The Smoking Tire finds the best driving road in California and the best car we’ve ever driven to tackle it: VF Engineering’s all new Supercharged Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. With 760HP and 600 lb/ft of torque going through all 4 wheels, this car redefines fast. Video after the jump.

You know those crazy super-fans, that buy anything that was ever touched by their idol? The people that buy a pen that was held by Janis Joplin, or the stained underwear that was allegedly shat in by Bon Jovi? I wonder if there’s people like that for the hosts of every car fan’s favorite ongoing porno, Top Gear? If so, this car will be snatched up in a second. Of course, the super-fan will also have to have a job, and a good one. Jeremy Clarkson’s Gallardo Spyder, is up for sale, for the sum of $146,000.  At least this is something you can use, unlike a Star Wars toy signed by Mark Hamil that’s still in the original box.

I guess between his Ford GT and Mercedes CLK 63 AMG Black Series he has enough excitement. Plus, I think that somehow those are less flamboyant. Or maybe it’s because Clarkson knew that as long as he owned the Gallardo, he could never date Kristin Scott Thomas. Yeah, I’m sure Ms. Thomas will steam the windows of her G whiz when she sees his Ford GT.

The Smoking Tire was fortunate enough to be able to attend the first-ever “Cars and Cockpits” event at the Lyon Air Museum this past weekend. It was a great change of pace from the usual Cars and Coffee and Supercar Sunday, because not only were there several million dollars worth of metal in the parking lot, but also the museum opened its doors to us, so we could appreciate some fine vintage aircraft and military vehicles. Some highlights of the show included the famous “triple black” Ferrari Enzo (pictured above), many other Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Aston’s Bentley’s, Nissan GTR’s, BMW’s, Porsches, and crazy tuner cars, including the world’s ugliest vehicle, the Mansory Panamera Turbo. In the gallery, check out the yellow F430 Spider, which isn’t special except that it’s fitted with carbon fiber hand controls so its wheelchair-bound owner can wind out the 4.3L V8 using his right hand. Inside the Lyon Air museum, we were treated to some elegantly restored World War II-era aircraft and vehicles, my favorite of which was the minimally restored and completely functional 1934 Mercedes 6-wheel parade car, formerly owned by Adolf Hitler. Hit the jump for the 80-image mega gallery of the event.

Some say “nothing good happens after 2am.” I don’t know what time it was when an OmniAuto reader took these pictures, but I doubt it was during normal commuting hours. Like a Corleone, if you want to move a body and keep it quiet, you do it late at night. What we have here is one of the most anticipated cars from one of the biggest “families” of Italia; Lamborghini’s successor the retired Murcielago. Make the jump to see all the spy shots.

We’re unsure if this is a camouflaged Aventador, or the top-secret 83X, but the roofline looks similar to the car spotted at the gates of the Nurburgring a few months back. Lamborghini’s next super car will have a new 700hp V-12, as well as an all new transmission. As you can see by the camouflage-apparently sourced from un-sold 3d posters- Lamborghini doesn’t want to show their hand until the official unveiling.

We don’t know the specs and specifics, but it’s a new Lamborghini so there’s a few things you can be sure every part of it (except it’s weight) will be greater than the Murci it replaces. That means more power, speed, money, bigger brakes and a crazier looks. The body is being built by the same company that made the tub for the McLaren M4-12C, so it will weigh the same as an Olson twin. Rigidity is said to be up, and vaginal attraction will also be up at least 10%. We’ll be impatiently waiting.

I love Sir Mix-A-Lot. In addition to “Baby Got Back,” Mix had a track on the sountrack to Beavis and Butt-head Do America called “Monsta Mack” that cracks me up every time I hear it. But up until now I had no idea what a huge car enthusiast Mix was, and how he drops actual real car knowledge into his newest music video, “Carz.” Before you laugh and assume he’s talking about big rims, Escalades, and “Ice Cream Paint Jobs,” please take a minute to watch the video. This is, no joke, a fully comprehensive review of awesome sports cars in a rap video. Me and Tom just watched this shit like 3 times and we’re laughing every time.

And Mix, if you read this, can we please hang out? Video after the jump.

While we were unable to make it to the LA Auto Show’s press days this week because of our obligations to Top Gear, there were certainly a bit of unveiling worth discussing here, specifically two new, lightened models from Porsche and Lamborghini.

