2009 Lamborghini Murcielago Lp640 Coupe 2-door 6.5l V12 on 2040-cars

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Texas man gets prison for buying Lamborghini with Covid funds

A Texas man who spent coronavirus relief funds to feel a little less bored during lockdown is staring down a nine-year prison term after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Lee Price III finagled more than $1.6 million in low-interest relief loans, the Associated Press reports, which he spent to pay off a mortgage and buy a couple of cars: an $85,000 Ford F-350 and and Lamborghini Urus.  According to the Houston Chronicle, Price's scheme involved funneling a little under $1 million through each of two of his businesses (Price Enterprises Holdings and 713 Construction), both of which Price claimed had large payrolls that needed to be covered using emergency funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). While these were ostensibly loans, they were structured to be forgiven if the funds were distributed within 10 calendar days and the borrower applied for forgiveness within 10 months of taking the loan. Provided those criteria were met, it was essentially free money to cover payroll. Price's employees, however, did not exist.   You'll be forgiven for thinking you've heard this story before. Coronavirus really seemed to bring out the Lamborghini fans. A California man was accused of adding one to his garage (along with a Ferrari and Bentley) and plead not guilty earlier this year to charges that he scammed more than $5 million from the PPP. Last year, a Florida man's scheme to defraud the same program was undone by a hit-and-run accident in the blue Lamborghini Huracan Evo he bought with the proceeds. 

1996 Zagato Raptor concept is a lighter Lamborghini Diablo VT and is up for sale

It's hard to out-do Lamborghini when it comes to design, but when Lamborghini partnered with Zagato on a concept car, that's just what happened. The 1996 Zagato Raptor concept was the result, and it was even planned for production. That never happened, but you'll be able to own the lone concept as it's going to be sold by RM Sotheby's. According to the auction house, the Zagato Raptor was developed as a stop-gap model between the Diablo and its proposed successor, the Canto, another stillborn design that gave way to the Murcielago. The car is distinctly more rounded than the wedge-like Diablo, but it's no less wild with its wide haunches, sci-fi taillight bar, and aggressive roof scoop. The party piece, though is the huge tilting canopy for access, which also featured a removable targa roof. The design process and its materials were impressive, too, as the car was completely designed on computers, and went from idea to complete car in just four months. The entire body was made of carbon fiber, too, and that made it about 660 pounds lighter than a Diablo. Some of the weight savings also came from the fact that it lacked the traction control and ABS that came with a Diablo. The Raptor naturally was quick as it shared the Diablo's 6.7-liter V12 and the Diablo VT's 6-speed manual gearbox and all-wheel drive. It could hit 60 mph in under 4 seconds. The car has led a fairly reclusive life following its debut at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show. It's last public appearance was at the Pebble Beach Concours back in 2008. As such, RM Sotheby's recommends a thorough mechanical refresh before doing much driving with it. As a show car, don't expect it to register it for street use, but we're sure it would be fun on private courses. The auction house didn't provide any pre-sale price estimate, though it probably won't go cheap. If you're interested, it will cross the block at the RM Sotheby's Abu Dhabi auction on November 30.

A new Lamborghini Countach is coming soon

Update: We received a tip in email that somebody posted an image online from Lamborghini's customer-only app, Lamborghini Unica. It reveals a teaser image of the Countach LPI 800-4 not previously made available to the public. The Instagram post also reveals that the Countach will be revealed during Monterey Car Week on August 15. The "LPI" moniker is the giveaway that this car will be a hybrid, as Lamborghini has used that term on the hybrid Asterion LPI 910-4 Concept. We also expect it to make 800 PS, which is about 789 horsepower. The "4" refers to it being all-wheel drive. You can check out the Instagram post and teaser photo below. It reveals the vents mounted on the side window and the vented intake behind it. Below this, we see what appears to be a gas cap. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The original post continues below. Lamborghini just announced that a new Countach is coming. Let us repeat. Lamborghini just announced that a new Countach is coming! OK. Let that soak in for a few seconds, or minutes, however long it takes. We’re a bit shocked over here, too. ThereÂ’s one teaser image to go off of, and Lamborghini hasnÂ’t let loose any details beyond giving us the name. You can see the car under a car cover and shrouded by haze in the photo above. However, thereÂ’s a video thatÂ’s been posted to Twitter that you can watch below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We get some great engine noises, and the new Countach appears to be parked a long way away from the camera at the end of the video. It appears to be painted white, but thatÂ’s all we can tell about it from that distance. ThereÂ’s no doubt that Lamborghini is leaning heavily into nostalgic feelings, as you see original Countach posters pinned up to a kidÂ’s room in the video. Lamborghini seems intent on recapturing that wild, exotic magic that the old Countach brought to the supercar landscape. It's tough to say what the styling will be like besides being a wedge like most Lambos. It could be a very retro design, sort of like the Miura concept from over a decade ago. It could also be a thoroughly modern Lamborghini design that happens to have a classic nameplate attached. For what it's worth, Lamborghini's design boss seemed to be against anything overtly retro as of a few years ago.