Lamborghini Countach Reviews

... fighting bulls and moving into the heavens.The Italian carmaker has just trademarked the name Huracan - the Mayan god of wind, storms and fire (from which, through Spanish, we get the word hurricane).The move follows the recent trademarking of the name Deimos: the Greek god of battlefield terror.There's no indication of which cars will carry the nameplates, but it's likely one will be the production version of the Urus SUV unveiled at Beijing motor show.Of course, while both names are related to gods, there's still a chance they might also be related to beasts in the bullfighting annals. If any car company can find that kind of connection, it's the one with the bull on the badge.

Finks motorcycle gang club enforcer Richard Michail, 38, and Matthew Ward, 34, were on April 16 sentenced in the County Court after they were found guilty of stealing the canary yellow Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera in May 2010. After arriving at Lorbek Prestige Cars, Michail approached director Srecko Lorbek and demanded they "go for a little walk''. Michail slammed Mr Lorbek's head into a car and demanded $50,000 before taking the vehicle. He then threatened to rip Mr Lorbek's hands off when he tried to stop him, the court heard. Michail drove the car to the nearby Finks bikie gang clubhouse where it was later found by police. Justice Mark Dean said the men, who were wearing Finks T-shirts, had used bikie links to intimidate staff. "This was a brazen offence and your conduct must be denounced,'' Mr Justice Dean said. "Persons carrying out their lawful business must be protected from acts of intimidation and violence.'' Michail was sentenced to 3 1/2 years' jail and must serve two years before he is eligible for parole. For his part, Ward was sentenced to three years' jail and will be eligible for parole after 18 months.  

SUV surrender flags are flying around the world and Lamborghini is the latest to run one up its flagpole.  Lamborghini's capitulation comes in the shape of the Urus, a futuristic family-sized SUV it believes will sit comfortably alongside an Aventador or Gallardo supercar in upscale garages around the world. And potentially add another 3000 sales a year to its bottom line. It's no surprise to see the Urus starring for the Italian company this week at the Beijing motor show, as wealthy Chinese actually see a need for serious rough-road ability on the country's lousy roads and high-priced SUVs are firm favourites. The Urus comes following Maserati's confirmation of the Kubang and Bentley's announcement in March that it is to join the SUV stoush, although its ugly EXP 9F will need some tweaking before it hits showrooms, leaving Jaguar as the only upscale hold-out as Aston Martin is also working on a vehicle to bring the Lagonda name back from the dead with Mercedes-Benz ML mechanicals. Lamborghini describes the Urus as "the ultimate super athlete", although it is yet to give engine details or a timetable for production.  It's most likely to have a tweaked V12 engine because of its heft, although Lamborghini is promising 440 kiloWatts with best-in-class C02 emissions which would mean significant changes from the powerplant in the Aventador. It's also promising supreme luxury for just four passengers, as well as plenty of its signature carbon fibre to reduce weight below its rivals - the Aventador has a full carbon chassis - and even variable ground clearance to go with its all-wheel drive grip. Lamborghini should have no problem on that front, as Audi is its parent company and versions of its quattro drive with double clutch gearboxes are used in both the Gallardo and Aventador.  "The Urus is a very concrete idea for the future of Lamborghini - as a third model line and as the perfect complement to our super sports cars," says Stefan Winkelmann, CEO of Automobili Lamborghini.  "The Urus is the most extreme interpretation of the SUV idea. It is the Lamborghini of SUVs." But he also knows that Lamborghini needs sales and cash from the Urus, just as Porsche did when it brought the brand-saving Cayenne SUV - which put the company back into profit - to life alongside its sports cars. "The Urus means that a Lamborghini can now be used by a household as its primary car." The Urus is close to five metres in length but only 166 centimetres tall, well belong its rivals and a reflection of the edgy design work on the body. The bright red Urus in Beijing rolls on giant 24-inch alloy wheels, has active aerodynamics with an adjustable front spoiler, and a full battery of LED lights at both ends. Australian buyers probably face a long wait for the Urus, although a local plan is still being developed. "It's probably three years away from us, although we'd like to get it sooner," says Martin Roller of Lamborghini. "We're pretty excited about the car. The demand for SUVs in Australia is incredibly strong. "It's big news. To have a third Lamborghini model, and especially, an SUV, is a big deal. We've only known about it for a day and we're already got people asking about it." And the name? Lamborghini traditionally names its sports cars after Spanish fighting bulls, but the Urus goes back further to the roots of the breed. Wild Urus bulls, also known as Aurochs, were the distant ancestors of domestic cattle and could stand up to 1.8 metres tall.  

