2013 Lamborghini Gallardo Lp560-2 50th Anniversario on 2040-cars

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5 highlights from the 2018 Petersen Automotive Museum Auction

From the avant garde exterior design to the collection of vehicles between the walls, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is one of the coolest car museums in the U.S., and possibly the world. Among several others, the Petersen has two featured exhibits, The Porsche Effect and Legends of L.A. But the museum has a different type of viewing coming up at which you could touch, or even buy, a variety of special vehicles. After hosting its SoCal auction on the coast in Santa Monica for several years, RM Sotheby's has moved the event to the more central location of the museum. In addition to several works of art, the auction which takes place the weekend of December 7, will show several dozens of blue-chip vehicles, chosen by RM Sotheby's 30 car specialists. After sorting through lots that range from microcars to new-age supercars, here are five of the highlights that caught our eyes. 1956 Ferrari 290 MM by Scaglietti Projected Value: $22,000,000-$26,000,000 Without question, this is the crown jewel of the entire show. As the eldest and most experienced of the 11 total Ferrari lots, its estimated value of $26 million is more than five times the values of the other five cars listed below combined. From the jump, Ferrari threw the 290 into the line of fire. Starting its life with a four-cylinder 860 Monza engine and a Tipo 520 chassis, its first race was the Mille Miglia. Peter Collins was behind the wheel and racing photographer Louis Klemantaski was his copilot. Ferrari took the top five spots in the race, with this car, chassis No. 0628, finishing second. It went on to see multiple races and took on multiple forms, including a V12 swap at one point. After switching through the hands of multiple owners, it was sent to Ferrari Classiche in Maranello, where it was restored to its form at the time of the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring. It retains its original chassis, original bodywork, and original transmission, and houses the V12 from its 290 MM spec. The restoration was completed in 2015, and the car remains in incredible shape today. 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Bertone Projected Value: $2,100,000-$2,500,000 Simply put, the Miura is one of the most significant supercars, and therefore one of the most important cars, of all time. Its two-seat, mid-engined configuration seismically shifted what a performance could and should look like, and its V12 gave it the power to be the fastest car in the world when it debuted.

VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini

It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.

Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision GT a real-life hypercar waiting to happen

During the World Finals of the 2019 FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships held over the weekend in Monaco, Mazda showed a sketch of the RX-Vision GT3 concept coming to Gran Turismo Sport next year. Lamborghini went further, not only revealing artwork of its future playable concept, the Lambo V12 Vision GT, but also parking a full-scale model of the concept on the gaming floor. Yes, Lamborghini Lambo V12 is a quixotic kind of name that takes us back to Ferrari LaFerrari, however, everything else about the jet-fighter-inspired single-seater has us looking to the future. Instead of the Roboracer, Formula E should put together a one-make series with these.   Designed by Lamborghini Centro Stile, the Lambo V12 is a cockpit with outrigger wheels, every one of the minimal surfaces designed to purposefully shunt air around the car to the Y-shaped rear wing. The hexagonal windows extending below the shoulder line are inspired by Marcello Gandini's 1968 Marzal concept. The shoulder defines the base of a rear-hinged canopy that extends to the Lambo V12's leading edge; according to the sketch, when the canopy is raised, even the pedal box is visible as it sits above the beltline. The primary controls are on the steering wheel, all information projected in the heads-up display. Behind the pilot, the 808-horsepoewer hybrid V12 powertrain from the limited-edition Sian FKP 37. Chief designer Mitja Borkert told Top Gear the math shows the Lambo V12 weighs 819 kilograms, which would rather nicely deliver a one-to-one power-to-weight ratio — in metric horsepower and pixels, at least. Even better for gamers, the car will apparently provide "intelligent, context-sensitive advice from one of the factory drivers." Even better for those driving on real roads — and who can afford such things — Borkert said he could see the holographic display a real-world item within the next decade. The Lambo V12 will appear in-game come spring 2020 after the design team makes its final revisions. We hope there are night races so the streaker can show off its light signatures. And we hope Lamborghini makes a run of 63 track-only examples, because they'll sell at any price.