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante: Think of it as simply a Gallardo Superleggera with no roof. While some purists would call this idea proposterous, since serious sports car owners wouldn’t dare purchase a drop-top, we rather like it. Mainly, because Matt is 6’2″ and 245 lbs, and looks pretty damn silly stuffed into a Gallardo coupe. Plus, the Gallardo makes one of the most intoxicating noises known to man, except for maybe the sound Ke$ha would make while being beaten to death by cricket bats, but, you know, auto-tuned. This sound (the engine, not Ke$ha’s death) is best enjoyed with the top down anyway. As for lightness, the Spyder Performante sheds its pounds via liberal use of carbon fiber; the seatbacks, top cover, spoiler, diffuser, flat-undertray, transmission tunnel, and door panels are all made with the stuff. In total, it weighs 143 lbs less than it’s “normal” Spyder counterpart.

The Porsche Cayman R: Like the Boxster Spyder that was released last year, the Cayman R is a lightened version of the best car Porsche makes entry-level Cayman. It weighs 120 lbs less than a Cayman S, with 10 extra horsepowers. It can hit sixty in under 5 seconds and top out at 175 mph. The insides are made of Alcantara, Carbon, and Strappy door pulls. It’s lower and stiffer than the Cayman S too, and we’d bet our arses it’s the most fun car in Porsche’s current lineup. Look for the Cayman R to hit showrooms next year with a base price of $66,000.

[Images: Autoblog]

Supercar Sunday, that “other” Southern California car meet, features a new marque every last Sunday of the month. This month’s marque was pre-1973 Muscle Cars, just about the most boring marque you can imagine. I mean really, if you’ve seen one 1968 Camaro, haven’t you seen them all? So I didn’t take shots of any muscle cars not worth shooting. I did, however, manage to capture a few gems. There was a trio of Tesla’s, a trio of Lotus Se7ens, a pair of 1st-gen BMW M6′s, a few nice Ferrari’s, and even a Maserati Birdcage. But the real diamond is the car shown above, Ray Scherr’s  concours-winning 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Roadster. This car wasn’t even at the car show, I spotted it on the top of Mullholland Highway’s “Snake” section. He was out driving it! Rumor has it, Ray turned down $15 million for this car a couple years back, and I’m glad to see him out enjoying it.

Supercar Sunday mega-gallery after the jump.

If you were going to chose a donor car to build into a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, what would you chose? Obviously, you’d want something mid-engined, probably a convertible at the very least.  I’d say a Porsche Boxster, since 1st generation models can be had cheap, and at least it has a leather interior and some semblance of performance. Not everyone thinks like me, including this guy. Well, would you believe that underneath this – “e” for effort – bodywork lies a 128,000 mile Dodge Stratus? I didn’t believe it either, but it’s true.

In the seller’s own words:

Warren Goodwin founded Fiberfab in 1964, when he started making lightweight body panels for Muscle and hot-rodders. It wasn’t long before they moved on to Kit Cars with their first effort, the “Jamaican,” which sat atop either a Triumph, MGA, or Austin Healey frame. They designed a GT-40 replica body to fit on a VW Beetle, and then modified it to accept a V8 engine.

Believe it or not, the Aztec 7 is based on a real car: The Bertone Carabo. An Alfa Romeo concept car, which was designed by none other than Marcello Gandini (of Lamborghini Miura fame), was unveiled in 1968 in Paris to an absolutely stunned crowd. It was Gandini’s solution to the Miura’s front-end lift problems, and featured “scissor” doors. It will surprise no one that once the Carabo never saw production, Gandini went on to design the Countach, and change the supercar game forever.

The Aztec 7 looks nearly identical to the Carabo concept car, and sits on a VW Beetle engine and chassis. A quick search on the Aztec 7 owner’s registry (and I do mean quick, only about 40 cars total are on the registry, of a total production run of about 400) reveals that this car is Serial # 805031, a “Type B” car.

Fiberfab closed its doors in 1983 after investigations into “questionable business practices,” but seeing one in the wild today is a treat indeed.

Source: [FiberFabAztec7.com]

The world of kit cars is a funny place. On the one hand, modern replica vehicles allow people to enjoy the spirit and performance of the original, and at a small fraction of the price. On the other, they have little collector car value and suffer ridicule from purists. A good one, such as a Superformance Cobra or Shelby Daytona Coupe, can cost over $100,000 and outperform the original. Others are built in basements for fractions of that sum, and vary in quality, from horrid to better than the real thing.