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is helping carmakers to migrate from old-fashioned metal construction to the lightweight strength and safety of 21st century carbon fibre. All of the world's leading motoring companies are looking for a way to switch carbon fibre from the high-priced exotic favourite of Formula One teams to something suitable for the humble Toyota Yaris.  BMW is investing heavily in an American factory, and has plans to double its output in coming years for the battery-powered i3 and i8 models, while Lexus doing the groundwork for Toyota with its exotic LF-A supercar. But it is Lamborghini of Italy, which is running the point for the giant Volkswagen Group, that currently claims leadership thanks to its radical Aventador flagship and a partnership with Boeing. "We have learned so much from Boeing. About the process of developing carbon fibre and how to put it into production," says Casper Steenbergen of Automobili Lamborghini. "We are the only company with a full carbon fibre monocoque on a car, with our Aventador." The two biggest challenges for carbon fibre use are cost and the complication of construction, which has meant the use of giant autoclaves to combine extreme heat with vacuum forming.  But Steenbergen shows Carsguide how Lamborghini now uses a different type of carbon fibre, combined with pressure forming under heat, to create its products. Apart from the Aventador, Lamborghini - the closest rival to Ferrari in the exotic world - is using lightweight carbon fibre parts through its Gallardo range and passing the knowledge to its owners at Audi and up through the Volkswagen family.  "We are re-defining the future of our supersports cars around the two main reasons to buy: design and performance. That means the key is in reducing weight," says Stephan Winkelmann, the Lamborghini CEO who forged the ties to Boeing and the establishment of a high-tech laboratory in the USA.  "From the middle of the Eighties, the average weight of our cars has increased by 500 kilos because of active and passive safety, comfort and emissions reduction issues, and this is something that we have to change. "Since we cannot reduce safety or comfort in our cars, we have to reduce the weight by using new materials. The magic word for this is carbon fibre." He believes Lamborghini is the world leader and points to the 787 project as the sort of resource available to his company. "We started working with carbon fibre . . . over 30 years ago and today, with our two laboratories in Sant’Agata Bolognese and in Seattle, we are mastering a broad range of technologies which put us in a leadership position for low-volume production," Winkelmann says. "Every new Lamborghini will make the best use of carbon fiber to reduce weight." It's clear that work will eventually migrate throughout Volkswagen, although no-one at Lamborghini is able to give any timetable. Yet.  

Lamborghini yesterday announced a "double-digit" rise in sales globally, with Australia at the forefront of the boom. But with the average price of one of these carbon-fibre rockets near the half-million dollar mark, sales specialist Simon Gott said it clearly was not a car for everyone.  "I think it's fair to say that our niche clientele aren't the type to be affected by any financial crisis," Mr Gott said. "We aim to sell 30 to 40 (Lamborghinis) a year and particularly when you have a new model like the Aventador - they almost drive themselves out the door." Priced at more than $900,000, the Aventador costs a lot more than the average city housing block, and is equivalent to more than 500 round-the-world plane tickets. Read more here…

