Lamborghini Countach Reviews

We first caught wind of Dutch firm Vencer and its Sarthe supercar project in May of last year. Back then, the company had just a few renderings of its Sarthe and the promise of a production version in the not too distant future. At the 2013 Top Marques Monaco over the weekend, Vencer lived up to its promise by unveiling the Sarthe supercar in production trim. The Sarthe, presumably named after the French race track that plays host to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has been in the works for several years and takes its inspiration from the Le Mans prototypes of the 1980s. It is an exclusive, hand-built supercar with a mid-engine layout and powerful V8 sourced from General Motors. Underpinning the car is a tubular steel structure utilising chrome-molybdenum for the crash structures and rear subframe. The suspension, meanwhile, features double wishbones with adjustable shock absorbers. Despite the lack of exotic building materials, the Vencer Sarthe tips the scales at a reasonable 1,389kg. In addition, the weight balance is a near ideal 45-55 front-rear. The V8 engine sits directly behind the car’s two seats and drives the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential. Peak output is rated at 375 kilowatts and 650 Newton metres of torque, which Vencer says should be good for 100km/h acceleration in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 328km/h. The wheels measure up to 508mm in diameter and house steel brake discs measuring more than 381mm across. Inside, the Sarthe boasts hand-stitched leather seating, a contemporary infotainment system and luxuries such as dual-zone climate control and a GPS. No pricing details for the Vencer Sarthe have been released yet, though previous estimates have come in at roughly 265,000 euros (approximately $336298AUD). www.motorauthority.com  

The Lamborghini Veneno is, more or less, ridiculous. But it's a good kind of ridiculous. The kind that satisfies the kid inside you. Good news: it doesn't just look ridiculous--it sounds it, too. Powered by a 551 kilowatt version of the 6.5-litre V-12 that's inside the Aventador (and the new 529 kilowatt Aventador LP 720-4 50 Anniversario), the Veneno's brawn matches its racy looks. Even more so than your typical street-going Lambo, the Veneno's growl, even at idle, is raucous. Uncorked, it's downright righteous. www.motorauthority.com

Lamborghini automobiles are not known for their subtlety. Everything about the Italian automaker's cars is bold, brash and in-your-face, from their sinister styling through their bright colours and loud exhausts. In that regard, the stretch Lamborghini Aventador limo proposed by UK luxury car hire company Cars For Stars fits right in. Not only does it boldly proclaim that you’re financially successful, it also kicks sand in the face of the Grey Poupon set, ensconced in their boring Rolls-Royce limousines. Cars For Stars hasn’t actually built the Lambo limo yet, and it’s actively seeking sponsorship for the project. In its own words, the car will transform the limo experience into “an explosion of luxury, style and glamour, making the Lamborghini Aventador limousine unlike any other existing limo concept.” Passengers will (theoretically) enjoy rich leather seating (embossed with the Cars For Stars logo), heated for winter comfort; rear plasma screen displays; surround sound audio with an iPod docking station and a champagne cooler to ensure that your blood alcohol level remains elevated from club to club. There’s no word on the car’s construction (since it really doesn’t exist yet), so we can’t tell you what materials are used in the body or chassis. We assume that the Aventador’s 507 kilowatts, 6.5-litre V-12 engine will be retained, but we’re not sure about the existing car’s all-wheel drive. If you’re interested in sponsoring the car’s construction, Cars For Stars is offering 12 months of free advertising, as well as finding a way to work your company’s name into the Lambo limo’s name. That may be a bit awkward, since we’re not sure that the “Plumtree’s Potted Meats Cars For Stars Lamborghini Aventador Limousine” rolls off the tongue with ease. We’d want to negotiate some free seat time as well if we were writing a check to build the car, since nothing will get your neighbour’s attention quite as much as rolling in a stretch Lambo limousine. www.motorauthority.com  

Lamborghini has stolen the show in Switzerland with a radical new coupe that's even more extreme than its Aventador flagship.