Fiero.nl forum member “Archie” has lots of experience building kit cars himself, from scratch. He once built a GT40 replica on a Fiero chassis that made the cover of Kit Car magazine. His newest project is what really interests us: An LS3-powered Lamborghini Miura SV replica, on a Fiero GT chassis.

We’ve never personally seen a Miura kit car, which makes the idea particularly interesting to us. Unlike a Shelby Cobra, 99% of Miuras on the road are legit. As a former Superformance Cobra owner, the first question people always ask when you drive it is, “is it real?”

It’s always disappointing to have to say, “no.” They lose interest right away.

Archie’s Miura isn’t quite done yet, but it looks pretty damn good so far. Check out the amazing build thread  here.

[Source: Fiero.nl]

Despite the energy crisis and a recession, supercars seem to be getting better at an exponential rate. The future of the automobile is uncertain, making the future of the super-automobile even more shaky. Companies are fighting for a shrinking pie, one that got even smaller with the economic shit-storm of 2009.  But like the raging bull that graces the front of a Lamborghini, no one is going down easy. Each passing year is like another prick from the matador, only infuriating the bull and making it fight harder.

In 2010 the fight shows no signs of waning. There are handfuls of incredibly fast, beautiful and powerful cars coming our way. They are all so good, yet so different, the only answer I can think of to, “Which would you buy?” is “All of them!” And that got me thinking, what would I-or you-buy?

Today I’ve put together a list of 6 of the newest and best supercars of 2010. They all cost $200-250,000, are street legal, go like stink and are true supercars. I want you to read the list. Now close your eyes, and imagine someone just placed $250,000 on the table in front of you, and you have to use that money to buy one of these cars. (You can imagine they have a gun if it helps.)

You can only choose one, and it has to be from the list. I don’t want you to say “I’d buy 2 ZR1′s.” or “I’d buy a Hyundai Accent and invest the rest in moderate-return IRA’s and use that to purchase petroleum opt…” Yes you could build a GTR that’s faster, or a used 996 turbo and build it up to 1000hp. That’s not the point. What would you pick from this list of cars coming to us  in 2010, if you had the cash. Yeah, you better imagine I have a gun…

1. Audi R8 GT

First on the casting couch is Audi’s upcoming R8 GT. Think of this as an R8 “superleggera.” It makes 35 more horsepower than the R8 V10 but thanks to CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) body panels it also weighs 220lbs less the standard V10.  Thanks to the standard AWD it rockets to 60mph in only 3.5 seconds and tops out at 200mph.

There are a ton of track-oriented options available like a full roll cage, kill switch, cup tires and 6 piston ceramic brakes. Sadly no amount of money will get you a 6-speed manual, as this car is only offered with the R-Tronic transmission. Audi has taken the car that set a new standard for daily-driven supercars and simply turned the “super” knob up a little bit. It’s $256,000 of brilliant engineering that has only perfected it’s racing skill set.

2. Aston Martin V-12 Vantage

Originally Aston Martin had no intention of sending the V12 Vantage to the U.S. Odd, considering we are their biggest market. However enough customers sent enough gift baskets and now it’s headed here. It would have been a travesty to keep it from us. The V12 Vantage was described by Aston’s CEO as their “most agile car with their most powerful engine ever.” It won it’s class at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring while being piloted by the CEO and a team of engineers. People say Astons are filled with passion and soul, and I think that race is a clue as to why.

It has the classic long hood of a true sports car. The 510hp/420 tq. V-12 uses a 6-speed manual transmission to send power to the rear wheels only. Those 2 factors make this the “purist” car in the lineup. 0-60 happens in a brisk 4.1 seconds and the fun doesn’t stop until 190mph. The interior is beautiful without going soft.

The price is $250,000, or for another $13k in bragging rights  you can get the Carbon Black Limited Edition. It may not lap a track as fast as some of the others, and at 3700 lbs it’s also the heaviest, but it is stunning inside and out and you can’t argue with a V12 and a 6 speed.

3. Porsche GT2 RS

If people think the new Cayennes aren’t “Porsche enough” this car should balance that out. The standard GT2 is a 530hp, temperamental beast. It’s essentially the RWD purity of the GT3RS with the engine of a turbo, and the result was terrifying. If that car was scary, this one will simply cause drivers to go into catatonic shock. 620hp. 3,020lbs. 0-60 in 3.4 and the 747-like thrust doesn’t stop until 205mph. It’s simply the most powerful and fastest Porsche ever made, faster even than the Carrera GT.

