2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Supperleggera on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini Huracan STO Road Test: If death metal was a car

MALIBU, Calif. — If heavy death metal music were a car, it would be the Lamborghini Huracan STO. This is not your run-of-the-mill Lamborghini. It doesnÂ’t have all-wheel drive. The floor and doors are essentially bare carbon. It has a complex clamshell front end/hood you manually open with a plastic prong — under it, thereÂ’s barely room for a racing helmet. There are only three drive modes, a pittance for a modern supercar. A super-low, zero-forgiveness full carbon fiber front bumper/splitter is fitted that will torment your mind on every grade change. Its dry weight (the only one Lamborghini quotes) is only 2,942 pounds. That last bit — its low-for-a-Lambo weight — is the secret ingredient in what makes this STO drive like a special machine. Forget any stereotypes you may have about todayÂ’s Lamborghinis being the porky, easier-to-drive Italian supercar. The STO is pure, old-school Lambo. It looks those preconceived notions in the face and slaps them aside as quick as the 5.2-liter V10 can rev to its 8,500 rpm redline. That is, very, very quickly. The death metal begins as soon as you drop into the carbon buckets. In proper race car fashion, there are no traditional grab handles on the bare carbon door. Instead, a flexible piece of fabric is fashioned as a pull, and it works quite well. Getting out could be confusing for those new to track-focused machines like the STO, as the red strap suspiciously poking out of the door is actually a handle that you pull to activate. Adjusting the seat is all manual work — every extra electric anything would just add weight.  YouÂ’ll quickly learn that thereÂ’s a reason carpeting is the floor material of choice for every car out there, as the optional $4,600 carbon fiber floor mats optioned on this STO make for a SlipÂ’N Slide-themed pedal box. It can be acclimated to (your shoe choice has never mattered more), but good old-fashioned carpeting canÂ’t be beat. Everyday functionality was the last thing on LamborghiniÂ’s mind when creating the STO, though. One quick look at the rearview mirror makes this abundantly clear. While youÂ’ll see flashes of trailing traffic in between the louvers of the STOÂ’s engine cover, this design largely limits rearward visibility to the side mirrors. And before you ask, no, it doesnÂ’t have blind-spot warning.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler: Ducati is not for sale

"Ducati is not for sale." Those words, attributed to Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, are about as clear and definitive as can be, and they reiterate a previous statement about the potential sale of the premium Italian motorcycle brand that was made in March of this year. "[Ducati and Lamborghini] belong to Audi and, together with us, have an excellent future," said Stadler. Thing is, Audi, as well-off and established as it may be, still falls under the Volkswagen umbrella. And, as you're surely aware, things haven't exactly been smooth sailing for the VW Group over the last several months. The German automaker has squirreled away billions of dollars in anticipation of the legal fallout that's sure to come from the falsification of vehicle emissions data, and that's going to leave the company strapped for cash. All of that bad news led to speculation that VW could sell off some of its non-core businesses. What of the future of the Scania and Man heavy truck brands? Those don't currently appear to be on the auction block, either. VW's continued involvement in the HD truck segment was announced as part of the brand's TOGETHER - Strategy 2025 plan, in which Volkswagen outlined plans to push further into vehicle electrification and vehicle autonomy. Related Video: News Source: Asphalt & RubberImage Credit: Malte Christians/AFP/Getty Earnings/Financials Audi Lamborghini Volkswagen Motorcycle Performance Ducati Scania

Lamborghini Veneno makes North American debut

Love it or hate it, the Lamborghini Veneno is an incredible - and incredibly rare - car. With Lamborghini committed to building just three examples of the Veneno, it's very likely that we'll only ever see this pre-production show car in our lifetime.
That doesn't mean we'll be any less excited about laying our eyes on this fine example of the world's most-expensive production car, which we recently did as the Veneno made its US debut at the Quail Motorsports Gathering. Now that we see it again, it might look even better under the California sun than it did the last time we saw it under the bright lights of the Geneva Motor Show. Now, if we could just find the keys...