As Carsguide reported in May, the Roadster’s roof is a two-piece carbon-fibre construction that detaches completely by hand and stacks into the front luggage compartment. Shunning a mechanically-operated set-up has allowed Lamborghini to keep the weight down, with the two panels weighing just 6kg each. Folding the roof down behind the seats would have compromised the view of the engine through the powered glass rear windows that flank the redesigned cover’s central spine – and which can be adjusted to allow more air into the engine bay and more engine sound into the cabin. The hero colour in the images is a pale metallic blue inspired by the 1968 Lamborghini Miura Roadster, set off with gloss black on the roof sections, windshield pillars and rear window section. The Roadster carries the coupe’s 525kW 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine mated to a seven-speed gearbox driving all four wheels -- light forged aluminium 20/21-in rims that shave 10kg off the weight off a standard set. The V12 also gets stop-start technology and a cylinder deactivation system that shuts down pots when they’re not needed. Lamborghini claims a top speed of 350km/h and a 0-100km/h time of 3.0 seconds, just 0.1 seconds behind its roofed sibling. The Aventador Roadster is scheduled to arrive in overseas showrooms from early next year priced at €300,000. Australian pricing hasn't yet been confimed, but you could reasonably expect there's going to be a fair whack over the coupe's $754,000.  

The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association show is where the aftermarket, modification and tuning brands show what they can do when fully unleashed. And where the major car companies dress up their vehicles without being bound by function or logic.The show opens tonight, but we’ve already got sneak previews of several star cars. Topping our list is the Lamborghini Murcielago LP 620 – one of four cars being displayed by tyre brand Toyo – modified by top Japanese Lambo tuning house Liberty Walk with a stainless steel vinyl wrap, custom fascia, riveted fender panels and a large rear wing.Then there’s the Tanom Motors Invader, a three-wheeled car/trike that will be unveiled at the show in TR-3 Roadster and TC-3 Coupe versions – the latter apparently a collaboration with rock musician Sammy Hagar.Using the 128kW/133Nm 1300cc engine from a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle, with a six-speed (plus reverse) sequential gearbox delivering the outputs to the fat 18-in wide rear tyre, the lightweight fibreglass-bodied Invader claims a 0-100km/h time of just four seconds.The big Detroit brands are on many of the highly modified efforts. Those wearing a Blue Oval badge include a Ford Mustang GT by Mothers and a Mustang 'Boy Racer’ by 3dCarbon, a special Ford Focus ST SEMA by Cosworth M&J, and Ford Fusions by MRT and 3dCarbon.General Motors vehicles are also popular, with some great examples including the Chevrolet Cruze Upscale, Chevrolet Spark Sinister, Chevrolet Malibu Turbo Performance Concept  and Chevrolet Sonic Dust .And the Chrysler (and now Fiat) family can boast the Chrysler 300 Luxury Concept, Dodge Dart Carbon Fibre, Jeep Wrangler Sand Trooper and – another favourite at Carsguide – the Fiat 500 Beach Cruiser.Korean powerhouse Hyundai has been the basis for the Ark Veloster Alpine Concept, Cosworth Hyundai Genesis Coupe and Hyundai Velocity Concept.And the big T is not being left out, with a Nascar-tuned Toyota Camry Rowdy Edition, Scion FR-S (Toyota 86 to us) by Wald International and a supercharged version called the Scion FR-S Nur Concept.And to top it off – so far – with a gloriously illogical modification, there’s the Clint Bowyer Toyota Prius. It’s reportedly undergone some performance fiddling, but more teched-up than tweaked, with a massive 17-in touchscreen, two computer tables in the rear, a 16-speaker JBL audio system, and cameras replacing the side mirrors. 