Upgrades from the regular GT2 include a carbon fiber hood, wing, front splitter and intakes. It has a revised PSM (Porsche Stability Management) system, suspension and brakes. Special tires were made just for this car to handle the combination of grip and acceleration. This car calls back to the “glory” days of Porsche when they had lots of power, no amenities and could rip your head off if you looked at them wrong. It may not burble comfortably around town like a Turbo, but it’s time of 7:18 beat an Enzo around the ‘Ring. It’s like a Carrera GT without the sex appeal and-at $245,000-half the price. (Check out the video.)

4. Ferrari 458 Italia

Although I didn’t love the headlights when it first came out, I will now admit this is the best-looking car in this lineup. It’s angular yet supple, combing the sexy with the sinister. It’s 4.5 liter V8 makes 560hp at a sonorous 9,000RPM, yet somehow manages to make 80% of it’s 400 tq. at only 3,250RPM. Simply incredible. Of course it’s also the nerd of the group, with Ferrari’s E-Diff and F1 Traction Control. All this comes together in the form of 3.35 seconds to 60 and a 202mph top speed.

The interior is very modern-looking combination of creature comforts and racing tools. You can flip through the various settings with the manettino switch on the wheel, changing everything from how soft the shocks are to how hard the 7-speed DCT transmission shifts. You can also listen to music while directed by the SAT NAV.

The 458 is supercar technology at it’s highest, from the biggest name in the business. At $230,000 it seems like a bargain, but you’ll have to hire body guards to watch it 24/7 so you can sleep at night, and don’t forget about those maintenance costs.

5. Mercedes SLS AMG  Gullwing

The SLS was one of the most talked about and followed cars of recent years. Spy shots and speculation were blanketed on magazines and rumors about specs were more prevalent than HPV. Now it’s here, and what a car it is. The boys from Jalopnik put it bes; they expected a luxury car with some track ability, but got a track car that was also luxurious.

The outside, of course, is a call back to the original SL. The nose is longer than Mrs. Streisand’s but makes the overall shape downright gorgeous. I think it’s 2nd in the looks department only to the 458.  I was actually surprised it was priced at $200,000.

That money gets you 571hp and 480 tq. sent through a 7 speed trans-axle and shoved into a 3,571lb box. Its 0-60 time of 3.8s puts it in 5th place, but the top speed of 197 is on par with everyone else. It’s not as razor-sharp as the GT2, but is still fast on uneven roads, something the GT2 RS stumbles on. The soundtrack from the side pipes circles perfection. Gorgeous inside and out, and with doors that will elicit stares from any bystander, this car can turn heads and break necks.

6. Lamborghini LP560-4

Fittingly, the final contestant is a raging bull itself; the LP560-4. It won countless magazine showdowns when it hit the roads, combining beauty, brawn and brains into one incredible package. And because it’s a Lamborghini, it comes with a VIP card of mystique that goes back decades. Because it gets a lot of it’s parts from Audi (trades, rather) it also means the stuff all works. So you can go from 0 to 62 in 3.7 seconds all day long, instead of twice. Like the others, top speed is 200mph.

The body has the angular, aggressive face we’ve come to expect from Lamborghini, and it looks incredible. It’s low and short, and the AWD adds confidence to its agility, a deadly combo. It also comes with a 6 speed, so you can’t call it a video game. At $200,000 it may seem like the best choice; Italian looks and appeal, Audi reliability and serious performance. But it won’t be cheap for long. The options list is longer than the health care bill, and if you pick the wrong (or right?) paint color you’re looking at another $25,000. Just ordering the E-Gear tacks on $10,000. Still, an R8 V10 in an Italian body is difficult to walk past.

So there you have it, 6 of the best cars you can buy for about $250,000. Post below which one you would want, and tell us why. And don’t forget about the gun.

-Zack K

It is with great sadness that I report the death of Benny Caiola, one of the most famous Italian sports car collectors in the world, after a short but severe battle with cancer. After coming to America from Italy at the age of 17, Benny worked his way up from plasterer, to contractor, to founding one of the largest real estate management companies in Manhattan. He was most widely known, however, for owning the largest and most extensive Ferrari collection in the world, boasting an FXX, two Enzos, several Challenge cars, an F40, F50, 333SP, 250GTO, and many more. In the photo above, he is taking delivery of Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 #001, to add to his Diablo GT, Muira S Jota, and Countach LP400. He also owned two of the four Zonda’s in the United States.

We were fortunate enough to sit down with Benny last year at the Cavallino Classic Track Day at Palm Beach International Raceway, check out the video after the jump. Rest in peace, Benny Caiola.

