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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.

Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce strips down, powers up [w/video]

"I hope the sun doesn't shine today." "I'm good-looking enough." "What the Aventador really needs is more power." There are some words that are seldom if ever spoken, but then there are some people who aren't inclined to listen to them. And we're glad that a growing number of 'em work for Lamborghini. Because without them, we wouldn't have beautiful monstrosities like the new Aventador SV, presented for the first time at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. It's actually called the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, but that's a mouthful and a half of spaghetti bolognese, so everyone will be calling it SV for short. But whatever you want to call it, it promises to be fast. Like, time-warpingly fast. The tinkerers in Sant'Agata have managed to squeeze 740 horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque out of the Aventador's already high-strung 6.5-liter V12. Unburdened by 110 pounds of excess weight, with an increase in downforce by 170 percent, a retuned suspension, a variable steering rack and new carbon-ceramic brakes, the Aventador SV is slated to run to 62 in 2.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 217 miles per hour. Which nobody needs, of course, but when was a Lamborghini ever about meeting needs as much as desires?

Performance cars old and new are headed to auction at Las Vegas Grand Prix

Auction house RM Sotheby's is hosting a sale ahead of the 2023 Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix, and most of the lots that will cross the block were designed with performance in mind. Whether you want a supercar or a Formula One car, there's a chance you'll find it in Sin City. One of the highlights from the sale in terms of rarity and price is the Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 that Lewis Hamilton drove in the 2013 F1 season. Assigned chassis number F1W04-04, it's the team's last car powered by a naturally-aspirated V8 engine, and you're on the wrong track if you're thinking of the 4.0-liter unit that powers AMG's road cars. The engine in question is a 2.4-liter unit that develops 750 horsepower and is capable of revving to a screaming 18,000 rpm. The KERS system injects 80 additional horses into the driveline. Hamilton drove F1W04-04 in 14 of the 2013 season's 19 races, and he won that year's Hungarian Grand Prix in the car. RM Sotheby's notes that F1W04-04 is "the sole example to be sold outside of the Mercedes-Benz organization," which explains why it expects the car will sell for anywhere between $10 million and $15 million excluding the buyer's fee and a 2.5% import duty that applies to American residents. That's a lot of money, but modern Formula One cars rarely come up for sale. Several other cars are expected to sell above the $1 million mark, including a 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR ($8 million to $9 million), a 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort ($1,650,000 to $1,850,000), and a 1996 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport ($2,500,000 to $3,250,000). The 1990 Ferrari F40 GT (one of 21 units built) could bring up to $4 million. You can take home a rare, high-end classic even if you cap your budget at $1 million. How about a 1984 Lamborghini Countach 5000 S that was delivered new to Ralph Lauren and that has been in the hands of its second owner since 1986? RM expects the coupe will sell for up to $900,000. The auction house is also giving enthusiasts two distinctly different ways to spend a six-digit sum on a 30-something-year-old Mercedes-Benz. There's a 1990 190E 2.5-16 Evolution with about 3,400 original miles that could fetch up to $700,000. That's a lot to pay for a W201, but this isn't a run-of-the-mill Baby Benz: It's one of 502 examples built for homologation purposes. Alternatively, the 1989 560SEC AMG 6.0 Wide-Body could sell for up to $900,000. It's one of the most emblematic cars designed by AMG before it joined Mercedes-Benz.