Italian auto industry rocked by earthquake.

Northern Italy was rocked by yet another earthquake today. One that has literally shut down the Italian auto industry. At least for the next couple of days. The quake was centered about 40 kilometers north of Bologna Italy. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati, and Maserati all are either headquartered or have factories in that area. So far, Maserati is the only manufacturer that is showing damage at their factory. All have ceased operations for the day to allow workers to go home and be with their families. Details are still emerging, so we will keep you posted on this as more details come out.

Source: Autoblog.

2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 - Everything You Ever Wanted

Brutal power, outstanding lightweight body frame and phenomenal handling are combined with peerless design and the very finest equipment to deliver an unparalleled driving experience. What more can you ask for from Lamborghini, the Avendor LP-700-4 will leave you speechless, because this is the maximum power you are going to get. With 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds.

Engine and Transmission
Power hp at RPM: 700 hp at 8250 Rpm
Torque lb-ft at RPM: 509 lb-ft torque at 5500 RPM


Performance
0-60 mph: 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 217 mph

Lamborghini Hybrid Coming in 2015

Lamborghini Hybrid is promised to be coming by 2015, with either a V10 or V12, No reports on

MPG but doesn't seem that they are even looking at that considering it will either be a v10 or v12.

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5 Things Your Car Should Say About You

A car speaks volumes about its owner.

A top Mercedes talks of a high powered and driven individual. A boy racer cover in stickers suggests learning difficulties.

You don’t have to own the most expensive car on the road, but here are five qualities your ride should say about you.

Style

A great looking car is like a beautiful woman. They turn heads and make every guy in the room (or in this case on the road) jealous with envy.

But it all comes to nothing if the man behind the wheel is unshaven and doesn’t use an iron, let alone own one.

Looking after your appearances doesn’t take much effort and the results are huge. Not only do you feel more confident as a person, everyone around you will respect you for it.

Power

A powerful car is going places, and so is the owner.

There is something incredibly exciting about powerful cars. Maybe it’s the roar of the engine, or the knowledge that putting your foot down will leave those around you in the dust.

Being powerful, and being around powerful people, is a thrilling experience. Powerful people are normally confident risk takers and prove to be very interesting company.

Fill your life with proactive people who are constantly empowering themselves and you’ll find that, as a person, you will grow considerably. They will challenge and test you, and you’ll be all the better for it.

Integrity

The most important quality of any car is the knowledge that every time you turn the key, the engine will start.

There is nothing more stressful or irritating then an unreliable car, the same goes for people.

If people know you will deliver on your promises time and time again they will love you for it.

Having integrity is important in all walks of life, from your career to your relationships and down to the knowledge that at the end of the day you can rely on yourself.

Confidence

Some cars just ooze confidence.

They’re powerful, stylish, over deliver every time and they dam well know it.

Being confident is such an admired trait, because it is so rare. Confident people are 1 in a 100 and they often provoke jealosy and admiration because they have something that everyone wants, yet is in such short supply.

No matter your job or income, if you know that you’re a good a person who tries to better themselves on a regular basis, you have every right to be confident.

Ambition

The mark of every great car, and person, is ambition.

Both are willing to take risks, try something new and push themselves to the limit.

They are often goal orientated, driven and know what they want from life.

This doesn’t necessarily mean being the fastest car on the road or climbing the corporate ladder. It means you are willing to push yourself, be constantly learning and stick to your beliefs.

In many ways without ambition, all of the other qualities listed here, will suffer.

McLaren MP4-12C 0-60mph Reported to be Under 3 Seconds

The performance of the McLaren MP4-12C have finally been unveiled, and boy does it look like Ferrari and Lamborghini amd all the rest of the supercar makers will have some hard competition from McLaren. Look at the performance numbers for the MP4:

• 0-60 mph in under 3 seconds (said to be 2.8 seconds)
• 0-125 mph in under 10 seconds
• Curb weight: 2,870 lbs — lighter than the Ferrari 458 Italia or the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4.
• 3.8-liter V8
• 600 HP — highest HP to CO2 ratio in the world.
• Top speed: 230 mph

Pagani Zonda R: A $1.8 Million Farewell Party

As the finale in the Zonda line, the Pagani Zonda R brings the heat with a 739 HP 6.0-liter V12, weight chopped down to 2,360 pounds and a 0-to-60 time of three seconds.

