Latest Transformers 4 Trailer Has Lamborghini Getting In On The Action

f any modern movie franchise defines spectacle, it has to be Transformers. All instantiations are about inviting audiences to sit down, fill up popcorn and turn off their brains because the next 90 minutes are nothing but shiny robots, explosions and loud noises. Oh, and cars... lots of cars. The latest trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth film in the series, has just hit the web, and it checks all the boxes of what makes the films stand out.

The last trailer showed off a plethora of the movie's cars. This new one aims for action and focuses mostly on robots beating each other up in various international locales. Although, there is a great look at the movie's Lamborghini Aventador (pictured above) transforming and even briefly fighting Optimus Prime.

From the previous trailer and other releases, we know that the latest movie features a ton of vehicles, including a new look for Bumblebee, the Chevrolet Camaro, plus a Bugatti Veyron, C7 Corvette, Freightliner truck, Pagani Huayra and many more. Transformers: Age of Extinction is scheduled to hit theaters on June 27, 2014. Scroll down to watch this extravaganza of special effects.

Zagato Lamborghini 5-95 Successfully Aims To Be An Instant Collectible

1965 was the first time Zagato and Lamborghini hooked up, when the Milanese coachbuilder created the Lamborghini 3500 GTZ for Marquis Gerino Gerini. There have been several more collaborations since then, the one you see above being the latest: the Lamborghini 5-95, created for collector Albert Spiess and designed to be "a modern collectible" in honor of Zagato's 95th anniversary.

Underneath its Speed Racer curves is a Gallardo LP570-4, its visual mass pushed forward thanks to the striving front fascia and a wind deflector at the bottom of the windshield that lengthens the hood, and a shortened trunk that "reveals the brutality of the mechanical components" in back. Between them are Zagato trademarks like wraparound glass and the double-bubble roof, and the size of the obvious air intakes has been reduced by hiding others in the greenhouse and fixing a center intake above the roof.

The Lamborghini 5-95 is on show at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este at Lake Como in Switzerland. As for being a collectible, since it's headed straight for Spiess' garage afterward, we'd say they've got that part sealed up. For you non-collectors, there's a short video where you can hear the car fire up and a press release below with a lot more info.

A Parade Of Five Lamborghinis Make Their Way Through A Shopping Mall

It's easy to forget that high-performance cars are not limited in size to something like a Lotus Elise or Mazda MX-5. They can get big. Take Lamborghini, for example. It might focus on combining low curb weights and high-output engines, but an Aventador very nearly occupies the same amount of space on the road as a fullsize Range Rover (the Lambo is only about eight inches shorter, although it is an inch wider, excluding the mirrors on both vehicles).

Considering this, getting one of the Italian exotics inside the cramped confines of a mall is a rather tall order. After all, the thoroughfares there are designed for people, and are often bisected by either smaller shopping stands, pillars or some sort of flora. Getting five Lamborghinis in, though, is an exercise in patience in precision.

Lamborghini of Miami did just that, stuffing five of the exotics inside a local mall. On the way out, one of the workers used GoPros to chronicle the entire process. It's an entertaining bit, if not a bit cringe-inducing on some of the tighter bits.

Koenigsegg CCX Hit 211 Mph On A Runway, Outpacing Mclaren's P1

Vmax200 in in England organizes events where those who care to show up with a supercar can run them down the two-mile runway at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground. Evo attended the latest event, bringing an impressively green Lamborghini Aventador to test its girth and gaping vents against other precious metals like the McLaren P1 and F1, Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and Enzo, a Porsche Carrera GT and enough 911 Turbos to start a dealership. Speaking of those Porsches, nine of the top ten slots in the top speed competition are claimed by modified 911 Turbos.

A monochrome Swede ruled them all, though, a black-and-white Koenigsegg CCX setting fire to the speed trap run after run, hitting 211 miles per hour at its quickest. It was followed by, surprise, a 911 GT2 modified by 9E that did 210 mph. You can watch the EVO video below, GT Spirit has a bigger breakdown of the day, and we've included another vid showing the tandem launch of the CCX and McLaren F1.

Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato Could Be Bound For Limited Production

Lamborghini has been seriously upping its production overt the years. When Audi took over in the late 1990s, the company's production was measured in the 200-unit range. Now it's making over 2,000 cars every year. But at the same time, Sant'Agata has been focusing on low-volume production as well, with a separate assembly line dedicated to putting together concept cars and limited editions like the Sesto Elemento and Veneno. And now it may just have another on its hands.

 

That would be the Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato, a unique coachbuilt supercar based on the Gallardo and unveiled last week at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Italy's glamorous Lake Como. It was commissioned as a one-off custom for noted Lambo and Zagato collector Albert Spiess, but reports suggest that it could be put into limited production.

The viability of the project would likely depend on how many orders the Italians might garner for an expanded production run. Whether the project would be undertaken at Lamborghini's special projects facility or off-site by Zagato remains to be seen, but you can bet it would fetch a pretty penny or two, despite the fact that the platform on which it's based is now over a decade old and has since been replaced by the newer Huracán.

It wouldn't be the first time Zagato has performed its magic for Lamborghini, from the 3500 GTZ of 1965, through to the Raptor, L147 "Super Diablo" and LM 003 Borneo of the 1990s. Take a drive down memory lane in the image gallery below.

Lamborghini Previews New Huracán Super Trofeo

The arrival of the new Huracán is big news for Lamborghini, replacing the company's long-serving Gallardo. Not only had the previous V10 supercar been on the market since 2003 (admittedly with significant updates along the way), it also served as the backbone for the Super Trofeo series. Now it's time, however, for the Huracán to take over on the racetrack, too.

Previewed in the teaser image above wearing military camo, the new Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo has undergone its first shakedown at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome. Giorgio Sanna – who took over as Lamborghini's chief R&D test driver after the retirement of the legendary Valentino Balboni – led the test session, accompanied by factory pilots Adrian Zaugg and Fabio Babini and members of the company's driver development program.

The Huracán Super Trofeo will be phased in across all three of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series around the world, including Europe, Asia and North America. Drivers not ready to upgrade to the new machinery, however, will still be able to race their Gallardos in a separate class – similar to how arch-rival Ferrari has phased in new models in its similar Challenge series.

Lamborghini Donates Huracán To Italian Police

Lamborghini made a big entrance with the Huracán LP 610-4, and now the Italian State Police can, too. The Sant'Agata automaker donated one to Giovanni Law to the replace the Gallardo the authorities have had in service for six years.

It will be used to "sustain security on Italian roads" and is loaded with a Q-Branch worth of features that you won't even find on any Ad Personam options list: a "Proof Video Data System" to track the Lamborghini and the suspects being chased, number plate recognition and tracking and real-time transmission of images to HQ, four sirens, an aerodynamic light bar, a refrigerated trunk for organ storage, a defibrillator and - naturally - a hand-held stop sign.

The Huracán LP 610-4 Polizia should go into service by year's end. There's a press release below so you'll know who to look out for if you turn scofflaw inside the nation-state line.

Swedish Man Bests Kobe Bryant By Jumping Speeding Lambo

Way back in 2008, Los Angeles Lakers' shooting guard Kobe Bryant created a minor uproar with a viral video filmed and released by Nike. In it, the 16-time NBA all-star vaulted a moving Aston Martin. The promotional plug of the whole thing was that Bryant's ups were courtesy of his new Nikes, although he later admitted that "Hollywood" had a big part in the video.

This new video is allegedly real, though, and comes without the help of a promotional plug for a basketball shoe. It stars a Swedish man named Al the Jumper. Rather than an Aston Martin, Al jumps a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, which is heading right for him at 80 miles per hour. It is, if it's as real as claimed, a very impressive feat, especially after seeing how handily Al clears the Lambo.

Rare Early Lamborghini Countach Sells For Record $1.2 Million

Lamborghini may have made headlines with the highly exclusive, $4.5-million Veneno and the even more expensive Veneno Roadster that followed, but when it comes to classics sold at auction, their prices seldom approach the kind of figures attained by rare classics made by arch-rival Ferrari. Early 350 GTs and rare Miuras (like the SV prototype Gooding sold a few years ago for a record $1.7 million) have been known to breach the seven-figure mark, but now the Countach is making its way into the big leagues as well.

