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Lamborghini reveals Aventador Nazionale in Beijing

Special editions have proven themselves a great way for high-end automakers to get a little bit more for their wares, but they appear to be gradually being taken over by personalization programs that allow customers to order their exotic new wheels just as they want them. After all, what's the point in ordering a special color scheme someone else has chosen when you can choose it yourself, with special wheels and interior upholstery to match?
Lamborghini has just such a program. It's called Ad Personam, and like the customization catalogs offered by other automakers, it allows its clients to specify any range of stylistic parameters to suit their own taste. To showcase the program, Lamborghini brought a customized Aventador to the Beijing Motor Show. Called the Nazionale edition, it's got a white paintjob with tricolore racing stripes up the hood, anthracite wheels, and a blue leather interior.
It's similar to the Gallardo Tricolore that rolled out of Sant'Agata three years ago - the kind of treatment we'd otherwise call a special edition, but despite carrying a different name, it just goes to show the possibilities Lamborghini offers it customers. For the right price, of course.

2006 Lamborghini Concept S split-cockpit Gallardo heads to auction yet again

Many Lamborghini concepts are completely wild, but the 2006 Lamborghini Concept S is unique in that it's totally wild but also somewhat practical. The practical part comes from the fact that it's effectively a Lamborghini Gallardo, but with a split cockpit and speedster shape. According to RM Sotheby's, which is selling the car, there were plans to build 100 of them for special customers, but that never happened. So this is your only chance to own this speedster. The concept's Gallardo bones are obvious. Most of the lower body is the same as a production Gallardo, with slightly different grille openings. But the complete lack of a roof, the vestigial nubs of windscreens and angular roll hoops transform the car. From the side, it's about the wedge-iest Lamborghini of all time. The split cockpit is also extreme, and it's accomplished by placing a beam between the driver and passenger seats. Mechanically, it's about the same as a regular Gallardo. In the middle is a V10 bumped up to 520 horsepower coupled to the Gallardo's E-Gear automated manual transmission and all-wheel drive. It would have been cool if Lamborghini had fitted the regular six-speed manual and its lovely gated shifter, but we suppose they didn't want drivers whacking their hands and arms into that center beam to shift. This car has less than 125 miles on the clock, which is remarkable, if also a little sad. It has also been shown at Pebble Beach twice. No price estimate has been given, though when RM Sotheby's offered at an auction in 2015, the company expected upwards of $3 million for the car. It goes across the block at the RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi auction on November 30.

Lamborghini Huracan could become an 850-hp PHEV next year

So far, Lamborghini is celebrating 2022 with record sales and odes to the internal combustion engine thanks to a raft of special editions. The Italian automaker's plunge into electrification starts next year with the next-generation Huracan and its plug-in hybrid powertrain. Lamborghini's head of research and development said, "The engine will be bespoke for Lamborghini. On the final details we can’t yet communicate this, but I would say more than six and less than 12 cylinders for the combustion engine." The easy (well, easier...) option would be to tweak one of the Volkswagen Group's twin-turbo V8s to work with a pair or trio of electric motors. Auto Express says its sources suggest two bits of intel on that engine, the first being that it could be an in-house design "not sourced from VW Group," the second that combined output might exceed 850 horsepower. Such a theoretical coupe would be 169 horses more potent than the Huracan STO and easily satisfy Mohr's assertion that the new generation "from the performance point of view ... will again be a big step." Lamborghini is spending $1.8 billion on its path to an electric future. It's possible the firm could take part of that money to develop a V8 for itself, instantly setting itself apart from the other high-dollar brands in the VW Group. Naturally, we'd love to see that, or even a hybrid V10; what a monster that could be, although heavy, and engineers have been clear about waging a war against weight. The Wolfsburg parent is known to be a huge fan of scale, though, and a V8 or V10 that only serves two vehicles — the Aventador will continue with a V12 even as a plug-in hybrid — seems like a stretch to get approval. Parsing this also depends on how the automaker could define "in-house design." We've seen massively revised engines built around an existing block considered "all-new." The Huracan could debut as soon as next year, one year ahead of the automaker's commitment to electrifying the whole three-car lineup. Autocar says that looking ahead from there, we'll finally get eyes on the battery-electric Lamborghini in 2028. Last year, the predicted window was sometime between 2025 and 2027, and an interview with Lamborghini chief Stephan Winkelmann has clarified a few bits.