All Entries in the "LAMBORGHINI" Category
Eye on Design: Lambo/Ferrari Role Reversal?
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: Ferrari v. Lamborghini
RICHARD Wolf and I have been having a discussion lately on Italian car design.
Loyal to his E39 generation frosty blue M5, Richard’s quick to call a spade what it is and even quicker to pounce on what he sees as bad design. When his baby was in the shop for cosmetic touch ups recently, he shared his displeasure in having to bear the weight of driving a retrotastic Dodge Challenger, “the essence of cheap,” he said.
Sorry to confirm, he was right about the Challenger.
And he’s right about what he sees as the trend in Lamborghini and Ferrari design. To Richard’s keen eye, it seems the two car makers have switched roles. Thirty years ago, the Lamborghini Countach was wild and wildly flamboyant to its core. Complicated, over-the-top design that was more provocative than beautiful was Lambo’s raison d’être. NACA ducts met Stealth bomber wings. It’s as though Lambo had an inside guy in the US Airforce.
Ferrari, on the other hand, was the quintessence of restraint. Symphonic, yet subtle curves were the Boxer’s forte. And even the wild Testarossa made certain geometric sense in its iconic horizontal air slats and gently wedged profile. Ferrari was wild, yet paradoxically the more conservative of the two exotics.
Today, German management at Lamborghini has rerouted and trained the raging bull on being both sharp, clean, almost too efficient. Consider the Gallardo, a masterpiece of minimalist edge and clean surfacing. Ditto for the Murcielago and even the wildly imaginative Reventon – whose cleaved angles are all brilliantly purposed.
Ferrari on the other hand has grown fat- as if overly content with its own largesse. No longer lean, contemporary Ferraris seem like heavier GTs that are taking an ungainly focus on creature comforts. Taking their eyes off the prize as it were, the classically beautiful lines are gone for bold but ultimately tone deaf styling cliches.
It’s as though Maranello’s external sheetmetal seems oddly at the mercy of wind tunnel shaping and the whims of auto stylists who’ve abandoned taste.
The “low-cost” California is emblematic of this shaky route to excess at the expense of beauty. It’s high, fussy boot with vertical quad exhausts recalls not so much Ferrari as it does Fiat.
In another thirty years, if we’re still driving exotics, it’ll be interesting to note whether Ferrari and Lamborghini maintain their current trends. For now, we have to marvel at the role reversal.
Lambo Reventon Roadster Trailer: Rolls Your Dice, Takes Your Chances
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: Lamborghini Reventon Roadster
THERE’S a lot of chatter in this official Lamborghini Reventon Roadster trailer about chances – as in the odds.
For example, if you had a child the odds are 1: 80,000 that your baby would grow to be a Nobel Prize winner. Makes you think that the Nobel committee must be giving those medals away left and right!
Another example, your odds of being struck and killed by a meteorite – 1: 100,000,000.
And drum roll, your chances of owning a Reventon Roadster? Anyone? Let’s just say, the undercurrent here is exclusivity.
Si! Si! Si! Thrilling Lambo V12 Music via YouTube
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: Lamborghini Countach video
GOT ear phones? Good. Now plug them in, crank the volume, and have a listen to strident Lamborghini V12 music as orchestrated through Kriesseig F1 pipes. Spec-tacular!
Read: Velocity Supercar Revolution
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Motorbooks ::: Velocity Supercar Revolution
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but stop it.”
This imperative suggests a desist notice to any number of, um, wanton activities. But in this instance which Road & Track alumnus John Lamm retells in Velocity Supercar Revolution, it was a state cop telling one of R&T’s editors to quit playing with a Lamborghini Countach on public roads.
Kill joy.
This one tale encapsulates what Mr. Lamm’s bold hardcover’s all about – the stories behind the very supercars that so many of have come to idolize through the years.
In Velocity Supercar Revolution, designers, collectors, industrialists, and, of course, journalists all weigh in on the most elaborate and impractical autos of the post war era – from the 70s Maserati Bora to the 2006 Z06 Vette and much rolling stock in between.
Chris Bangle even offers his two cents.