It's been a good run, the Pogani Zonda has stoked many a supercar fantasy and plasters the walls of garages and bedrooms everywhere, but all good things must come to an end. The Zonda R is that end and the Zonda is not fading quietly into history. Everything gets turned up to eleven with this final model, 739 HP 6.0-liter V12, 0-to-60 times of three seconds, and a blistering top speed of 233 MPH.

The car also spares no expense, wearing top shelf parts made of titanium and carbon fiber, and the price shows. Only 15 Zonda R's will be available to the public for a mind-blowing $1.8 million, and they're building one extra to keep at the factory. Guess if you're going to go out, you go out big.

Geneva 2011: Sbarro's Evoluzione vs. Lamborghini

This year at the Geneva Motor Show, Espera Sbarro design school, has made a cool car for us. Just for show, 25 students made a car in thirteen weeks. Took a 180 hp engine from an Audi. They called the car 'the Evoluzione".

Fastest Cars 0 to 60 mph

This is a list of cars that reach 0-60 in the fastest time. No surprise Bugatti is on top of the list!

Bugatti Veyron
0 to 60: 2.6 seconds
Price: $1,500,000
Four Turbos!

Lamborghini LP670-4 Superveloce
0 to 60: 3.11 seconds
Price: TBA
Fastest Lamborghini yet

Koenigsegg CCX
0 to 60: 3.14 seconds
Price: $912,397
Boasts a top speed of 245mph.

Nissan Skyline GT-R
0 to 60: 3.41 seconds
Price: $76,840
Best value for your buck.

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
0 to 60: 3.45 seconds
Price: $106,520
This is the fastest American production car ever produced, and its at $100k.

Ferrari F430 Scuderia
0 to 60: 3.50 seconds
Price: $257,456
One of the Fastest Italian Exotics; tested and tuned by Formula One ace Michael Schumacher.

Lamborghini LP 640
0 to 60 3.52 seconds
Price: $382,400
LP640 is a former champ of the Itallian bulls.
Porsche GT2
0 to 60 mph 3.60 sec
Price: $194,860
GT2 is rear wheel drive and its loads of fun at the track.

Dodge Viper SRT-10
0 to 60 mph 3.64 seconds
Price: $102,350
Strong 8.4L engine.

Porsche 911 Turbo
0 to 60 mph: 3.7 sec
Price: $130,860
The 911 Turbo offers all-wheel drive. This is the German engineering at its finest.

Mercedes-Benz SL65 Black Series
0 to 60 mph: 3.8 sec
Price: $299,000
The SL65 Black Series is the fastest Mercedes produced by DTM.

2011 McLaren MP4-12C

• The first in a range of high performance sports cars from the home of the world's most successful racing car company

• McLaren MP4-12C set to re-write the rules of sports car design through Formula 1-inspired engineering, revolutionary chassis architecture, and absolute focus on efficiency

• Legendary McLaren F1 inspires concept; 21st century demands drive McLaren MP4-12C execution

• McLaren MP4-12C represents 'pure McLaren'; from unique engineering to bespoke design where everything is for a reason

read on ---> rsportscars

Here's your sign. Hillbillies ravage Lambo wreck

In a story worthy of a Bill Engvall skit comes news of a most peculiar car crash. A North Carolia man lost control of his Lamborghini Murcielago wearing the plate "ITS YELLO" In case you're color blind.

Enter the hillbillies. Since a Lamborghini is a rare sighting in NC, Chuck Maner and Chad Blackwelder. They thought they were on to something by picking up the pieces of the wrecked Italian lady after she was towed off to the junkyard. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Chevy Cavalier sportin around town wearing a Lambo charging bull sometime in the near future.


GREENSBORO - A piece of yellow plastic here. A turn-signal bulb there. Chuck Maner picked up remnants left behind after a tow truck hauled away a Lamborghini that crashed Friday afternoon on Norwalk Street.



"It's the closest I'll get to a Lamborghini," Maner said.



He held up two handfuls of decadent Italian debris and mentioned the song "One Piece at a Time," in which Johnny Cash describes stealing a car piece by piece from 1949 to 1973 .
"If I furrow around enough, I'll get a full one," Maner said.