Lamborghini has invaded the snow-covered territory of Subaru, Audi and Mistubishi. This Gallardo, built by reiter-engineering, has some serious snow tires and one of the most hauntingly amazing exhaust sounds I’ve ever heard. I watched Tiff Needell drift an LP-560-4, tamely, around an ice course, but this is different. Drifting is just how this car stretches before it tears up a ski slow, surely causing an avalanche with the howl it produces. Simply awesome. And soon, this will be cheaper than buying a normal lift ticket. We want to thank our friend ToofaneBatamameezi for hosting this awesome video.

They say, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” We’ve all heard that line, and if you’re like me, it’s an infuriating thing to hear. It’s always said to you after something horrible happens. Perhaps an earthquake knocked down your garage…onto your new car…with Megan Fox inside.

This week we had a Nissan 370z Convertible to review. What better environment is there for a convertible sports car than a road trip? So we drove it to Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, in Pahrump, NV. We had planned to pit a Ford GT against a Nissan GTR and use a radar gun to see which could reach the highest speed down the back straight.

The radar gun never came.

Had life given us lemons? For a moment we thought our episode was lost. But then a very nice man from Lamborghini of Las Vegas said 7 very exciting words to Matt, “Would you like to drive the Balboni?” No, life had not given us lemons. In this case, life felt bad about the lemons, so it took them and made us lemon sorbet, which it fed to us while giving us a back-rub.

The momentarily-dark day turned into one of the best  yet. The key players? A Lamborghini LP-560-2 Balboni Edition, a 1000hp Ford GT TT by Heffner Performance and a VF Engineering-Supercharged Audi R8. Check back Tuesday to see the incredible footage, and find out who was the fastest. For now, enjoy the behind-the-scenes pictures.

We were having some technical issues, so we’re a little late uploading these pics, but better late than never! This past Sunday’s Supercar Sunday was a big hit, just like the first one before it. Some of the highlights included a trifecta of turbocharged Vipers, an Ultima GTR, a Lamborghini Gallardo Valentino Balboni, a beautiful Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, and a Porsche 911 that would easily qualify in the top 5 for ugliest Porsche’s of all time. Mega-gallery after the jump!

Supercar Sunday is the “other” weekend car show in Los Angeles, and this morning was the first Supercar Sunday to occur at the new location in Woodland Hills, CA. Over 150 cars showed up this morning, minus mine of course, as I (incorrectly) decided to take my motorcycle. It was freezing cold on the 6AM ride up, 35 miles north of my house, and raining on the way home, but that didn’t seem to stop LA’s exotic car owners. There were at least 5 each of the following, including variants: Ferrari 430, Ferrari 360, Lamborghini Gallardo, Lamborghini Murcielago, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Porsche 911. So I left most of those out of the photos, but I did snap a few real gems. Famed collector Bruce Meyer brought an amazing, silver 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. There were 2 Ariel Atoms, 2 Porsche Carrera GT’s,  an AMG SL65 Black Series, a Lamborghini Murcielago SV, a Mercedes CLK DTM, a Ferrari 275 GTB LWB, 2 Ferrari 430 Scuderia Spider 16m’s, a flawless “Starsky and Hutch” Ford Torino, and a street-legal, home-built, Hyabusa-powered, passenger seat-equipped, Formula Race Car.

Photos of all my favorites after the jump.

“There is no charge for awesomeness.”
- Kung Fu Panda

Well, maybe 550,000 Euros.

Lamborghini is not a company known for convertibles, ironically enough. For a line of cars designed to be the most outrageous, attention-grabbing Freudian extensions known to man, there’s not been a single car designed from the onset to show off your Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and let your hair extensions blow freely in the humid Miami sun. After all, what’s more attention-grabbing than driving a car that exposes you to gawkers, the elements and pigeon droppings alike? If attention is what you crave (and it’s surely what Lamborghini owners crave) surely a convertible would only add to the insanity.

But unlike Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari and even Koenigsegg, Lamborghini’s open-air dream machines been half-assed on a scale known only to the builders of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Lamborghini’s entire engineering process consists of taking a Sawzall to the center of their latest and greatest and leaving owners a Boy Scout pup tent and some matchsticks to cover up the gaping hole. Oh sure, the marketing materials can go on about “rigidity” and “balance,” but when the owner’s manual tells you that the awkward-fitting canvas top is only meant for “emergencies,” “not to be driven over 100mph,” and “may be susceptible to spontaneous combustion,” you know the fine people at Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. just plain don’t frega un cazzo.

