Filed under: Time Warp, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Misc. Auto Shows, Ferrari, Saleen

To celebrate its 26th year as Orange County’s most prestigious classic car show, this year’s Newport Beach Concours d’Elegance moved from its recent home in Irvine to the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. Still not Newport Beach, but much closer to the ocean at least. Benefiting the Mary & Dick Allen Diabetes Center at Hoag Hospital and the Assessment and Treatment Services Center, the event featured Cadillac as its honored marque to commemorate GM’s 100th birthday this year. Besides the gorgeous 1931 Cadillac Sport Phaeton V16 Fleetwood poster car, there were at least a dozen other notable Caddys, as well as about 150 other beautiful classic and collector cars, of which you can see most of them in our high-res gallery below.

Although a notch below the premier events like Pebble Beach, some of the most beautiful and significant vehicles around show up for this concours. Representatives from The Petersen, The Nethercutt Collection, the William Lyon Estate, the Mercedes Classic Center, the Simon Collection, the Caballeriza Collection, and the Marconi Museum were on display, alongside some superb machinery from local collectors like David Sydorick and Peter Mullin. Altogether there were about 150 cars in 14 classes. Ferraris, Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins, Packards, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Delahayes, Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, Duesenbergs, Woodies, race cars and even a horseless carriage or two were visible through the fog around the links.

Personal favorites included the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Sport Coupe, 1939 Delahaye 165 Cabriolet, 1908 Niclausse D971B, 1961 Abarth 1000 GT Bialbero Berlinetta, 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic Berlinetta, 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Jota, 2006 Saleen S7R, 1959 Ferrari 410 Super America Series III, 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione, 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Shooting Brake Woody, 1933 Duesenberg J Speedster and the blue Ferrari 550 Barchetta in the parking lot. Another great show for a wonderful cause.

All photos copyright (C)2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Paris Motor Show, Supercars, Lamborghini

The trickle of images from Sant’Agata continues today as Lamborghini has shipped yet another teaser of the new car that it will show on Thursday at the Paris Motor Show. This time around we get a frontal image of the headlight area. Unlike the last two production models, the Gallardo and Murcielago, the orientation of the light cluster has been switched from vertical to horizontal. There is also a large vent visible implying that the engine is up front this time around. We only have one more day to wait for the full reveal, so it will be interesting to see what Lamborghini has wrought when it unveils the Urus or Estoque or whatever this concept turns out to be named.

[Source: Lamborghini]

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedans/Saloons, Paris Motor Show, Supercars, Lamborghini

Lamborghini has now released three official teasers of the Urus, Estoque or whatever the Italian automaker is rumored to be calling its four-door concept for the Paris Motor Show these days. Now it seems that a sketch of the complete concept may have been posted in a thread on FerrariChat. While someone could have easily faked these sketches, they do show elements of the concept that we’ve already seen in Lamborghini’s official teaser shots, particularly the taillights. The Paris Motor Show is this week, so we’ll find out soon enough what it looks like, as well as what it’s called.

[Source: GlobalMotors.net]

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedans/Saloons, Paris Motor Show, Supercars, Lamborghini

While we’ve pretty much had it up to our Hans device with the speculation surrounding Lamborghini’s Paris surprise, another salient detail has emerged about the rumored front-engined, four-door sedan due to be unveiled on Thursday at the Paris Motor Show.

Previous reports about the Lamborghini concept wearing a Urus badge are thankfully bunk (who wants to drive a supercar named after a large bovine?) and World Car Fans has dropped the name Estoque (without citing any sources), which according to Encyclopedia Brittanica is a small blade that delivers the death blow to a bull at the end of a stadium fight. We’re still more than a few days away from the official reveal, but in the meantime, enjoy the gallery of teasers below, along with the image above created by LamboPower member a007api.

[Source: WCF]

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedans/Saloons, Paris Motor Show, Supercars, Lamborghini

A third teaser shot of Lamborghini’s mysterious concept car has surfaced on the web just weeks before its debut at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. All signs point to a front-engine, four-door coupe concept similar in form to the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide. The first teaser merely showed the car’s rear diffuser, but the second showed its front wheel with a fender vent clearly visible that indicates a front-mounted engine. This third teaser shows the rear taillight and what we can clearly see as the cut line for a trunk lid. The taillight itself features LEDs and seems to be inspired by new taillight designs on the Reventon and LP560-4. Though we don’t have a name for the concept yet, Lamborghini recently registered the name “Urus” with the Italian copyright office. All will be revealed soon enough, though expect a few more teasers between now and Paris.

