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Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Paukert and Dan Roth are the crew for Episode #187 of the Autoblog Podcast. We cover Lamborghini rumors, the new Ford Explorer's fuel economy with its rumored EcoBoost powertrain, the rumors swirling around the possibility that the Wall Street Journal printed an article that was a plant from Toyota, a sports car based on the Nissan Leaf, and the seemingly insatiable appetite for German premium cars. We hit your feedback and questions before throwing in the towel at the hour and a half mark. Thanks for listening, see you next time!
Autoblog Podcast #187 - Lamborghini rumors, Explorer economy, media plants, a sporty Leaf and premium Germans
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Lamborghini LM002 - Click above for high-res image gallery
Hold on to your butts, Lamborghini fans. Word from Car and Driver's German correspondent is that the bullish Italian automaker is strongly considering re-entering the hardcore SUV segment. Considering that the brand's last effort into such uncharted territory brought us the Hummer-esque LM002, you can officially color us intrigued.
If the machine does make it past the planning stages, it will reportedly be based on the platform shared by the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, but we imagine it would get a powertrain more suitable for Lamborghini use - we can only hope that means a V12, as was the case with the LM002.
Another market Lamborghini is said to be considering is the entry-level V8 supercar segment. If a production model does indeed come about, it would slot below the V10-powered Gallardo. As with the aforementioned SUV, this would not be the first time Lambo has dipped a toe in these waters, as its Urraco, Silhouette and Jalpa played in the exact same market in the 1970s and 1980s before the Italian manufacturer pulled out in favor of traditional range-topping supercars like the Diablo and Murcielago.
Sadly, rumor has it that Lamborghini will not pursue the Estoque concept, leaving the Maserati Quattroporte as the only Italian to do battle with the likes of the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide. Still, the company must at least be considering the Estoque since it went ahead and produced a concept to gauge reaction. So, which of these new Lamborghini rumors would you most like to see fulfilled? Take part in our totally unscientific poll after the break.
2010 Le Mans Classic - Click above for high-res image gallery, and help us caption some of the cars!
Every two years in July, hundreds of vintage race cars gather at the famed Le Mans race circuit in France to fire up their engines and relive the glory days in the historic corners and long straights of the nearly 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe. But that's just part of it. In addition to the priceless machinery racing on the track, thousands of other classic cars trek to the grounds to fill nearly every open spot at the huge venue. Autoblog was invited by Porsche France to enjoy the 2010 Le Mans Classic in person, and needless to say, it was absolutely spectacular.
According to the organizers, this year's show welcomed 100,000 spectators, 8,000 display cars, 460 racing cars and 1,000 drivers. With sunny 95-degree temperatures over both days, the weather was unusually hot and the grounds chokingly dusty, but it didn't seem to keep anyone - or anything - from the event.
When not enjoying the racing, we strolled the show and stumbled over well-preserved classics from Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Renault, Lamborghini, Audi, BMW and more. Porsche models were everywhere as the various European Porsche Car Clubs stormed the venue with more than 800 cars. Where else can you physically brush elbows with a race-ready BMW M1, a brand-new 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO and ride in the back of a historic war-era Willys Jeep all within the same 60 seconds? Le Mans Classic, baby. And these weren't sterile, stuck-behind-the-ropes museum stock, either - everything was meant to be driven and enjoyed.
We've put together a massive gallery offering just a taste of the caliber of vehicles on display, running hot laps and racing last weekend. While we've attempted to caption many of these, some still have us stumped. If you can identify a few of the nameless, give us a shout in the comments (with the photo number as seen in the URL) and we'll update the captions as quickly as our server's cache will let us.