This special Lamborghini Countach follows the Lamborghini convertible strategy to a tee—well, aside from a few differences, such as the fact that it’s an aftermarket conversion and Lamborghini had nothing to do with it. The principle is still there: how do you make one of the most outrageous cars in the world even more outrageous? Take the roof off, and give it to Sir Rod Stewart.

In fact, the radness of the car featured here can only be counted scientifically lest we risk blowing people’s minds. What we know is this:

1. The Countach is, arguably, the most legendary of Lamborghinis, already the raddest of cars.
2. Open-topped cars are awesome by nature. (See: early Ford Broncos, any Trans Am, etc.)
3. It was owned by “The Rod,” who was such a rock titan the Queen had him knighted.

This trifecta of unholy earth-shattering celebrity-touched coolness can be yours, mere mortal, for a 550,000 Euro asking price from French dealer Autodrome Paris. For those of us keeping score in the Colonies, that’s $825,242.02 dollars, give or take a few McDonald’s Double Cheeseburgers. What do you get for all that lettuce?

You get a fine example from Mardikian Engineering, founded by Californian entrepreneur Al Mardikian. During the Dark Ages of strangled emissions controls, Mardikian made a tidy profit restoring European exotica to their rightful power outputs, uprating Porsche 911 Turbos and Ferrari 308s past their European counterparts while balancing the nefarious government emissions regulations. His other side projects at his laboratory included turbocharging Rolls-Royce Camargues, providing the Corvette-based Ferrari Daytona replicas for Miami Vice, inspiring Tom Cruise’s character in the film Rain Man, and going to prison for tax evasion. If the 80s were embodied in one person, it would have been the love child of Mardikian and Burt Reynolds.

Mardikian’s masterwork was this 1977 Countach LP400 Spider. It featured a removable roof that presumably came with a list of personal-injury attorneys to call in case of installation mishaps. The regular Countach’s miserable mail-slot side windows also became detachable, leaving only a “roadster” window extending halfway up the sides. Mardikian’s brochure cover featured it with the infamous LP400S wing and larger gold wheels, which have subsequently been removed in the never-ending quest for good taste. The result is a startlingly sleek barchetta that bridges the gap between Gandini’s original futuristic design and the cheesy fender-flared excesses of the Cannonball Run days.

How do you make an outrageous car even more outrageous? What a difference lopping off the roof section makes: it transforms a special car, already given to excess, to even more of it. Is it any wonder that a rock star like Rod Stewart would own something like this, flying about the South of France in leather Spandex and leopardskin shirt open to his navel, grinning wildly and speeding too fast while Britt Ekland clutches his leg for dear life?

And now, for a meager, negotiable* sum, you can live the dream.

*Negotiable only for your soul.

“The Mythical Rod Stewart’s” Lamborghini Countach LP400 Spider

- Blake Rong

In the supercar world, everyone wants the newest thing. It’s like the schoolyard at recess; the newest toy is the fad of the week. “Oh loooook, little Timmy Kesler has a nifty Gallardo! Too bad he didn’t wait for the Superleggera  model like I did! See this Timmy? That’s where the laser guns mount on my cool spoiler. It’s ok though, maybe you can pick up a used one in a few weeks.” Supercar models stay current for a little while, at best, and then they are sent out to pasture to make way for the next technology-laden street beast. Whatever comes next will always have more power, more leather, more carbon fiber…more cowbell.

But the newest kid on the block isn’t always the fastest. Sometimes there’s a car that had been over-shadowed, perhaps by a new younger brother named LP560-4. And like a high-school B movie, the younger brother is really fast, and friendly, and everyone likes him soooo much. But Murcielago, by name, is not a car to go out easy. It was named after a fighting bull that survived 24 sword strikes. It was so strong and fought with so much soul and determination that the bullfight was stopped and the bull was allowed to live. What’s in a name? Quite a bit apparently, the older brother isn’t going out without a fight either. He’s been in the basement hitting the weights. Hard.

The car of course is the Lamborghini Murcielago. Lamborghini recently released its LP670 SV this year,to celebrate the end of the Murcielago platform it’s built on.  While the next super car from Lamborghini will no doubt be a little faster, lighter (and hopefully prettier) than the outgoing car, Jason Heffner at HEFFNER PERFORMANCE thinks there’s still some life in the old bull. In fact, after he puts your Murcielago through his “training camp”, few cars will be able to step into the ring without soiling their belly pans.