[Source: Lambo Power]

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Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, Coupes, Supercars, Lamborghini

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lamborghini Murcielago LP460

As we all know, there are supercars, and then… there’s the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. It has been called old and overweight, it has been called impractical and overpriced, it has been called out for its propensity to make 10-year-old boys lick its windows. When we got word that the LP640 would be stopping by the Autoblog Garage for a weekend, it was our chance to see if the childhood dream was still potent enough to answer adult desires. We’ve driven the Bugatti Veyron, Bentley Continental GT Speed, Porsche GT2, Corvette ZR1, Dodge Viper ACR and even Lambo’s own Gallardo LP560, and they were showstoppers. But when we finally met this Lambo, we had only one thing to say: Great googlymoogly!

All photos Copyright (C)2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: Lamborghini Murcielago LP640

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedans/Saloons, Sports/GTs, Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini

Lamborghini has already released two official teaser shots of the concept it will debut early next month at the Paris Motor Show. InsideLine originally speculated that it would be a four-door sedan along the likes of the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide, but Lambo told us the website was just guessing and that no company execs had leaked the concept’s layout. Nevertheless, Automotive News is now reporting that its own inside sources confirm the bullish concept will indeed be one of them new fangled four-door “coupes”, while a carspyshots.net forum member found some copyright evidence that Lamborghini may called it the Urus. Wikipedia tells us that the Urus was a type of large, horned cattle in Europe that went extinct in 1627.

Though what we’re calling the Urus will debut as a concept in Paris, AN reports the model will be near production ready when it takes the stage next month. While lots of speculation is still swirling, most agree it will feature a front-mounted engine located behind the front axle and that the Urus’ motor will be smaller than the Gallardo’s V10. The most likely choice is an engine sourced from Audi, probably turbocharged, though concepts often feature exotic engines not destined for production.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req’d, carspyshots.net]

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Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, Supercars, Lamborghini

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

A 5.2-liter V10 with 560 horsepower, 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, a top speed of over 200 mph and one of the most beautiful modern designs to ever come out of Italy. It’s the new Gallardo LP560-4, and Lamborghini wants us to drive it. There are certainly more lucrative ways to make a living than being an automotive journalist, but it’s moments like this that we know we made the right career choice. The best news is that we got to drive the new LP560-4 with about two dozen Lamborghini owners. Lamborghini of Orange County recently opened up a new dealership in Newport Beach, and they invited all of their customers down to see the new showroom and go for a Sunday drive. We tackled some of California’s best back roads in the LP560-4 with other Gallardos, Murcielagos, and even a few Diablos. Follow the jump to read on.

All photos Copyright (C)2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini

Click above image to enlarge the new Lamborghini teaser

Lamborghini continues the striptease of its mystery car’s upcoming Paris debut. Is it a four-door ultrasedan, as speculated by Inside Line? Is it something more… super? Whatever it is, we’ll all know on October 2. In the meantime, have a gander at some sleek fender and wheel action, complete with a side vent adorned with the Italian colors. The fender vent would seem to indicate a front-engined car, so we’re liking the Inside Line take very much at the moment. Continue your rampant speculation in the comments.

[Source: Lamborghini]

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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Paris Motor Show, Supercars, Lamborghini, Rumormill, Special/Limited Editions

Click above to enlarge

Lamborghini got us all up in a twist with the revelation of this small teaser image that shows only an exhaust and a diffuser on a new model slated for unveiling in a couple of weeks at the Paris Motor Show. While previous reports postulated that Lamborghini was preparing to unveil a four-door model, the latest suggest, somewhat more credibly, that the new vehicle is actually the Superveloce version of the Murcielago LP640.

Like the Reventon, the Superveloce may command a considerable premium at 382,400 euros (almost double the price of the regular Murcielago) and could be offered in extremely limited numbers of just 100 units. In return, buyers will get an exclusive lightweight supercar with styling inspired by the Reventon and an additional 30-40 horsepower on tap. When it becomes available sometime next year as a 2010 model, the LP640 SV will likely be the last distinguishable version of the Murcielago before the exotic, originally introduced back in 2001, is replaced by an all-new model. Of course, these reports could be inaccurate as well, especially if Lamborghini hopes to live up to the presumptuous line that accompanied the teaser image - It’s not just a new Lamborghini. It’s a new world. - with anything more than another special edition of an aging model.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

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