Lamborghini has replaced its CEO with a former head of Ferrari's Formula 1 program, AutoBlog is reporting.
Stephan Winkelmann will be moved to Lamborghini parent-company Audi's vaunted Quattro performance division.
He will have his work cut out for him: Audi recently announced it would be revamping its Quattro all-wheel drive system, which has been an essential component of the brand since 1980.
Assuring implementation goes smoothly will likely be a big administrative task.
Winkelmann, who had been with Lamborghini since 2005, oversaw the release of two highly-successful new models: the V12 Aventador in 2011 and the V10 Huracán in 2014.
Last year alone the Italian manufacturer of automotive dreams sold a record-setting 3,245 vehicles. Business Insider spoke to Winkelmann last year about his role running one of the world's most famous exotic car brands.
The man who will replace him, Stefano Domenicali, took the reigns of Ferrari's Formula 1 team in 2008, having previously worked his way up through the ranks for 15 years.
Domenicali resigned from the position in 2014 after a dismal season for the team and was quickly scooped up by Audi.
Classic Car Club of Manhattan owns 40 of the most-coveted cars in the world, and members of this ultra-exclusive organization include high-profile entertainers and entrepreneurs.
Produced by Zach Wasser and Chris Snyder. Reporting by Aaron Brown.
In the 11 years since Stephan Winkelmann became president and CEO of Lamborghini, the Italian supercar-maker has grown tremendously while weathering some tough economic times.
This week, Lamborghini's parent company— Audi— confirmed that Winkelmann will become the new head of its Quattro subsidiary in March.
The outgoing Lamborghini boss will now be responsible for Audi's high performance R and RS models.
He will be replaced at Lamborghini by former Ferrari F1 boss Stefano Domenicali.
During Winkelmann's tenure, Lamborghini launched a new flagship model — the Aventador — as well as a new entry-level car, the Huracán.
And in 2018, the VW Group-owned brand will introduce a new SUV: Urus.
Together with the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce's as-yet unnamed off-roader (code-named Project Cullinan), the Urus will form a new ultrapremium SUV segment.
In November, Winkelmann sat down with Business Insider at the opening of the company's new New York showroom at Manhattan Motorcars.
Here are four big takeaways from the interview:
On how the Urus will change the Lamborghini
The arrival of the company's third model will mean major changes for the company.
"It's a major step for Lamborghini because we are almost doubling the size of our company," Winkelmann said. "If you have 10 models and you add one, it's a major effort, but it's not as difficult as what we are doing [with the Urus]."
The addition of an SUV could have the same effect on Lamborghini that it did for Porsche more than a decade ago. SUVs represent roughly 60% of Porsche's US sales.
In 2014, Lamborghini had its best year in company history with 2,530 cars sold worldwide, a 19% increase over 2013.
On the performance of the Urus
"It will be the supercar among the SUVs," Winkelmann said.
But it also adds a different dimension to the company's lineup of cars.
He said: "Our supercars are not meant to be used as daily drivers. Even if they are very daily drivable, it's not their mission. With the Urus, it's a car that can go fast, but it's not designed with a focus on the top speed or acceleration. It's a car designed to be comfortable and be a daily driver with a cruising attitude. This will be the key to its success."
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
On the difference between Ferrari and Lamborghini
"We are a brand that's very different from Ferrari," Winkelmann said. "From the beginning we did a GT car, a 2+2 in the Espada and we built the LM002 [a Hummer-like SUV], in the past."
He added: "We are not only a super-sports-car company, and in the last 10 years we really focused on this."
On why there won't be any electric or hybrid Lamborghinis in the near future
Although the disruption of the auto industry by high-tech newcomers, such as Tesla, has been good, battery-powered cars have a long way to go in terms of range and top speed, the Lamborghini CEO said.
Much of this can be attributed to the added weight of the cars' heavy battery packs.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Winkelmann pointed out that added weight compromises the handling of battery-powered cars.
He said: "You might be able to go fast, but driveability in and out of the corners is not there. The power-to-weight balance is one of the key elements for our cars. It's not enough to go fast. In the past [the order of importance] was top speed, acceleration, and handling. Acceleration is still No. 2, but top speed and handling have changed places."
As a result, Lamborghini does not plan to have an all-electric or hybrid powertrain in any of its supercars, but future generations of the Urus SUV may get a hybrid system.
