Lamborghini Aventador 2013 News

Lamborghini, Tesla, TVR up for auction at Manheim's Exclusive Luxury and Exotic Vehicles auction.

The New York motor show in April will see the announcement of which vehicle has won the 2014 World COTY, and there looks to be a tough -- and very varied -- field of finalists.Last year's winner was the Volkswagen Golf, which also took awards in pretty well every country on the globe. But this year it could be anything from the little electric BMW i3 to the offroading Jeep Cherokee and even the Citroen C4 peoplemover, judging by the shortlist.A panel of 69 motoring experts from around the world -- including Carsguide's Paul Gover and National Motoring Editor Joshua Dowling -- will choose the winner from: Audi A3, BMW 4 Series, BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Ford Fusion/Mondeo, Infiniti Q50, Jeep Cherokee, Lexus IS, Mazda3, Peugeot 308 and Skoda Octavia.The 10 finalists for the 2014 World Luxury Car are the Bentley Flying Spur, BMW X5, Cadillac ELR, Cadillac Escalade, Maserati Ghibli, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Porsche Macan, Range Rover Sport and Rolls-Royce Wraith.Due to a tie, there are 11 finalists for the 2014 World Performance Car: Alfa Romeo 4C, Audi RS 6 Avant, BMW M6 Gran Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Ferrari 458 Speciale, Ford Fiesta ST, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster, Mercedes-Benz A/CLA45 AMG, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 Turbo and Volkswagen Golf GTI.A separate panel of five 'green' experts will choose the 2014 World Green Car from Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (+ Audi e-gas), BMW i3, Honda Accord Hybrid, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Volkswagen XL1.Similarly, a panel of five design experts will decide on the 2014 World Car Design of the Year, from among: BMW i3, Cadillac CTS, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Lexus IS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Volkswagen XL1.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

It's not uncommon to see real estate developers add sweeteners to lure buyers, but a Dubai-based firm is taking the trend to a higher level by offering new cars with residences in their latest tower project -- and this time around a 2014 Lamborghini Aventador for each of the penthouses. Those taking the lesser properties will have to make do with a BMW or Mini Cooper, depending on the size of the purchase -- which will probably make for some confusion in nearby shopping centre carparks unless different colours are chosen for each. The developers, Damac, are making the offers as part of their apartment deal during the annual Dubai Shopping Festival promotion. And it's not the first time the company has dangled 'extras' as consumer lures -- including cars, boats, planes and even other real estate. Last year's shopping festival saw Damac offer penthouses with an Audi R8, while the three-bedroom apartments each had a free Audi A8 in the car spot, two-bedroom ones scored an A6 and the one-bedders a somewhat more everyday A4. And in previous years the extras have included other luxury cars, motor yachts, and -- for a very exclusive promotion in 2008 -- an Eclipse 500 private jet and Pelican Caye Island, one of the few private islands on the Turneffe Atolla in the Caribbean. “Damac Properties’ DSF promotion is always highly anticipated and we see some of the best results of the year during this time,” the firm's senior vice-president Niall McLoughlin said in a statement. And the strong response is hardly surprising. The apartments should sell like hotcakes with the kind of icing they're offering. And at least if the tower isn't completed on time, you can camp in your Lamborghini while you wait for the tradies to finish. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

The equivalent of more than $1.5 million has crashed and burned on an expressway in Malaysia, where three Lamborghinis formed their own very expensive Italian supercar pile-up.The cars -- a black Aventador, green Gallardo and an orange Gallardo Superleggera with STS spoiler -- had been travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in a group of five Lambos on a charity event when one driver smashed into the guardrail. Another two failed to react quickly enough to avoid the crashed car, and ended up joining it, with all three catching fire.Later reports have since indicated the accident may have been caused by a local driver swerving towards the three Lamborghinis, with the first one crashing in an effort to avoid the swerving car and the others smashing in a chain reaction.Luckily the drivers escaped without injuries, according to Yahoo News Singapore, however there's no indication yet of what speed the cars were doing at the time, or how close they were to each other in the convoy.Emergency services crews extinguished the blaze, but by the looks of the photos posted on Twitter, the three Lamborghinis are likely all a write-off.The Aventador, which was pinned to the guardrail by the other two cars, sells in Australia from $761,500 while the Gallardo starts at $409,500 -- with both also incurring a hefty Luxury Car Tax whack. Insurance may well cover the cost of the cars in the crash, although the Gallardo owners might have trouble replacing them, as the model is about to reach the end of its life.Watch the desktop version of the three Lamborghinis crash and burn video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