Switzerland is car-making neutral ground and has little vehicle industry of its own. But its annual showcase has a reputation as the "designer" show, where the elite brands put their best ideas on display and the minor players can share the limelight.VOLVO V40Vehicle: Small premium hatch.Volvo has been treading water on vehicle development and a clear strategic direction has yet to emerge after its takeover by China's Geely two years ago. Its first new product since then still owes a lot to previous parent Ford, with parts of the V40 traceable to the Focus.But like the Mercedes A-Class, it tackles the booming segment of premium compact hatchbacks and is expected to add 100,000 sales a year. Volvo chief Stefan Jacoby says it sets new standards in the segment, with features trickling down from its larger cars. These include City Safety, a collision avoidance system that can prevent a rear-ender at up to 50km/h, and the headline feature, the world's first pedestrian airbag, which deploys from the rear edge of the bonnet.PORSCHE BOXSTERVehicle: Convertible sportscar."The car that rescued Porsche'' is not over-stating the significance of the Boxster, its little mid-engined roadster, which troubled brand purists when it appeared in the 1990s but undoubtedly brought the brand back from the financial precipice.Pictures of the heavily restyled new car have been around for a while but Porsche saved the real thing for Geneva. It shares many of its innovations with the 911, and Porsche will be rolling out variants of these two models for years to come. Lighter than before despite a longer wheelbase and wider track, two flat-six engines are offered from the outset: a 195kW 2.7-litre or 232kW 3.4-litre in the Boxster S. Its bound to better than the last one, and that's still the benchmark in this category.MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASSVehicle: Luxury hatchback.Mercedes-Benz has had mixed fortunes with small cars. Its previous A and B-Class were the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of a segment that contained cars such as the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series.Expensive to build and mumsie in their appeal, Mercedes has torn up that approach and started from scratch. The A will be the smallest and least expensive of what will eventually be a five-car line-up in which only the practical mini-bus B is recognisable from before. The premium small car market is running hot and the A will aim to lure anyone shopping with Golf money and above. It's more macho, more premium and ready-fitted with top-shelf equipment such as collision prevention systems. It's also Mercedes biggest roll of the dice since the new M-Class SUV.FERRARI F12 BERLINETTAVehicle: Supercar.Most Ferraris sold are V8s, particularly since it added the entry-level California convertible to its range. Thanks in part to that car, last year production reached a record of 7200, and its margins are the envy of the industry.But true believers know it's the 12-cylinder cars that are really at the heart of the badge. Last year it replaced its flagship four-seater 12-cylinder and this year it rolls out its two-seater V12 coupe, the F12 Berlinetta. This replaces the six-year old 599 GTB and lifts the bar on performance even further. The F12 is the most powerful road car Ferrari has built, with a new 6.3-litre engine that develops 544kW and can rev to 8700rpm. It propels the F12 to 100km/h in 3.1 seconds and 200km/h in 8.5. Ferrari has been fast-tracking technology recently and the F12 comes with every dynamic trick Ferrari can muster.INFINITI EMERG-EVehicle: Concept supercar.Nissan's luxury division Infiniti has global ambitions after years establishing a foothold in the US. For its fifth appearance at the Geneva show it rolled out the third in a trio of concepts that demonstrate the evolution of its design thinking. The clunkily named Emerg-e pushes the boundaries on technology and performance.Its striking silver carbon-fibre body houses lithium ion batteries that power two mid-mounted electric motors. Together they pump out 300kW and can power the car to 100km/h in four seconds. Emerg-e can travel 50km on electricity before a three-cylinder petrol engine fires up and extends its range to almost 500km. Infiniti launches in Australia later this year.BENTLEY EXP 9 FVehicle: Luxury SUV.There's long been a gap in the SUV market above the most expensive Range Rovers and Porsche Cayennes that elite makers have been slow to fill. Not any more. In a few weeks, Lamborghini will unveil its extreme offroader, but Bentley has got in first with the EXP 9 F.Its first experimental, or EXP, car in a decade, the F stands for Falcon, the fastest animal on the planet. Huge and in many people's eyes not the prettiest, it's recognisably a Bentley thanks to its matrix grille, strong haunches and interior heavy with wood and leather.The showcar boasts 23-inch "turbine'' wheels, while under the bonnet is the same 6.0-litre turbo W12 engine that powers Bentley's GT line. Its goal is to set a new pinnacle for the segment, it says, and, despite any production schedule, Bentley left little doubt it was committed to the idea.BERTONE NUCCIOVehicle: Concept sportscar.Geneva is where the European tuners, aftermarket specialists and styling houses turn up to impress the industry with their skills. It's where names such as Pininfarina and Giugiaro, Ruf and EDAG strut their stuff alongside the majors.One of them, Italian design specialist Bertone, has survived to celebrate 100 years against the odds. Its showcar, named after the "master of Italian style'' Nuccio Bertone, honours that milestone and the determination of his widow to keep the company going.The car, a dramatic orange-and-grey wedge with a mid-mounted 4.3-litre V8, references famous concepts from Bertone's past, such as the Lancia Stratos Zero of 1970. You can't see out the back, so a camera feeds the view on to an LED-screen-virtual-rear-window. It's unlikely to go into production, but shows there's life in Bertone yet.LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR JVehicle: One-off supercar.What does it feel like to have the wind in your hair at 300km/h? If you're the one with more than E2 million ($2.5m) to spend on the Aventador J, then you'll find out. Only one will be built, and even by Lamborghini's extreme standards this is an uncompromising set of wheels.It starts life as the Aventador, Lamborghini's new carbon-fibre mid-engined V12 supercar, and then doubles down. It removes the roof and windscreen and you can forget about satnav or a radio. It's unlikely you'll be able to hear much, anyway, apart from the engine because the cover has gone, replaced by a carbon-fibre lattice. Underneath is the same 6.5-litre 515kW V12 that propels the Aventador, but with less weight to shift. Lamborghini doesn't say how fast it is, but it does refer to the driver as a "pilot''.LAND ROVER EVOQUE CONVERTIBLEVehicle: Convertible SUV concept car.Almost four years since it was taken over by Indian giant Tata, Jaguar Land Rover really is hitting its straps. Profits exceeded pound stg. 1 billion ($1.48bn) last year for the first time, it's pumping money into R&D and creating 4000 jobs. Plans are also afoot to expand production into India, China and Brazil.One reason: in the Evoque luxury SUV it has a phenomenal hit on its hands. Evoque's success hinges on its striking design and Land Rover takes the idea further in its Geneva showcar, which is a study for an open-top version. Officially designed to "gauge reaction'', it will certainly get made if JLR has an assembly line spare