In the UN of supercar makers, Lamborghini isn't just a member. It's got a permanent seat on the Security Council. Over the past 50 years, Lamborghini has firmly established itself as one of the most desirable and respected brands in the automotive industry. Like its archrival, Ferrari, the supercar specialists from Sant'Agata emerged from unlikely beginnings and have survived through great financial upheaval.
In the process, Lamborghini has given the world some of most insane and iconic cars in recent memory.
For most people, this the vision that comes to mind when you mention the name "Lamborghini." But that wasn't always the case.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
After World War II, Ferruccio Lamborghini found great success making farm equipment for rebuilding Europe. As a result, the wealthy entrepreneur acquired a fleet of the finest sports cars the continent had to offer.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
So how did Lamborghini go from tractor-maker to supercar legend? It depends on who you ask.
The Lamborghini Centenario is finally here. At least, that's what everyone thought when Lamborghini apparently accidentally set a reveal video on YouTube to public and then quickly back to private. Whoops?
What do we know about it? Well, Jalopnik reports that the car will have a massive motor pushing out 770 horsepower, be capable of 0-60 in a violent 2.8 seconds, and have 40 cars total produced (20 coupes, 20 roadsters).
Lamborghini unveiled its new Centenario supercar today at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.
The uber-aggressive, carbon-fiber-clad beast is a celebration of company-founder Ferruccio Lamborghini's 100th birthday.
The Centenario is also the most powerful road car in company history.
Under the hood you'll find a naturally aspirated 770 horsepower V-12 engine. It's the most extreme version of Lambo's iconic V-12 that has ever been deployed in a road car.
According to Lamborghini, its founding father's 100th birthday present is capable of blitzing the run to 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds with a top speed of around 217 mph.
"The Centenario is a car that perfectly combines tradition and innovation. It looks to the future while honoring the legend that is Ferruccio Lamborghini," Lamborghini president and CEO Stephan Winkelmann said in a statement.
"It is the most fitting tribute to Ferruccio Lamborghini in his centenary year: a man who created an exceptional brand, believed that anything was possible, and produced extraordinary, iconic cars."
In addition to the monster V-12 motor, the Centenario's body is fully decked out in lightweight carbon fiber. As a result, the new Lambo tips the scales at a relatively lithe 3,351 pounds.
The new Lambo also features an extensive aero package which includes a deployable rear spoiler and a massive underbody diffuser. The car is also equipped with four-wheel steering which Winkelmann claims will improve agility and stability.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Inside the Centenario, Lamborghini continues the carbon fiber theme with the material heavily used for styling accents. The cockpit is very driver-centric with a business-like digital racing gauge cluster displayed prominently. The center stack is dominated by a massive vertically oriented connected touchscreen infotainment system. So when the adoring masses swarm to take pictures of your car, you can sit in comfort and surf the web or use Apple CarPlay.
A total of 40 Centenarios will be built — 20 coupes and 20 roadsters.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.All of this innovation and tradition comes with a steep price — $1.9 million. But that's a mere footnote at this point, because all 40 cars have already been sold to "those who are close to the Lamborghini brand."
The Centenario is also likely to be the last significant Lamborghini to be introduced under Winkelmann's highly successful 11-year run as the supercar maker's head honcho. Later this month, former Ferrari F1 boss Stefano Domenicali will takeover as Lambo's new CEO. Winkelmann will return to Lamborghini's parent company, Audi, to leads its high performance Quattro division and over see its S and RS model lines.
Lamborghini revealed this week at the Geneva Motor Show a special edition of their Huracán LP 610-4 supercar called the Huracán Avio, or "aviation."
The new edition, of which only 250 will be produced, was revealed alongside the simply outrageous Lamborghini Centenario.
While the car's 4.2-liter, 610-horsepower V10 and driving dynamics remain the same, the Huracán Avio is really a cosmetic upgrade.
Along with the obvious full-length double racing stripe offset from center, exterior color choices are Blu Grifo, Grigio Nibbio, Grigio Vulcano and Verde Turbine, which are inspired by those of the Italian Air Force Academy.
There's also a pretty slick roundel on the car's sides. There are also a few special tweaks to the car's interior.
The Huracán Avio will reach showrooms this summer.
Everybody's got the wrong idea about Lamborghinis, and that's kind of the way Lamborghini likes it.
The cars are blazingly over the top, willfully inappropriate, and boldly nonconformist. They shout. They scream. They are not designed for people with modest self-esteem. They are the opposite of Volvos. Even for Ferrari owners, they're a bit much. But the new Huracán is going to definitively change that impression.