On page 19, Jay Leno shares one harrowing account of an afternoon with his Lamborghini Miura.
“I was driving my Miura one day and I looked in the rearview mirror and I go, ‘It’s raining…damn.’ Then I looked out the front and it’s not raining the front. I realized what had happened was that one of the carburetor hoses had popped off and was spraying the rear window with gas. I pulled over, opened the back and heard ‘ping…ping…ping’ as gas hit the exhaust manifold. All I’ve got is this stupid little Haylon fire extinguisher. Luckily the car didn’t start on fire. People just don’t have those sorts of adventures anymore.”
Mr. Lamm threads a narrative from the 70s to the 80s, 90s, and 2000s that points to a special few car manufacturers who’ve been at pains to outdo themselves all these years.
Velocity Supercar Revolution, shows not so much a revolution but an evolution as top speeds, 0-60s, and world records are broken with each succeeding decade.
Considering the years of environmental lobbying and economic crises, that these wildly flamboyant, utterly impracticable, but ultimately special cars inhabit the same democratic asphalt as the world’s Highway Patrol officers, stands as the real revolution.
Velocity Supercar Revolution by John Lamm. Published by Motorbooks.
Ed. note: Motorbooks provided the writer (yours truly) with a copy of this text.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? Exotics @ Foxwoods
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Phil Dunphy for ADLX
LET’S see: how to compliment a mostly male gathering of one hundred sports cars at Foxwoods Casino to raise awareness for the ongoing battle against breast cancer?
Well, aside from lunch at the Hard Rock, a crisp autumnal road trip through scenic New London County, Conn. there were some other visual flourishes that added value to the event. Our man Phil catelogues them nicely with his camera.
Decisions, decisions: Lamborghini edge or Ferrari curve?
The rally was set against the world’s largest casino. A colorful backdrop, to be sure.
Models advertising Private Jet Charters were on call that morning.
Apparently, the pain of standing in heels got to more than a few as the morning wore on.
They persevered, nonetheless.
As did the event’s planner, Manolis Christo.
Color coordination was a recurring theme…
…as you might’ve guessed.
For one, Bumble Bee from Transformers blended well in Camaro yellow.
Getting ready to rally.
FerrariChat.com member Lane Baker coordinates route plans. No speeding!
A tall order considering the old rivalries represented here.
But then again, not too tall an order. One hundred cars on Connecticut backroads creates its own special kind of traffic.
Much to some local’s apparent appreciation.
Super Car Rally @ Foxwoods
HOW could it be that whilst on the grounds of the world’s largest casino – so large it’s said that Foxwoods’ annual intake would account for 20% of Las Vegas’ gross winnings – that yours couldn’t find the time to gamble?
Not a penny slot. Not a quick turn at the roulette table. Not a few numbers in the bingo hall. Nada.
No matter, I had good cause for distraction. The best actually.
In what may go down in the history books as one of Connecticut’s largest informal gatherings of exotic cars, last Sunday SuperCarRoadTrips.com founder Manolis Christo with the help of some very enthusiastic sports car enthusiasts organized a rally spectacular that drew Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Lotuses, Maseratis, and the odd Pantera and McLaren SLR from across the land (or southern New England, to be more geo specific).
It was an astounding sight. Foxwoods hosted. And the Hard Rock Cafe’s Pinktober charity partnered with SuperCarRoadTrips.com in an effort to raise some awareness and support for Breast Cancer. Drivers were offered a prix-fixe $17 a head lunch at the restaurant onsite.
There were plenty of side shows. A man who seemed a little down with his lot in life showed up as Bumble Bee from Transformers providing a funny, if melancholic distraction while a team of models from 80’s fashion label Jordache posed in front of a brilliant, tutto rosso F40.
Local car dealer extraordinaire Herb Chambers made an entrance in his own, particularly rare Ferrari 275 GTB*.
The event provided for another impromptu opportunity: the reunion of none other than our very own BMW Enthusiast Trio Hardy Drackett, Newt Clark, and Richard Wolf.
The air was thick with emotion.
Of course it wouldn’t have been a true exotic rally without the requisite Sunkist yellow Italian contingent.
As well as a smart, lean = mean set of road-legal roadsters from LotusTalk.com.
