technology that powered the limited-edition Sian. "The technology is different, it's a completely new engine, a completely new drivetrain, a new battery, everything is completely new. There's nothing out of the Sian or out of the Aventador [in the next flagship]," he said. Some things won't change. Winkelmann cited carbon fiber construction, four-wheel-drive, active aerodynamic technology, and a four-wheel steering system as attributes from the Aventador that are worth keeping. And, adding a turbo (or two, or three, or four) to the new V12 was never considered — forced induction adds weight and puts unnecessary stress on an engine. Besides, the V12 has "horsepower en masse." Natural aspiration is here to stay. Regulatory hurdles are part of what's driving Lamborghini towards electrification, so the Ultimae truly is the last of its kind. However, the non-electrified V12 could live on in some few-off models built for track use, like the Essenza SCV12. "For homologated cars, it's a no. For the others, we will see. It's not planned so far, but there could be an opportunity," Winkelmann replied when asked if future V12-powered race cars could eschew a hybrid system. This is it, then. Lamborghini will build 600 units of the Aventador Ultimae, a number split 350-250 between coupes and roadsters.