Named for a Spanish fighting bull, in the Lambo way, as well as a Mayan wind god and, of course, the Spanish word for "hurricane," the Huracán was introduced last year and replaces the Gallardo, the all-time best-seller for the carmaker, which was in production for a decade.
With a 5.2-liter V10 engine, midmounted, the Huracán continues the Gallardo's newish tradition of a "small" Lambo to accompany the big V12 Lambos that serve as the brand's flagship cars — at the moment, that would be the Aventador, but previous storied names included the Countach, Diablo, and Murciélago. Those cars are flat-out bonkers. You'd wave a red cape at them at your own considerable risk. The V10s are, well, more mannered, while certainly not tame.
And with the Huracán — despite its name — Lambo has put a little more distance between the big Lambos and the little Lambos. Some of this can be either attributed to or blamed on, depending on your attitude about what a Lambo should be, Lambo's position in the VW Group and its relationship with corporate stablemate Audi.
The Huracán and the R8 have a lot in common under the sheet metal and carbon fiber.
The R8, despite the "Iron Man" associations, is regarded as an "everyday" supercar, and a healthy dose of the mundane has been injected into the Huracán. That is, until you make a few adjustments to the driving settings. Then you have all the Lambo you could ever want, as we found out when the automaker let us borrow a Huracán last year for a few days of supercar motoring in rain and shine.
Lambos are usually spotted in completely outrageous colors. We were honestly looking forward to something shocking in our suburban New Jersey driveway, test central for Business Insider.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Maybe something a little like this Lamborghini Diablo, in flamboyant orange. Lock up the kids!
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
What we got, however, was a midengine beast elegantly tailored in soothing, dignified tones of gray. We photographed the Huracán from every imaginable angle, in rain and glorious autumnal shine ...
Right now in Gloucestershire, England, there is a Lamborghini Countach replica sitting and waiting to be to used once again as the ocean-going car it was built to be, and it can be yours for just about $27,000.
Why should you buy an amphibious replica of one the world's favorite Lamborghinis ever? Because it's awesome. That's why.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The car (boat?) was constructed by Mike Ryan, the founder of SeaRoader, a U.K.-based vehicle modifier that specializes in making amphibious cars, Road & Track reports. It uses a twin-prop drive system and a front-hydrofoil to get going when in water. When you're on land, none of that boat-stuff is visible at all. Like magic!
For the most part, the replica does a pretty good job of looking like an original Countach all-around. The eBay listing says that the car was "composite molded from a Countach 500 QV model with a re-styled nose and Anniversary back panel." The text goes on to say that all "panel gaps and operation of doors are all superb."
Not a bad deal considering a real, non-amphibious Countach can easily go for upwards of $400,000 right now.
When being used on-road, the Z1A, as it's called, has a push-rod coilover suspension setup on each corner of the car which helps get the car around corners. When it meets water, hydraulics are used to retrieve the wheels from the wheel wells for all your aquatic adventures.
Its listing says that when it was built, the Z1A was the world's fastest amphibious car, but it's unclear if that's on land, in the water, or both.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
To get the car back to proper running order, it'll need "a major service," the listing says. That includes adding new interior pieces, some fuel lines, tires, brakes, and other minor odds and ends. Most of this stuff is pretty much expected for a car that's been sitting for over 10 years.
Though it might need a little elbow-grease, this Countach could be a pretty mean toy. Why not, right?
"The next wave of Italians has come to America," a 2010 commercialfor the Fiat 500 proclaimed.
Brightly-colored examples of the itty-bitty city car slid around typical Italian alleyways paved with cobblestones and then ... dove suddenly into the sea, to then emerge from the depths on the beaches of Brooklyn.
Jump forward a few years, and we now have more Italian cars in the US than at any time in recent memory.
After they retreated from North America 27 years ago — plagued by a reputation for unreliability — Fiat is solidly back, now offering three models of the 500 and many variations of each. The 124 Spyder roadster will become available to customers later this year.
Maserati, though never truly absent from the United States, began a trek out of near-obscurity with the Quattroporte sedan over a decade ago, then added the Ghibli sedan in 2013. Soon to join the lineup is the beautiful Alfieri sports car and a long-rumored SUV, called the Levante
For the driving enthusiast, there is Alfa Romeo — another brand exiled from the US for more than 20 years. They brought us the exciting 4C in 2014. That car will be joined by the drop-top 4C Spyder and the 505 horsepower Giulia sedan.