Pictured here is a rather exceptional early example sold by Bonhams in Connecticut last week. This 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 "Periscopica" – so dubbed for the unique rearview mirror fitted to the first 150 examples made – has just over 10,000 miles on the odometer. With flawlessly retouched Blu Tahiti (read: French racing blue) paint and an immaculate deep tan leather interior, the Periscopica was the subject of feverish bidding before selling for $1.2 million to a buyer present at the auction, beating out a dozen or so telephone bidders.

The record price for a Countach trumps the previous record, also set by Bonhams at the Quail Lodge last August, where another '75 Periscopica sold for $836,000. The rising prices surely reflect the coming of age for the Countach, now nearly 40 years since its introduction – particularly for the generation that grew up idolizing it as the prototypical supercar. Scope it out in the artful gallery of 76 high-resolution images above and the details of the auction below.

Leno Stretches Lamborghini Diablo's Legs For Latest Garage Installment

 

While posters of the Lamborghini Countach decorated the walls of many boys' walls in the 1980s, the Diablo filled that spot for young men in the early 1990s thanks to its extreme styling. In its latest video, Jay Leno's Garage welcomes a beautiful, white 1991 Diablo into his garage for a look back on what is now a classic supercar.

Unlike some of the vehicles Leno shows off, this one doesn't belong to him. Instead, veteran Italian car mechanic Franco Barbuscia owns it. He has been maintaining Jay's Countach for years. A '91 Diablo is an archaic supercar by today's standards. It doesn't have power steering, anti-lock brakes or obviously anything like traction control. It's just a big V12 hanging behind the driver with a wonderfully meaty roar that emanates from the exhaust.

Franco's Diablo might actually be better than new. It has a few upgrades to aid in drivability, like re-spaced pedals, a carbon-Kevlar clutch and more. Apparently all of the tweaks help a lot because, "it rides smoother than my Carrera GT," Leno enthuses about the car. Scroll down to reminisce about this Italian classic and get an ear full of its wonderful sound. 

Lamborghini Gets To Work On Huracán LP610-4 Super Trofeo

We all know the story of how Automobili Lamborghini got its start. The short of it is that Ferruccio, who had already started a successful tractor business, wanted to stick it to Enzo Ferrari, so he started making sports cars of his own. Lamborghini, however, never embraced motorsports to the same degree that Ferrari has – dabbling in Formula One engines in the early '90s and the occasional foray into GT racing – but these days the Raging Bull marque is getting more serious about racing. It partners with Reiter Engineering to field competition versions of its road-going supercars, and organizes its own one-make series with individual championships around the world.

That's where the new Huracán comes in. While the Ferrari Challenge has progressed from the 348 to the 355, 360, 430 and now the 458, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo has always been centered around the Gallardo. That's because the series only kicked off in 2009, and the Gallardo had been in production since 2003. But now that the Gallardo has been replaced by the Huracán, the Squadra Corse team is hard at work on their new Super Trofeo racer.

To that end, Lamborghini has recruited racing drivers Fabio Babini and Adrian Zaugg to conduct development work on the Huracán LP 610-4 Super Trofeo. Babini is a GT racing veteran who took a class win at Le Mans in 2001, while Zaugg came up the formula racing ladder, competing on A1GP and GP2 before signing on as a Lamborghini factory driver.

They car they'll be working on will be a stripped-out, track-tuned racing version of the new Huracán, retaining its 5.2-liter V10 to drive the same 602 horsepower to all four wheels. It could ditch the heavy dual-clutch gearbox in favor of a lighter, more hardcore sequential gearbox, and will likely pack a tighter, lower suspension, upgraded brakes, more extreme aero and other competition-spec goodies. The resulting racer will serve as the backbone for individual championships in Europe, Asia and North America. In the meantime, Lambo has taken the Huracán to the track for the Lamborghini Accademia, pictured above.