All Entries in the "LAMBORGHINI" Category
Whoddunit: Lamborghini or Motorcycle?
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: YouTube ::: Lamborghini Impounded By UK Police
THERE seems to be some debate on YouTube: which vehicle revved loud and high to draw the ire of London’s finest?
The pink Lamborghini Murcielago, following another Lamborghini and a Koenigsegg, was the immediate suspect and, apparently, the police impounded the car following the video.
But was it the two motorcycles in front of Lambo, whose high pitched pipes could to untrained ears (or through bad YouTube compression) be confused with the high strung wails of a Lamborghini V12? YouTube commentators seem split on the matter.
Either way, impounding any vehicle just for revving – on the first warning - seems like excessive use of force. So, we report and you decide. Props to those who can identify the make/model of the motorcycles in question.
PR: Lamborghini On A Multifront Grab For Your Attention
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img ADLX ::: Lamborghini Press
JANUARY might as well be Lamborghini month. Alright, that might be a slight exaggeration. But perusing the racks at the local Borders, yours was stunned to find that the coverage of the Bull from Sant’Agata is getting is enough to rattle a few china shops. Pardon the sloppy pun but don’t pardon me for being somewhat awed by dual Countach features (same models, same Alpine roads) in February issues of rival car mags Octane and Classic & Sports Car. Plus, Automobile carried the scoop on the next Lamborghini supercar – the Aventador. What to make of all this press on one little sports car maker? Nothing other than to say, grazie, grazie mille.
Weighing The Benefits Of A Four Door Lamborghini
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Lamborghini ::: 2008 Lamborghini Estoque Concept
THINKING back, in some ways Lamborghini was a pioneer before much of the luxury car industry. The late 80s LM002, Italy’s Humvee (before there was a Humvee) was a veritable M11-of-an-SUV stuffed with the Countach’s 5167 cc, 7.2L V12. In the LM002, it made 600 horsepower.
Between 1986-1993 Lamborghini sold just 301 units making the ute probably the rarest SUV this side of the Popemobile. Was the LM002 good for Lamborghini’s “brand”? And more to the moment, will a Lamborghini sedan?
Exotica Bacchanalia: SuperCarRoadTrips II
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: IMG R.D. Wolf for ADLX ::: Super Car Road Trips 2010
WITH more than one hundred exotics present at Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut and $10,000 raised for the Make A Wish Foundation, this September marked the second annual SuperCarRoadTrips rally.
From what I hear, the rally at one of the world’s largest casinos outdid the last year’s in both attendance and participation. Kudos to all involved and SuperCarRoadTrips founder Manolis Christo, in particular.
Luckily for us, our eye on the ground was the able Richard Wolf – a man whose keen eye couples with a clear discernment for separating the vehicular wheat from the chaffe.
What follows is a small sampling of the cars he witnessed two Sundays ago. Enjoy!
Bertone cool: the Lamborghini Espada.
GT40 Redux: Ford GT.
Go on then, step inside…
No exotic rally is complete without the Lamborghini Countach.
It was a Lambo fest, to be sure. Lamborghini of Boston had official event representation. And this black Gallardo didn’t disappoint!
They weren’t all Lamborghinis of course, as evidenced by this marvelous Ferrari 550 and a wonderfully familiar 348 TS Speciale in the background.
Giugaro’s perennial Lotus Esprit. Hot.
Anyone care to hazard a guess?
Exotica bacchanalia.
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.