And then, of course, there are the supercars.
Some say the most beautiful cars in the world come from Italy. Here's a list of reasons why.
The car that started it all: the Fiat 500. With 101 horsepower, you may look good, but you won't be in any hurry. We recommend the tuned-up Abarth trim.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The Fiat 500L. Yes, the Pope has one.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The slightly larger 500x messes with the original concept even more. It's a BIG tiny car.
The first ever supercar, the Lamborghini Miura, celebrated its 50th birthday this year.
When it was first introduced in 1966, the car shocked the automotive world, and not just for its striking good looks.
Underneath the beautiful, Marcello Gandini-sculpted bodywork is a design that was then completely new to road cars and one that would initiate the entire concept of the modern "supercar"— the kind of dream machines that to this day comprise the performance automobile elite.
Despite being the car that would shape his company's entire future, founder Ferruccio Lamborghini never actually wanted to build the Miura. Alongside his successful farm tractor business, the few cars that Lamborghini had built so far were front-engined grand tourers like the ones Ferrari were selling. But three of his best engineers had a better idea.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The story goes that the engineers worked on the design at night in their own free time, hoping to first show Mr. Lamborghini that the concept was financially possible before he ever had the chance to say no.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
In automotive engineering terms, the 'P400' concept, which would become the Miura, was a radical idea. The engine would be mounted in the middle of the car, a proven idea in racing cars but something that had never before been done in a road-going sports car. To keep things compact, the long V12 engine was positioned sideways, or transversely, and the gearbox and differential were combined into a single casing.
To be fair, both of those ideas were borrowed from a much more humble car: the British-made Mini. But in the Miura, they meant the car could be shorter and therefore sportier, while putting the heavy engine in the middle provided exceptional balance.
Lamborghini brought the bare chassis and drivetrain to the Turin auto show in 1965, and though all customers had seen was the skeleton of a potential (though clearly innovative) car, orders flooded in.
The actual chassis that went to Turin — the very genesis of the supercar — was rediscovered in 2008 on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, and by the last account it is undergoing restoration work in the United States. It is an essential object in the history of automobiles.
Mr. Lamborghini would name the final car the Miura, after a special type of bull bred in Spain for fighting. The car was the first Lamborghini to wear the now iconic badge, and every Lamborghini road car that followed the Miura was also named for a fighting bull.
We got take the 2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2 for a spin around New York. With a base price of $199,805, it's technically the cheapest Lamborghini on the market. The car we drove came outfitted with options that drove its price upwards of $261,000.
In the UN of supercar makers, Lamborghini isn't just a member. It's got a permanent seat on the Security Council. Over the past 50 years, Lamborghini has firmly established itself as one of the most desirable and respected brands in the automotive industry. Like its archrival, Ferrari, the supercar specialists from Sant'Agata emerged from unlikely beginnings and have survived through great financial upheaval.
In the process, Lamborghini has given the world some of most insane and iconic cars in recent memory.
For most people, this is the vision that comes to mind when you mention the name "Lamborghini." But that wasn't always the case.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
After World War II, Ferruccio Lamborghini found great success making farm equipment for rebuilding Europe. As a result, the wealthy entrepreneur acquired a fleet of the finest sports cars the continent had to offer.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
So how did Lamborghini go from tractor-maker to supercar legend? It depends on who you ask.
Luxury car maker Lamborghini is attempting to shake off its macho image in order to target women and families for the first time, Bloomberg reports.
The company's recently appointed chief executive Stefano Domenicali said the brand — with its famous raging bull logo — plans to soften its image with the launch of its new Urus SUV, which is due to roll out in 2018 at a starting price of around $200,000.
Domenicali said: "A bull is always aggressive, but I would like to give us a new philosophy toward the future: A bull can be gentle."
The Volkswagen Group-owned Lamborghini hopes the majority of the new SUV's buyers will be women, but just 5% of its global buyers last year were female — a figure that has stayed at around the same level for more than a decade, according to Bloomberg, which shows how much of a task the automaker has ahead of it.
The Lamborghini Urus SUV has softer edges than signature Lamborghinis and is expected to have a 600-horsepower, turbocharged V8 engine rather than the automaker's signature V12.