There was, however, a paucity of Porsches. And somewhere else that lovely morning, stewed a bevy of bruised egos. Apparently, more than a few German car registrant hopefuls were turned down. This led to sniping in some quarters: if so ‘n so’s Porsche got rejected from taking part in the rally, then why did that Mustang or that Infiniti get accepted?
It was an Italian party, gentlemen.
Manolis, the event-planner-in-chief recently did a reverse-Clarkson and traded in his AMG SL Benz for a Ferrari F355 Spider. Not that he had a moment to enjoy his car on Sunday.
In a subsequent email, Manolis expounded a little bit on what SuperCarRoadTrips.com was really about:
“[SuperCarRoadTrips.com] packages the best possible roads and social venues in the form of well organized events,” he wrote. “I seek to attain the premiere exotic car club for the North East. The twist being that it’s free to its members and comprised of a variety of exotic car makes.”
Luckily, the owner of this Mercedes McLaren SLR made the cut.
As did our Uncle Richo’s legendaryE39 M5.
Following an hour’s jaunt through southeastern Connecticut which included Mystic seaport, the procession of prancing horses and glistening tridents made its way back to Foxwoods.
Event planner Lane Baker, a mildly stressed 348 Ferrari owner from FerrariChat.com, was elated that the rally went off more or less hitchless. At least on his watch.
It was with not a moment too soon, then, that after a morning of gawking at exotics and parading around New London County the party segued inside to Shrine Lounge at the MGM Grand.
In a final twist in events, clothing designer Andy Jacques provided a sartorial cap to the day with a brief fashion show showcasing his own singular brand of couture based on sports car themes.
Karl Lagerfeld probably won’t call, but the display was lively and well received.
Meravigliosa!
___
*Corrected
eBay Watch: 1989 Lamborghini Countach
Avanti!
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG eBay
ESPOUSING the very essence of a supercar – hell, didn’t Lamborghini coin the term? – the Countach’s unchecked exuberance was and is like nothing else on the road.
The 70’s and 80’s Lambos were so edgy that you can almost see Marcello Gandini at the drafting table gazing down at his old Miura design and then in the corner of his eye finding sudden inspiration in a nearby protactor and pair of scissors.
Or, to stir some conspiracy theorists from an August’s slumber, could it have been that Sr. Gandini and the Bertone design team used some back channel NATO connection to get the low down on the US Air Force’s then-secret F-117 Night Hawk?
Considering both vessels’ low profiles, trapezoidal planed surfaces, and rectangular ducts, it’s an easy parallel to draw.
Whatever the case, like the now retired stealth fighter, the Lamborghini Countach seems at once dated and hyper advanced in its visual appeal. Like a some spaceship from Tron, this 25th Anniversary ship comes in villain black powered by the 5.2 liter V12 that put the Ferrari Testarossa on notice.
Having said that, with a buy-it-now price of $114,900, you could nearly buy two Testarossas for the price of this one Countach (or buy one have the rest for the fix-it fund).
But who said edgy futurist flamboyance comes cheap. Even 20 years on.
[Linked: eBay]
GarageCurrent’s Ye Olde Candy Shoppe
Garage Current’s showroom fresh 500SL Benz.
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG GarageCurrent.com
WHAT’S the Japanese for “Yum” anyway?
I can’t help but want everything in Garage Current’s showroom. The Yokohama based car dealer specializes in selling previously enjoyed -* MINT * – Teutonic (mostly) grand tourers turned recent classics. Each car is presented in immaculate form with a full history for the connoisseur.
Drool with me over the following:
Grey over black 1992 500E with 5,100 km and …
Flawless interior.
Charcoal over black 1990 560SEL with …gulp… 4,700km plus…
5540cc V8.
1992 Porsche 911 in electric blue on black with 87,900 km.
Behold the metallic might of Porsche brakes!
2005 G55 AMG in white over charcoal with 31,500 km.
And COMAND-ing view.
And for good measure – 2005 Lamborghini Gallardo in shock therapy blue over…
midlife crisis blue/yellow.
Yum! Like I said, I take the whole showroom. Thanks.