Supercars stretch alluringly alongside family sedans. Auto exotica co-exist with humble hatchbacks. A good motor show is like that. Having been privy to every exhibit on view at the Australian International Motor Show, Carsguide was struck afresh that AIMS serves two purposes. The first is to provide car porn, to enable you to stare wantonly without risking arrest or society's censure. The second reason -- and this, ultimately, is why car makers gather their wares in vast pavilions - is to show you the cars you're going to buy. Given this glaring polarity, there's no single list -- definitive, subjective or otherwise -- of the “best in show”. There must be two lists. This year's AIMS marks the world debut of a unique, purpose-built and probably priceless German supercar and a little French five-door that's one of the best things you can get under $20,000. Batman's very own Lamborghini V12 is just across the room from Ford's 1.0-litre mini-SUV. The world debut of a Lexus sports coupe is separated by one stand from a returning name in affordable fun, the Pulsar SSS. Take it all in. If you can't be there to see it in person, see our iPad app. If you are at Darling Harbour in Sydney over the next week, family in tow, Carsguide asks only that you remember the cars are not creches. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster  Price: $600,000 (est) Engine: 6.2-litre V8, 420kW/650Nm Thirst: 13.3L/100km Ably supported by two other special-edition AMGs, this topless, lustrous two-seater was created especially for AIMS. As with the Jaffa C63 and SLS Coupe of 2010, it comes with unique paint itself worth $20,000. See it while you can. 'see more Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster images and video' Lexus LF-FC II  Price: concept Engine: petrol-electric hybrid Thirst: N/A A mid-size coupe that retains even half the styling cues of this best-in-show contender is what's needed to shed Lexus's worthy but unexciting image. The Lexus Future-Luxury Coupe II packs a hybrid drivetrain, good for more than 370kW combined that is put to the ground via all four wheels. 'see more Lexus LF-FC II images and video' Lamborghini Aventador   Price: $754,000 Engine: 6.5-litre V12, 515kW/690Nm Thirst: 17.2L/100km This very bull-mobile appeared as Bruce Wayne's daily driver in that ultimate comic character realisation, 'The Dark Knight Rises', fitting in seamlessly with the usual array of stylised fantasy devices. It's in an all-star cast with two special Gallardos - a 550-2 Tricolore and a 570-4 Spyder Performante. 'see more Lamborghini Aventador images and video' Jaguar F-Type  Price: $250,000 (est) Engine: includes supercharged V6 Thirst: N/A Nostalgia isn't what it used to be, a lesson brought home by Ian Callum's roadster. Sure, it's a spiritual descendant of the endlessly feted E-Type but, as the alphabetical designation conveys, it's moved on in the manner of all recent Jaguars. The F-Type reminds us that Indian ownership is the best thing ever to happen to this quintessentially British brand. 'see more Jaguar F-Type images and video' Range Rover Vogue   Price: about $200,000 Engine: 4.4-litre V8 turbo diesel Thirst: 8.7L/100km From Paris in autumn to Sydney in spring, the new Rangie makes its first appearance outside Europe. A stride forward in most respects but the newcomer's most significant advance could be in what it lacks over the previous model - some 400kg. The leaner, meaner but greener turbo diesel V8 is the variant on show, complete with power tailgate and sunroof. 'see more Range Rover Vogue images and video'  

There’s a problem with Lamborghini’s display: You’re in danger of having your lust for auto erotica sated in one stop.Any of the three exotic machines would suffice as a star in its own right. One has, in fact, already made its debut in a top-grossing Hollywood blockbuster. It is the very same Aventador LP700-4 driven by Christian Bale in Bruce Wayne guise during the epic Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.It says much for the raging bull car’s aggressive styling that it could be used without visual enhancement next to the fantasy vehicles in which the Caped Crusader typically surges about Gotham. As Lamborghini’s new flagship, the Aventador is a fitting replacement for the Murcielagos driven in the previous parts of the trilogy.Indeed, at $754,000, the LP700-4 is the zenith of Lamborghini’s range. The jet fighter-styled road rocket packs a lightweight 60- degree V12 engine that gets it from standing to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds. The supporting cast doesn’t lack lustre.The star turn is flanked by two special edition Gallardos: a 550-2 Tricolore and a 570-4 Spyder Performante. “We are excited Lamborghini will be displaying their newest and most popular models in Sydney, as well as debuting an all-new stand design,” says show director Russ Tyrie. 

Reports overseas are strengthening the suggestion that Lamborghini is preparing to jump into the Gran Turismo field with a four-seat version of the Aventador, likely to be unveiled next year, Britain’s Car magazine says the Aventador GT will appear next March at the Geneva motor show, dovetailing close to the expected on-sale schedule of the Aventador Roadster, which is tipped to be revealed later this year -- possibly at Los Angeles motor show. While we might only see the Aventador GT as a concept – if it exists at all – the report claims it will have an extended wheelbase and two small jump seats, with access to the rear row through an altered door configuration including suicide panels. The design changes would make for a softer shape than the two-pew Aventador it’s based on, Car says. The concept would also mean a considerable redesign of the flanks and rear of the Aventador to accommodate the changes on a mid-engined platform. Lamborghini is on a campaign to build up their bottom line by building more practical models -- like the Urus SUV -- that will attract more buyers in emerging economic giants like China and Russia, where there’s a taste for luxury but the road infrastructure is still too primitive for a supercar to survive long.  And while the idea of a four-seater Lamborghini seems wildly unlikely, we thought the same thing at the first rumour of a four-seat Ferrari, too.