Domenicali said: "A bull can recognize people with a glimpse of the eye and be smart. He is not always aggressive in a negative way. He’s aggressive because he is [a] very strong animal, but the Lamborghini of the future is an animal that can recognize the beauty of people, can recognize the fact that we are going to a family-oriented business with an SUV."
I don't know about you, but I play video games to play them. Not to watch pretty videos, not to adjust settings — my time is limited, as is yours, so I appreciate it when a game gets to the point quickly.
The gorgeous new racer "Forza Horizon 3" nails this.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
I started the game, and within minutes of the absolutely ridiculous "Fast & Furious-style" intro, I was behind the wheel of the Lamborghini Centenario you see above.
The premise of "Forza Horizon 3," as explained in the intro, is simple: You're the boss of a festival — the "Horizon" festival — which combines street racing culture with, uh, like a fancy version of Burning Man? Kind of?
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The ridiculous tone of the rest of the game is set in these two minutes. Here's an actual quote:
"It's big and it's hot and the roads are just wide open. Bro, we're talking fast cars, cool beats, summer sun, classic style, blazing days, banging nights, burned rubber, wild parties, and exotic animals. So put your pedal to the floor as we welcome you to Horizon Australia."
Indeed.
"Forza Horizon 3" is a game that revels in being over-the-top, and it's thankfully done with a wink and a nod (and probably the word "bro").
After a late title screen, three minutes after pushing start, I'm behind the wheel of the aforementioned Lambo. Like so:
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
And that's tremendously meaningful! I got this racing game to race cars, right? That's the point? Well here I am! Racing cars!
More seriously, it's just a crazy way to start a game. Most racers ask you which car you'd like to start with, if you want to drive in automatic or manual, and all sorts of other stuff. Heck, most games in general still open with stuff like brightness settings and difficulty levels.
Instead, "Forza Horizon 3" says, "Hey, you're in Australia. The game is very pretty. There are lots of cars. Now get in one that's going fast and make it go even faster." Sure thing!
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
In doing so, the game teaches basic mechanics (pull the trigger to accelerate, push Y to rewind the race, etc.), sets a tone for the game (go FAST!), and immediately pulls you in. It certainly pulled me in.
And then, when you're getting comfy? "Horizon 3" thrusts you into a totally different vehicle:
There's good reason for that: "Forza Horizon 3" is a racing game where you'll drive through a diversity of regions. It's totally normal to jump from a street race to a rallycar race in one step.
As such, the first five or so minutes of "Forza Horizon 3" is one of the most satisfying I've played in any game. It goads you in with silliness, then throws you into racing at full speed — and that's a damn-near killer combo.
"Forza Horizon 3" arrives on September 27, exclusively on Xbox One and Windows 10. Check out the first 30 minutes of gameplay below (including the amazing intro), care of Polygon:
Car manufacturer Caresto dismantled a Lamborghini to make an awesome-looking, drivable Batmobile:
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Caresto got inspiration for the car from "Batman: Arkham Knight," a 2015 video game based on the Batman comics. The car first raced in the Gumball 3000, a 3,000-mile supercar race that takes place on public streets, in May. Since that time, the car has driven a total of 6,000 miles throughout Europe.
Scroll down for a closer look at the drivable Batmobile:
It's well-known that Donald Trump is a very wealthy man, but his actual net worth has always been a bit of a question mark.
Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has boasted about his wealth, at times claiming to be worth as much as $10 billion. But as recent reports have shown, it's likely that his net worth is considerably less — according to a recent Forbes investigation, for example, Trump's wealth has declined in recent months as the value of his retail and office properties has gone down, and his net worth could now be closer to $3.7 billion.
One thing is for certain, though: regardless of how many billions Trump has, he knows how to spread his fortune around.
Aside from running some of the best-known apartment buildings in the country, he also owns a personal portfolio of homes from Manhattan to Palm Beach, all of which are drenched in gold.
Keep scrolling to check out Trump's collection of homes, cars, aircrafts, and more.
April Walloga and Meredith Galante contributed reporting to an earlier version of this post.
Donald Trump calls Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue home the majority of the time. Trump Tower is a 68-story skyscraper, and Trump sleeps in a triplex penthouse.
Trump's penthouse has a gold- and diamond-covered door, an indoor fountain, a painted ceiling, and an ornate chandelier. It's absolutely covered in marble.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
When Trump gets tired of his New York abode, he hops on his $100 million Boeing 757 and jets to one of his other mansions.