A small crowd gathered as the exotic roadster was dragged onto a wrecker; the crowd dispersed as the wrecker carried the car away.



Chad Blackwelder of Thomasville said he wouldn't have paid much attention if just any car had wrecked. What drew his attention was a wrecked car with a price tag that makes sense to measure in fractions of a million dollars. Large fractions.



According to police, the man driving the Lamborghini lost control of the car because of a mechanical failure about 3 p.m Friday.



The car apparently drove off the left side of the road and came to rest against a chain-link fence at 344 Norwalk St.



No one was injured.



The driver declined to comment at the scene. Police did not identify him Friday night.



Maner, who works nearby, said the very same piece of fence had just been replaced two weeks earlier after a similar accident. But that car kept going, more of a "hit and bounce" than a hit and run, Maner said.

Reiter Engineers Gallardo GT3 Strada

So who turns road cars into race cars and then back into a road car? Well thats Reiter Engineering for you, who recently built a street-legal variant of their Murcielago R-GT that competes in the FIA GT1 and European Le Mans Series, is now offering a road version of their Gallardo GT3 racecar.

Based on the standard Gallardo this one features carbon fiber body work wich widens the car by 60 mm. A single large center-mounted exhaust system reduces weight by nine kg and added an extra ten horsepower, while new three-piece alloy wheels are wrapped with ultra sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 2 rubber. The interior stays relatively stock, although the stock seats have been replaced with leather-covered racing units. I can't say more about this car but that it is one of the cleanest/sickest Lambo's I've ever seen.

Surface: Original 1965 Lamborghini Miura Turin

A one of a kind 1965 Turin Salon Lamborghini Miura chassis has surfaced equipped with the companies very first rear mounted 12 cylinder engine. The historic chassis that was designed by Gian Paolo Dallara, represents the very first mid-engined supercar theme for all very favirote supercars. The show chassis had been stored for the past 30 years in Cyprus by the country's original Lamborghini concessionaire, Marios Kritikos, who had acquired the historic unit in April 1978.

A month after its discovery and it was sold to LA collectors, the one of a kind chassis has been imported to the US and now resides in a restoration facility in Miura where specialist Gary Bobileff, will restore it to bring it to its former show glory. According to Lamborghini, the chassis will make its USA debut in the summer of 2009.

New: Volkswagen Golf GTI

Since the debut of the first and the discontinuation of the fifth generation, more than 1.7 million buyers made the GTI to the world’s bestseller. Now the new GTI is at the ready: at the Paris Motor Show (4th to 19th October 2008) Volkswagen will be demonstrating the design study of the new Golf GTI at its world premiere.

The GTI suspension with a new electronic limited-slip diff (XDS) defines curves and traction in a completely new way. A GTI with a top speed of 240 km/h that with its 155 kW / 210 bhp strong turbocharged engine is even more fun and, on average, only uses 7.5 litres.

The sixth generation Golf GTI will go into series production in the spring of 2009 – as usual with a unique connection between sporty suspension and agile engine. The engine develops already at 1,800 rpm a maximum torque of 280 newton metres. The sprint from 0 to 60mph is achieved in 6.9 seconds. A stand-off between wind resistance and output occurs only just at 240 km/h.

Lowered by 22 millimetres and equipped with a new sports suspension, the springs, shock absorbers and rear anti-roll bars of the design study have been completely reworked. Furthermore, the optional adaptive chassis control DCC feature will also be available for the future GTI.

"We wanted a purposefully clear GTI design. A car that has power but also style," summarises the Volkswagen AG's chief designer Walter de’Silva. The design study of the sixth generation presented in Paris blends in both style elements of the GTI icons. Details like the typical honeycombed radiator grill and the V-shaped bonnet, stretching over the head lights, contribute to the GTI V. The clean and horizontal structure clearly originates from the GTI I. Because of the styling as well as the underlining horizontal graphic of the front section the Golf GTI design study appears visually wider (1.78 meter), lower (1.47 meter) and more dynamic than any other car in its class.

