Autoblog

Click above for gallery of Itasha supercars

In Japan, Otaku are the rabid fans of anime who often take their passion to extremes. One way they show their affection is to pull their favorite characters out of the imaginary world and plant them on vehicles in the real world. The pain caused by leaving their fantasy lives to join mainstream life lends its name to the show vehicles on which these characters land, itasha. Itasha has become a huge fad in Japan, with shows around the country almost every weekend. Fans decorate their cars with custom paint jobs or vinyls that act as a tribute to their favorite movies, games and characters.

One such Otaku happens to be a chairman of Age Soft software, creators of the game Total Eclipse, among others. At a recent Itasha show he brought along three of his favorite rides, all decked out with manga. That in itself might not seem so newsworthy, but when you hear what three cars he had done up in anime glory, you might be a bit shocked. Yoshida San showed up with his personal BMW M5, Lamborghini Gallardo and Lancia Stratos. Check out the gallery to see the madness for yourself. Click any image for a gallery of itasha, and follow the jump for an AOL video that explains itasha. Grazie per il tip, Francesco!


[Source: HobbyMedia.it]

Click above for high-res gallery of SEMA supercars

As much as we love its tires, we are really upset with Michelin. Where is the annual supercar lovefest that has been the Michelin SEMA booth? Last year's display was an incredible assortment of stock, tuned and race vehicles from Audi, Chevrolet and Porsche. The year before that the Michelin booth had a Caparo T1, Koenigsegg, RUF, Saleen S7, McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda. Those are tough acts to follow for supercar fans, so Michelin just decided to stop trying and didn't show this year. In all fairness, a lot of companies are absent or here with a much smaller setup. Something about the economy. Although it's a little tougher now, it's still possible for a SEMA showgoer to get a healthy dose of supercar exposure, though. It just takes a little more shoe leather or a click of your finger to see some of this year's supercars in our gallery below. In it you'll see cars from Mosler, Spyker, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Chevy, Factory Five, Porsche, Aston Martin and more. There were also quite a few race cars scattered around the halls this year that we thought you might like to see, as well. Check out the huge gallery by clicking on any image.



Photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

It looks like dealers of mainstream high volume autos aren't the only ones struggling with the current credit freeze. Plenty of car dealers across the country have turned out the lights this year as sales have dried up and costs for borrowing to stock cars have gone up. In spite of that, exotic car sales have apparently held up even in this down market. Evidently that wasn't enough to help Orange County Lamborghini. The Santa Ana, CA dealership reportedly accounted for 10 percent of all 2,400 Lamborghini sales world-wide. Pietro Frigerio, COO of Lamborghini America, told the Orange County Register that current economic conditions were not the reason for the closing. Instead he pointed at other business dealings by dealership owner Vik Keuylian. No details were provided, but it would not be surprising if Keuylian was involved in the Southern California real estate market that has gone bust this year. This could pose a significant issue for Lamborghini and Bull owners in the region. The company will have to line up new sales and service outlets quickly in the SoCal market. Thanks to creigs9 for the tip!

[Source: Orange County Register]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Lamborghini Estoque concept

Emerging reports indicate that Lamborghini is currently in negotiations with the suits at its corporate superior Volkswagen to put the Estoque into production. The four-door Lamborghini concept was unveiled last month at the Paris show after a drawn-out parade of teasers, but with no actual engine unde-hood and little in the way of specifications revealed, most surmised that the Estoque was just a flash-in-the-pan publicity gimmick. Not so, according to the company's R&D chief Maurizio Reggiani, who confirmed to British weekly Autocar that the company is in the process of making a business case to the VW executive board. If approved, the Estoque could hit showrooms by late 2011 with a UK sticker quoted at around £150k, which lies in between the Gallardo's £135k British list price and the Murcielago's £220k.

To make financial sense, the Estoque would have to borrow heavily from the corporate parts bin, but Reggiani was quick to dismiss speculation that the Estoque would share its platform with any current or next-generation Audi. So what would provide the power, you ask? A re-tuned version of the Gallardo LP560-4's direct-injection V10, optimized for usability at the slight expense of peak output and driving through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox -- another first for Lamborghini. Also under consideration for the Estoque are hybrid and diesel V8 options, noting that the concept car's platform was designed to accommodate a variety of engines.

Wait a second, a diesel hybrid automatic four-door Lamborghini? What's going on in Sant'Agata since Porsche took over in Wolfsburg? Nothing all that unusual for the company that started out making tractors and even produced a HUMMER rival for a while. But with the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide on the way, the market for the four-door exotic super-coupe could be the new premium battlefield.

[Source: Autocar]

Click above for high-res gallery of the DP7 Racing Gallardo GTR

Lamborghini doesn't exactly have a storied history in motorsports, but that doesn't mean its current lineup doesn't offer a suitable platform to go racing. DP7 Racing has selected the Gallardo GTR to compete in the SCCA World Challenge next year, and they came out to SEMA to show off their newly finished racecar that will take on the likes of Porsches, Corvettes, and Vipers in the GT class. The GTR received the full racecar makeover including a widened carbon fiber body, front splitter and rear diffuser, fully adjustable suspension, Hollinger sequential 6-speed transmission, and CCW aluminum racing wheels. The 5.0L V10 is now producing 570 bhp and 450 lb-ft torque thanks in part to a set of Hedman headers and a Motec engine management system. You can check out the car in the gallery below, and we'll hopefully make it to one of the World Challenge races next year to see it on track.

