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According to a report in Auto Express, Lamborghini has finally admitted that it will be revealing an early take on its new model, an SUV, at the Beijing Auto Show in April. Said to have "a high-rise version of the Estoque" front end, two doors and punched-out rear wheel arches, it will sit on the same platform as the Volkswagen Group's other premium SUVs from Audi, Porsche, VW and possibly Bentley.
A bit of oddity is that Auto Express pegs the name as the MLC. If such is the case, perhaps its a return to the only other SUV naming convention Lamborghini's had, the alphanumeric LM002, but "MLC" strikes us as a bland, sexless waste of a chance to append something brutishly and memorably taurean.
Speculation all along has been that the MLC would get a retuned version of the V10 from the Gallardo. If the output of the MLC's mill is 584-horsepower as per the report, that would be 41 horses beyond the Gallardo. A hybrid model to follow would get that over the 600-hp mark. Production is rumored to happen in 2015, with an estimated $200,000 price tag putting it well above anything that isn't from Bentley or Russia.
And for those who still dream of an Estoque, the MLC might not be the only Lamborghini borrowing a platform. The arrow-nosed four-door Estoque is said to remain under consideration, and just as the Cayenne led to the Panamera, a production Estoque could be prepared based on the next-generation Panamera's underpinnings.
A bit of oddity is that Auto Express pegs the name as the MLC. If such is the case, perhaps its a return to the only other SUV naming convention Lamborghini's had, the alphanumeric LM002, but "MLC" strikes us as a bland, sexless waste of a chance to append something brutishly and memorably taurean.
Speculation all along has been that the MLC would get a retuned version of the V10 from the Gallardo. If the output of the MLC's mill is 584-horsepower as per the report, that would be 41 horses beyond the Gallardo. A hybrid model to follow would get that over the 600-hp mark. Production is rumored to happen in 2015, with an estimated $200,000 price tag putting it well above anything that isn't from Bentley or Russia.
And for those who still dream of an Estoque, the MLC might not be the only Lamborghini borrowing a platform. The arrow-nosed four-door Estoque is said to remain under consideration, and just as the Cayenne led to the Panamera, a production Estoque could be prepared based on the next-generation Panamera's underpinnings.
Sant'Agata plans a two-wheel drive version of the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder – reflecting 2009's limited-series rear-wheel drive Balboni edition of the Gallardo coupe.
Sales of the new rear-drive LP550-2 Spyder will start in early 2012, Lambo has confirmed to CAR. It will look the same as any other Gallardo convertible; the only changes will be to the hardware under the skin.
Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Spyder RWD: the lowdown
Like the rear-wheel drive Gallardo tin-top, the Spyder will have a slightly detuned V10 driving just the rear axle.
As the name suggests, the LP550-2 will develop 550 horsepower, instead of the regular 560. That's the metric pony, meaning the 550-2 will muster some 543bhp.
Lighter, nimbler…
Although the Balboni edition was a limited-series run of just 250 copies, Lamborghini has in fact continued to offer a rear-wheel drive Gallardo as a basic 'entry-level' model (if anything hailing from Sant'Agata can ever be said to be entry-level).
That LP 550-2 loses the front driveshafts, saving a few kilograms here and there, giving road testers a more slidey, pointy Gallardo experience.