Lamborghini Paris Show Teaser No. 4

Here we go again… Lamborghini has just released the fourth consecutive teaser photo of its surprise Paris Show debut. The new photo reveals the mystery vehicle’s front headlamp and well, that’s about it. Makes you wonder how many other pictures will the Italian sports carmaker release before it actually shows us the whole car, because to be totally honest, we're getting a bit tired of the constant teasing. Which kind of spoils the whole surprise.

Lamborghini concept may be named Estoque, not Urus

While we've pretty much had it up to our Hans device with the speculation surrounding Lamborghini's Paris surprise, another salient detail has emerged about the rumored front-engined, four-door sedan due to be unveiled on Thursday at the Paris Motor Show.Previous reports about the Lamborghini concept wearing a Urus badge are thankfully bunk (who wants to drive a supercar named after a large bovine?) and World Car Fans has dropped the name Estoque (without citing any sources), which according to Encyclopedia Brittanica is a small blade that delivers the death blow to a bull at the end of a stadium fight. We're still more than a few days away from the official reveal, but in the meantime, enjoy the gallery of teasers below, along with the image above created by LamboPower member a007api.

Lamborghini Paris Show Concept Teaser: Number Three

Just like Ford is constantly teasing us with cryptic pictures of its new Mustang, Lamborghini is revealing piece by piece its mysterious Paris Show car that is rumored to be a 4-door sports sedan concept. This time, the third teaser image gives us glimps of the vehicle's taillight. According to a credible source of ours that works over at Tony’s cappuccino shop behind Lamborghini’s head offices in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the next teaser shots will depict the yet to be named vehicle’s roof lining and license plate holders.

The Raging Bull: Underground Racing Gallardo

Underground Racing are a North Carolina-based tuning company specialising in twin-turbo conversions. This is their 1025bhp Gallardo.

Yep. That's 1025 brake horsepowers.

We're not quite sure what to say, if we're honest. The sheer insanity of the concept and the brilliance of the execution has rendered us pretty much speechless.

Sure, it runs on race fuel but from what we understand the Gallardo keeps its 4wd and stability systems - although we'd imagine the ESP is a little overworked. The car runs a standard 6-speed gearbox.

We'd run the car without the rear bodywork, if the law allowed. It's the ultimate in automotive mooning.

Lamborghini Releases Second Teaser Photo of Mystery Paris Show Car

The mystery surrounding Lamborghini’s Paris Show car has just become more deep as the Italian sports car maker released a second teaser photo, this time depicting part of the vehicle’s front end and the black alloy wheel that’s wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero tires. We also see the carbon-fiber front lip spoiler and the colors of the Italian flag on the car’s side vents. So, any idea what type of car this is?

Pirelli Is Rolling Out The Intelligent "Cyber" Tyre

Pirelli has announced a further innovation in the ongoing quest to remove the driving from driving. Sensors have been stashed in tires already for the hasty implementation of TPMS, but Pirelli has taken it a step further, putting a sensor package on the tire carcass itself. One implementation of the "Cyber Tire" is the "Lean," which harnesses power from the vibrations of the vehicle and beams information including tire pressure, temperature, and load to the vehicle's computer.

Cyber Tire Lean is setting things rolling for the eventual trotting out of full-blown Cyber Tire, which will be built into the tire. The high tech rubber will be more sophisticated and capable of communicating directly with stability control and anti-lock brakes to improve the effectiveness of dynamic safety systems. Cyber Tire will also carry a three-axis accelerometer that will facilitate real-time calculations of friction coefficients, contact force, and load. Pirelli is most proud of the edge the Cyber Tire will give the nanny systems to catch and correct idiotic driving faster than ever before.

p.s. Pirelli tires are the best tires I have ever bought for my car.

Source: Auto Channel

Jason Heffner Builds a Performance Lamborghini Gallardo

Jason Heffner is in the business of building fast cars. We're talking about quadruple digit horsepower, spinning the tires at 100 mph and pulling-away-from-a-Bugatti-Veyron fast cars. You might remember watching a Heffner-powered twin-turbo Ford GT that could hit 222 mph in the standing mile. His latest project is this twin-turbo Lamborghini that's putting down 930 horsepower and 762 lb-ft torque at the wheels. This particular owner also wanted to cut some weight, and added a carbon fiber deck lid and rear diffuser, race seats, and lightweight wheels. Follow the jump to see the extensive upgrade list, or check out the photos below.

Source: Tuning News