... rival the prices on the BMW options' list for things like salad and spuds.So it's no surprise that the top end of town calls the shots at the Palexpo alongside Geneva Airport as Europe's carmakers go head-to-head for the first time in 2012. Ferrari and Lamborghini battle for go-faster bragging rights as Rolls-Royce and Bentley get serious about family motoring for the ultra-rich, while Infiniti pitches an new exotic coupe and even Ssangyong of Korea goes upmarket with a new concept. There are also dozens of one-off dream machines and hotrod tuner cars in Geneva, a show that is traditionally dominated by European design stars including Pininfarina and Giugiaro. But there is plenty, too, for ordinary car buyers as the Fiesta ST brakes cover, Hyundai updates the i20 and teases with the Veloster Turbo, Jaguar confirms an XF station wagon, Audi and Mercedes-Benz previews their A3 and A-Class, and Ford even updates its box-boring Transit workhorse. Picking the best of the best is tough with so much gorgeous stuff on the stands, but Alfa Romeo is the winner for 2012 and edges out the Infiniti Emerge-E with its Disco Volante.The pretty little red coupe is dreamy without being stupid and is already confirmed for production, although the slightly-retro body will be draped over Alfa's existing 8C Competizione chassis - 4.7-litre V8, 335kW, 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds - which means it's no chance for Australia with only left-hand drive.The Ferrari F12 is exactly what you expect from the fastest car to wear the badge - 340km/h and 0-100km/h in 3.1 seconds - including a swoopy body that taps the past as well as the influences that created the California convertible, but Lamborghini goes even better with an Aventador J preview car that is snapped up for a rumoured $2.8 million ahead of genuine production of an open-topped Aventador supercar.Rolls-Royce updates the Phantom with a new nose that still demands respect, as well as tweaking its colour choices with a two-tone approach that triggers memories of cheap seventies vinyl roofs, and Jaguar gets serious for families with an XF Sportbrake that will still struggle in a world of SUVs.Further down the food chain, the Audi A3 looks good but not as edgy as an A-Class that must break away from the bus pass generation into something closer to the Y-Gen futurists, and Volkswagen previews a more car-like Tiguan crossover with its Cross Coupe.Hyundai has a preview of a new flagship coupe called the i-oniq - did it mean ironic? - Kia shows a Track'ster that will become the new Soul, Honda shows the CR-V design that's coming to Australia, and the pocket rocket Ford Fiesta ST breaks cover with a confirmation for Australia.The action and excitement at Geneva goes on and on, and that is - really - the best thing about the show. Detroit in January hinted that the word's carmakers are finally emerging from the austerity and fear of the global financial crisis and the big-spending effort in Geneva confirms it, with good news for almost everyone from Euro billionaires to ordinary Aussie families.PG PICKS:1. Bentley EXP 9 F.Only one word fits - Ugly. With a big capital U. The hulking British bulldog might tick the boxes for cashed-up families, but this SUV makes a LandCruiser look elegant, and subtle.2. Giugiaro Brivido.Exactly what you expect to see in Geneva, as designers go all-out to impress the crowds - and each other. Not for production but a great looker with huge gullwing doors.3. Range Rover Evoque Convertible. A certainty for production as Land Rover milks its most successful design - ever. This one will never go bush but is being fast tracked for Double Bay and Toorak.4. Ssangyong XIV-2. Who knew the South Koreans could trump the Euros with a design that combines SUV practicality with a coupe-convertible body? A big surprise.5. Toyota FT-Bh: Just when you thought the uglies were done, Toyota lobbed with this. If it's the future for hybrid cars then sales will be slow. Very slow.