Meet HEFFNER PERFORMANCE’s Lamborghini Murcielago Twin-Turbo. The R&D is finished, the work is done (almost), and the results are insane. Let’s skip ahead to the number you all want; 1100. Yes that’s the horsepower output that resulted from months of R&D. Oh geez, I almost forgot— that’s 1100hp to the wheels. This car has achieved power levels normally reserved for Supras with a turbo the size of a patio table, or maybe a Nova sporting a 454 with a supercharger and blue bottle in the trunk. At 1 bar (14.5 psi.) of boost, on a 100-degree day, the car put down 1114 WHP.

Here are the words from HEFFNER on the performance:

“In 90 degree heat the car pulled off a 5.10 second 60-130 at around 950 RWHP. For reference a stock 580 horsepower Murcielago takes around 9.5 seconds to make the leap from 60 to 130. With a little more boost it will dip into the 4 second range for sure.”

For comparison; a Bugatti Veyron takes 5.6 seconds to make the same jump, a Saleen S7 TT takes 6.1, and Ferrari’s beloved Enzo takes a sleepy  7.3. The acceleration of this car is absolutely astonishing. Judging from the in-car video it goes from 5-155mph in only 11 seconds, using a manual transmission. I’m sure the E-gear option could shave some time– and did I mention this was done using the “mild tune” of only 800WHP? Lamborghinis have always been about speed, sound, emotion, wild designs, and a wild (good or bad) ride. This is like Lamborghini squared. This package not only gives you one of the fastest cars on the planet, it won’t be in danger of being passed up by the supercar of the week. It won’t matter how many “AMG” badges it has, how pretty its new wheels are, or how efficient the engineers think an Alcantara-wrapped drive-shaft will be; this will be faster.

Even if you forget the performance, the finished product is beautiful. HEFFNER must spend as much time thinking about how their products will look as they do how they will perform, because the resulting twin turbo piping is stunning. It looks like an OEM piece with the artistic touch Italian cars are known for. It doesn’t look like someone built that kit for the car; it looks like it was built with the car. Your eye can’t help but appreciate how the curved and polished turbo piping sweeps back into the engine bay. Its like everything in the car is directing energy backwards. I expected to see an afterburner shooting a 10-foot flame during the dyno run. I have found myself looking at the engine bay pictures over and over. Engine bays rarely look this good while providing that much power. The combination of the two has stuck this Murcielago TT to my own personal “cool wall” with superglue. If you have a Murcielago that you love, and it just needs a little freshening up, take it to Heffner Performance. And if you just ordered your dandelion-fresh LP560-4, don’t be glum, because HEFFNER is putting the finishing touches on it’s twin-turbo kit for that too. As if that car wasn’t popular enough.

Stopped by Lamborghini of Beverly hills only to find the three newest animals in the Lamborghini fleet waiting for me. Thought I’d share with you…. I particularly like the LP-650-4 Roadster, with it’s astronomical price tag and its yellow paddle shifters!

I wake up every morning glad that the apocalypse hasn’t happened yet. I’m sure it will happen sooner or later, whether it’s in the form of a Nostradamus prediction come true, a Terminator-style machine takeover, or, far less likely, a Biblical event. I wake up every morning and smile because it’s still sunny in LA and machines aren’t tearing my house to shreds, picking up my Corvette, and throwing it across the street through my neighbor’s kitchen window.

There is one exception to this behavior: The morning that Aprilia’s new mid-sized Supermoto arrived on my doorstep. Enter the Dorsoduro  SMV750.

This thing looks like it’s ready for war. From the jacked up frame, murdered out gas tank and paint job, to its tucked-underseat exhaust system and handgrip deflectors, the Dorsoduro, more than any bike I’ve ever seen, makes me want to join the resistance. Join the resistance to what?  Anything.

Were I to actually take the Dorsoduro into battle, I would quickly realize three problems:

1)    The bike doesn’t have a gun holder, standard or optional.

2)    The high-performance street tires, which work just fine on pavement, may be a problem in a battle-zone littered with dirt and debris.

3)    I promised my mother I wouldn’t die on a motorcycle, and taking one into battle increases those odds considerably.

I think I’ll just settle for the next closest thing, the sprawling, semi-urban streets of Los Angeles. It certainly looks the part, the two-wheeled styling equivalent of a Lamborghini Revénton-meets Mad Max that only an Italian company could pull off. It’s angry, aggressive, edgy, and attractive; on quite a few occasions I found myself leaving Fort Starbucks to find my bike surrounded by inquisitive civilians.