After the G419 Invitational ended last Sunday, I was outside BSing with Davey G. Johnson (the erstwhile Jalop, friend of Autoblog, and all-around great guy) as we looked over the cars that still remained parked in the GPNY lot. The front row contained both a Gallardo Roadster and a spanking new LP560-4, while row two was home to a silver Diablo SV. We were going over the SV, commenting on how it's aged rather well, when Davey noted something that inspired this particular post.

"Look at that," he said, pointing at the all-lowercase, italicized, block-letter 'lamborghini' badge on the Diablo's rear deck. "That would look so much better on the new cars." The new-school Lambos, as you're all aware, wear the cursive 'Lamborghini' on their tails. Davey and I walked over to the LP560, eyeballed it, and returned to the SV. I have to say, I'm with him on this one. Those lowercase block letters are like Countach-flavored exoticar comfort food, and they'd look perfect on the angular modern Lambos. Then again, maybe the happy medium would be to split the difference and go with this classic.

In any case, let's put it to a vote:

It seems that the world is determined to make Pontiac two-seaters suffer the terrible fate of poor transmogrification into half-baked exotic replicas. Fieros are the common victim, but this yellow spud is the result of some Idahoans attacking a Solstice. With the top down and yellow paint making you squint, it's evocative of the Lamborghini that it's attempting to rip off, but it's all over when the top goes up and that telltale Solstice convertible-top-cum-baseball-cap sees the light of day. We can't find any mention of the donor Solstice being a GXP, which would support the seller's claim of a $32,000 starting point. Additionally, a Solstice with an automatic is abhorrent, but a Lamborghini, even a replica, with an autobox is just asking for ridicule, especially when you've fiddled with the exhaust to make the note extra annoying. Lastly, we can't fathom why you'd drop the $70K these guys want for some homebuilt thing, when you can get a real Lamborghini for $27 grand.


[Source: eBay]

Click above for a high resolution image of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo

Lamborghini announced its Blancpain Super Trofeo this past weekend at Hockenheim, a racing series featuring spec Gallardo LP560-4's in race trim. The Super Trofeo will run in support of the FIA GT Championship, DTM, and FIA WTCC series and will feature individual professional and 'gentleman' drivers, along with dealership teams. We only had a handful of studio photos at the time, but since then we've found several more including a few of the car on the racetrack. We also managed to find the press release that provides full details on the engine, chassis, interior, and body modifications done to the car. Hit the jump for the press release and check out the gallery below for the new photos.

[Source: Lamborghini]

Ferrari does it. Porsche does it. And now, Lamborghini is going to do it, too. "It" is a single-make race series, and Lambo's will showcase a competition-spec Gallardo LP560-4 dubbed the Super Trofeo. Each race will feature 30 of the cars, piloted by deep-pocketed private owners, dealer teams, and a single, Lambo-sponsored "celebrity driver" who'll change from race-to-race.

The Super Trofeo racer weighs in at 1300 kg/2866 lb and is spec'd out with all the requisite safety equipment; race-specific chassis adjustments, ABS brakes and wheels; Pirelli slicks; new instrumentation; and aero tweaks. The powered-up 5.2L direct-injected V10 sends 570 horses to all four wheels via the automaker's e.gear six-speed sequential gearbox. If you have the itch, head to your Lamborghini dealer with €200,000 -- that's the buy-in fee for the car and parts package. Each race will offer trackside support and parts sales to participants, who get to cool their heels in luxury at the Lamborghini Village that'll be set up at every venue. It all kicks off next May at Silverstone. Head over to the Super Trofeo website for the rest of the schedule and additional info. Thanks to Mobius for the heads-up!


[Source: Lamborghini]

It's generally never a good idea to try and outrun the the local constabulary, but that would be particularly true if you happen to be in Italy within the jurisdiction of Prefect Antonio Manganelli. Manganelli heads up the Italian State Police and he just took delivery of the latest police package special from the crew at Lamborghini. This time around the Bolognese automaker added the decals and lights to its new Gallardo LP560-4. Somehow the Lamborghini techs have managed to integrate all the gear that modern police officers regularly use into their diminutive supercar. The car is equipped with a video recording system so officers can record evidence and provide entertainment for the boys in blue back at the station by transmitting it wirelessly in real time. The usual array of gun racks and radio equipment is also supplemented by a cooler in the front compartment that can be used to transport separated body parts to the local emergency room, or that finger you just shot off a "potential" suspect. The Rome police have been using a Gallardo cruiser for the last five years and accumulated 87,000 apparently problem-free miles while the Bologna police have racked up 62,000 miles in another example. You can check out video of their new police Lambo after the jump.


[Source: Lamborghini]