This year’s Geneva show includes about 180 new car debuts, and the line-up certainly hasn’t disappointed us.A delicious parade of top-shelf exotics and concepts will hog the spotlight of course: the stunning Lamborghini Aventador J, the Volkswagen-linked Giugiaro Brivido, the Infinti Emerg-E, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta will all fight for attention.But in the face of economies across Europe struggling – in some cases stumbling towards a crash – it’s clear from the unveilings that there’s a strong move towards downsizing.Skoda’s Citigo, Volkwagen’s Up and even the Volvo V40 are all practical takes on a smaller and leaner world.But the SUVs still get a look-in, with the likes of Mitsubishi flagging their plug-in Outlander, Nissan’s Hi-Cross clearly hinting at the next X-Trail – although they won’t come right out and say it.And Bentley proving yet again that money doesn’t even need to buy style and taste with the ugliest thing on wheels since … possibly ever.Electric, hybrid and range-extender technology is everywhere at Geneva, showing that - in Europe at least – it has long moved past being some kind of geeky indulgence. Every carmaker is talking economy and value. And there’s a lot more chatter about global platforms, with VW taking it to a planned one-size-fits-all extreme.What does it mean for the buyer? At the very least, while our economy looks pretty healthy here, the disasters elsewhere are having a strong impact on industry attitudes, and that means carmakers are going to try harder than ever to win over our wallets.Expect to see leaner cars, smarter cars and – faced with increasing competition from emerging industrial giants like China and India – better value cars. That’s good news for all of us. 

The very latest thing in blow dryers - capable of styling your hair at 300km/h - is headlining the Italian action at the Geneva show.The Lamborghini Aventador J is the natural development from the supercar company's existing super sports hero coupe, with the roof ripped away for extra driving enjoyment. It is a concept car at the show but should be ready for production and Australian deliveries in 2013.The J-car is presented without a windscreen and with a periscope rear-view mirror at the show to add to its dramatic top-off look, but it shares its carbon fibre heart and jet fighter-inspired look with the Aventador coupe, as well as its 515 kiloWatt V12 engine and all-wheel drive system. The monocoque has been re-designed including two safety bars behind the seats.For the show only, to cut weight below the 1575 kilos of the coupe, the car has also been stripped of its aircon and navigation system. "The Aventador J is the proof that, despite the rules, Lamborghini will always make people dream, even in the future," says Stephan Winkelmann, president of Automobili Lamborghini.He says the company's designers went wild on the Aventador J, which he describes as "an absolute one-off: a one-of-a-kind piece of art".The choice of Aventador J taps Lamborghini's past, as its Jota of 1970 was a one-off development of the Miura coupe with a different body and better performance. It is also linked to the motorsport classification of Appendix J, which sets the technical regulations for various racing classes.

You'd be brave to pick the star of Geneva before the show is over. But you'd be blind to overlook the lead set by the Giugiaro Brivido.Styled by design maestro Giorgetto Giugiaro, and built at his Italdesign Giugiaro studio in Turin, the sleek hybrid supercar doesn't have a bad angle. A lanky streamlined carbon-fibre and aluminium body of close to 5 metres, set off with panorama roof, bisected gullwing doors and talons of LED lights. It's pure Italian supermodel.The hybrid system comprises a Volkswagen-sourced,  front-mounted 265kW/460Nm 3.0-litre V6 engine matched with an electric motor to give a total of 300kW/600Nm, delivered to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.The press kit says the car will get from 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds - no match for most Italian supercars - but can reach a top speed of 275km/h.It's something of a technology showcase, with cameras (instead of side mirrors) feeding into steering wheel-mounted monitors, touchscreens for the instrument cluster and airconditioning controls - which descend from the headliner - and the almost mandatory iPad docking station.