The most frequent question asked, following “What’s an Aprilia?,” was about how it compared to it’s Italian cousin the Ducati Hypermotard. I have never ridden the Hypermotard, so I won’t begin to draw on-road hypotheticals, but after sitting on one in a showroom recently, I will say this. If you’re “American Sized,” like my 6’2”, 240lbs is, the Aprilia is the way to go. It offers a more comfortable seating position, better peg placement, and is about $1,500 less ($10,500 vs. $12,000). If you’re from the other side of the pond or similarly sized, meaning your t-shirts have S or M on the tags, the Ducati is lighter and makes 13 lb/ft more torque (at the expense of 2 fewer horsepower), and has an immediately recognizable name printed on the tank. Also, the Dorsoduro makes its 92 horsepower using a 750cc engine, whereas the Hypermotard requires 1100cc’s to accomplish a similar task, so expect fuel economy to be better on the Dorsoduro. During my two weeks with the bike, I averaged 44.9 mpg in very mixed conditions.

I would buy this bike on sound alone. The engine and exhaust combo, shared with Aprilia’s Shiver and Mana, is like taking a Ferrari 430 Scuderia’s V8 and hacking off two cylinders at the end to make a V-twin. It wails like only an Italian could, and the pops and cracks that emanate from the exhaust while decelerating are the motorcycle equivalent of crack cocaine, it’s that addictive. I always found myself accelerating just a bit more than I normally would, just to hear that sound.

From the rider’s position, the gauge cluster is as simple as can possibly be. A large tachometer is front and center, flanked to one side by a multipuipose LCD screen that reads out speed, engine metrics (including temperature, as I learn later), and ECU mode. The Dorsoduro’s ECU is pre-programmed with three modes: Tour, Sport, and Rain. It didn’t rain while I had the bike, and even if it did, I’d rather ride the bus than ride in it, and I only used Sport mode while in the canyons. That seemed like a good decision, as at less than 8/10ths you really don’t notice the difference, and Tour is fine for everyday use. Sport mode does, however, really bump up the throttle response and aggressiveness of the power delivery, so a more experienced rider may find themself using this mode more often.

The Dorsoduro is a fantastic city bike. It makes power in all the right places, especially the midrange, has a beautifully light and progressive clutch, and a seating position that’s comfortable enough for anyone to ride around all day long and never have any back pain. The suspension absorbs every bump, railroad tie, pothole, and surface change without a hiccup, and I found myself no longer swerving around obstacles, but running over them, just to see how the bike could take it. In case you’re wondering, ‘ol Dorso took it like a champ.

She also passed the canyon test with flying colors. Despite the relatively high center of gravity, the Dorsoduro’s wide handlebars, relatively light weight, willingness to rev, and road tires made an afternoon in the canyons a true pleasure, especially when the pavement got rough in places, as tends to happen in Southern California. Parking at Neptune’s Net on the Pacific Coast Highway, I was met with smiles, nods, and thumbs up from a fleet of Harley Davidson riders, a pleasant surprise.

There are, of course, a few downsides. The shifter works fine while the bike was moving, but it was an endless wrestle to put the bike into Neutral while stopped. Also noticeably absent was any form of storage, as well as the ability to carry a passenger. On two 90+ degree days, the Dorso very nearly overheated while sitting at long red lights. A check of the coolant revealed everything was normal, but it wasn’t happy until we got back moving again.

ABS is the only option, and though my test bike was so equipped, I never found cause to actually try it. The rep told me that more advanced riders would probably opt for a non-ABS model, as it tends to hamper the bike’s off-road ability under aggressive braking, but less experienced riders would appreciate it as a safety measure. I agree.

It’s really a shame that almost no one I spoke with on the street has ever heard of the Dorsoduro, as it is not only a great tool for urban warfare, should one ever spring up in Los Angeles, but also it’s a very versatile, user friendly, fun to ride bike for riders of all skill levels. Sure, the shifter requires some getting used to and it ran a bit hot in traffic, but even a bike this good can’t get over its Italian heritage. And although I never had cause to take the Dorsoduro into battle, for those two weeks, I woke up every morning with a smile on my face for an entirely different reason: I had a motorcycle in my garage that I just couldn’t wait to ride.

Here’s our second viewer-submitted video. This one comes from Lukas Siewior, a viewer from New York, and features 40+ Lamborghini’s tearing up the highway. Beware: There is techno music.