After more than a decade as the world's favourite car colour, silver is falling in popularity to white. PPG Industries, the leading supplier of automotive paints, says 25 percent of the vehicles it supplied in the 2013 model year were white, up 3 percent from the prior year. Silver and black tied for second, with 18 percent each.White dominates in Europe, North America and Asia. Only in South America is silver still king. Apple Inc., with its all-white stores and gadgets, made white a high-tech colour. The variety of whites - from flat shades to creamy pearls - is also contributing, says Jane Harrington, PPG's manager of automotive colour styling.But if you don't relish a whiteout on the highway, never fear. Carmakers are currently scouting colours for the 2016 and 2017 model years, and Harrington is showing them some eye-popping options, from a pink-tinged bright red developed in Asia to a rich dark gray with faint green highlights.Eleven different browns - from light copper to dark chocolate - and an equal number of grays are part of PPG's annual colour show for automakers at its automotive centre in the Detroit suburb of Troy. There are six yellows and seven greens, from seafoam to dark olive. One notable absence: Powder blue, which is increasingly confined to electric cars or hybrids.Harrington and her international team determine colour trends by watching fashion, architectural paint colours and other predictors. She thinks we'll see more deep jewel tones like teal and more earthy metallics, like reddish orange, in the coming years. With the end of the recession, drivers don't mind being showy again, she saysCar buyers could also see taxi-like yellows and other flat, bright colours, which are growing in popularity thanks to small, funky entries like the Kia Soul. Pastel tones, like mint green and very light pink, are also in the mix.PPG will take its colour tour on the road to Los Angeles, Europe and Asia and will then start working with individual automakers on their choices. Companies typically choose eight to 10 colours for every model. PPG won't say how many cars it supplies paint for each year, but it works with every major car company. "They think about the vehicle and how that colour will translate," Harrington said. "That colour, sparkle and finish helps define the car's character." 

Most will agree that Giorgio Sanna has the best job in the world. As chief test driver for Lamborghini’s research and development and motorsport divisions, he gets to drive Lamborghinis fast all day long.His work ensures that the handling and performance of future Lamborghini road cars deliver on expectations, and maintain a close relationship with the brand’s Super Trofeo racers. He probably won’t be retiring any time soon.Watch the Lamborghini test driver video here.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn

The Lamborghini Gallardo is about 10 years old and is well due for retirement and a replacement. Cue the Lamborghini Cabrera. That's the working name of the car that will replace the Gallardo, and the latest images -- snapped while the Cabrera was testing at the Nurburgring circuit in Feb -- show it's echoing the long lean lines of the Aventador.The new entry-level supercar is tipped to be powered by an updated version of the 5.2-litre V10 engine found in the current model, but with extra output extracted to hit 447kW -- a hike of about 40kW over the current base model Gallardo and 28kW over the top-spec version. Following Lamborghini's naming convention, that could also the a LP 600-4 added to the eventual moniker.You can depend on it having standard all-wheel drive, although it's likely a rear-wheel drive version will continue to be offered. A new seven-speed dual clutch transmission is set to replace the aging e-gear automated manual, but there's little chance of a pure manual shifter.Aluminium and carbon fibre will largely comprise the construction to help save weight, with a drop expected from the Gallardo's tare mass of 1600kg (1470kg for the rear-wheel drive).The Cabrera is tipped to arrive late in 2014, and Volkswagen Group-owned brand will be sharing the Lamborghini platform with stablemate Audi for its second-generation R8, which should arrive about a year after the Lambo.This reporter is on Twitter: @karlapincott

The owner of a Lamborghini Aventador has been fined and his car confiscated after it was discovered it was actually a Hyundai. Easy to mistake the two, of course. Police in the Chinese city of Chongqing claimed the Aventador replica after the owner tried to sell it in a shopping centre. Police weren't fussed about the rip-off but by the fact the plastic car was illegally modified and didn't have licence plates. China's vehicle laws are becoming increasingly harsher. Car buyers need a “blue book” from the China Vehicle Inspection authority that lists the specifications of the car and a photo. Any changes to the data or picture are illegal. The baby-blue coupe was based on a second-generation Hyundai Tiburon with a $350 (in China) body kit. Chinese newspapers say the owner was fined about $130 and lose 12 points on the 20-point driver licence. The car will be returned to him but he bodykit will be removed. The writer is on Twitter: @cg_dowling  

Mansory is not known for producing anything close to being subtle. Its vehicle designs are typically way over-the-top affairs that lead to polarising opinions. That's what makes the Carbonado such a surprise.It's a Lamborghini Aventador that's been given a Mansory makeover... and it's rather well done. If you want to be outrageous, the Aventador is a great place to start, and adding carbon fibre by the truckload can push the outrageousness to another level without (really) screaming in peoples' faces.Sure, it's still brash. But it's the right kind of look for a vehicle as insane as the Aventador. The Carbonado boasts carbon fibre pretty much everywhere. It adds a new front lower fascia as well with an interesting daytime running light element in the intakes, which lends an almost naval-aviation vibe to the entire car.It's not just the body that's been given a reworking, however, as Mansory also applied its wrenches to the engine. The Aventador 6.5-litre V12 engine has been given a boost thanks to a pair of turbochargers, which increase the power to levels as insane as the appearance of the bodywork implies.The "standard" Aventador produces 515kW, while the Mansory Carbonado pumps out 933kW. That pushes this vehicle from 0-100km/h in an eye-popping 2.6 seconds. At the same time, the top speed has been raised to 378km/h. This actually might be a fighter jet wearing a Lamborghini suit. In fact, that's the look that Mansory is going for. The tuner even relocated the starting button from the centre stack to the roof to highlight the feeling.www.motorauthority.com 

The $750,000 luxury black matte Italian sports car has been a known pride and joy for the rapper for quite some time.