Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. yesterday announced the official opening of Lamborghini São Paulo as part of its global dealership network expansion and development program. The new showroom, the first official franchised Lamborghini dealership in South America, will be managed by Via Italia Group, one of Brazil’s most experienced luxury sports car sales companies.

Lamborghini chose São Paulo for its status as one of the most modern and luxurious cities in South America and a large global financial center. Located on the famous Avenida Europa in the heart of downtown, Lamborghini São Paulo now has a stand-alone showroom and a dedicated team of sales and service staff. The after-sales facility, technical service and original parts departments will have a dedicated warehouse in nearby Vila Leopoldina.

“Entering South America continues Lamborghini’s ongoing strategy to further develop the brand’s comprehensive worldwide dealer network,” said Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. “Via Italia Group was chosen for its expertise in the luxury sports car market, extraordinary sales performance and its reputation for exemplary customer service.”

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in São Paulo, Via Italia Group is an established name in the luxury business and has been responsible for the import, distribution and after-sales of super sports and GT racing cars in the Brazilian territory. Lamborghini São Paulo will be led by General Manager Ricardo Briz who has nearly two decades of experience managing successful high-end car franchises.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with Lamborghini and honored to be the brand’s first dealer partner in South America,” said Briz. “We have high expectations for the new franchise and hope to grow into one of Lamborghini’s most successful dealers worldwide.”

AUDI AG is strengthening its training activities for service employees to further boost the quality of service in Audi repair centers worldwide. The premium carmaker today opened the new Service Training Center in Neckarsulm – the sixth of its kind in Germany. Employees of the roughly 1,700 German Audi Service Centers will be trained at the Center, along with trainers who will prepare there for international assignments. With 80 different training courses and 14 qualification tracks, Audi plans this year to develop its service employees into experts who can provide top service to customers around the world.

“Audi wants to be the world’s leading brand in the area of customer satisfaction. We must therefore set ourselves apart by providing top service and outstanding customer interaction, especially when it comes to service,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi Board Member for Marketing and Sales. Given the constantly growing complexity of the Audi model range, extensive technical training provides the basis.

But there’s more to providing top service. “We are preparing our employees for the technologies of the future,” Schwarzenbauer said. “We’re training them in innovative, especially fast repair procedures, so they can help our customers more efficiently. But above all, we place a high priority on superior communication skills for all employees.”

Audi now has six training sites distributed throughout Germany, making them easily accessible for the employees of all Audi Service Centers. In 2009, service employees are to receive basic and advanced training during a total of 38,000 training days in 80 training modules. In Neckarsulm, Audi employees will now receive theoretical and practical training in a 5,400 m² facility. Trainees will acquire expertise in the bulk of the 14 Germany-wide qualification tracks, in workshop areas that feature the latest equipment and are outfitted in the new Audi corporate design. A new theme is customer communication for technicians. In complex cases, customers are to have the option of discussing their technical matters directly with an expert, who can find a more targeted approach to the solution than is possible when conferring through an intermediary service consultant. The goal is to save time – and to increase customer satisfaction.

This training is supported through selective training courses developed by Audi, covering areas such as investigating noises. Here, Audi technicians learn to use dialog with customers to quickly locate any “crackling” or “knocking” noises the customer describes. Training in “Clever Repair,” which replaces expensive replacement of a body part through more moderate dent removal – saving time and money – is also intended to immediately boost customer satisfaction. Audi is meanwhile consistently expanding technical training with a view to the brand’s technologies of the future: electric and hybrid drive systems, and lightweight design.

About 1,700 Service Centers throughout Germany send their employees to Audi’s training courses. Another essential service of the Training Center lies in the qualification of the trainers, who will transfer their knowledge to the roughly 100 export markets of the brand with the four-ring logo. The training days are supplemented with continuous self-study programs for Audi technicians, which are supported with specific computer programs and iTV shows – reports conveying information about products and repair procedures, which AUDI AG has been producing for more than four years and broadcasting to all markets via satellite.

SANT’AGATA BOLOGNESE, Italy — Today Lamborghini America LLC announced a new Lamborghini Retail Finance Plan for its most exclusive vehicles on the market, the Murcielago LP640 Coupe and Roadster (model years 2009 and 2010). The super sports car company is partnering with Woodside Credit and Volkswagen Credit, Inc. to provide alternative financing programs through authorized U.S. Lamborghini dealers.

“The Lamborghini Retail Finance Plan allows enthusiasts to finance one of most exclusive cars on the road at a more competitive rate than ever before,” said Pietro Frigerio, Chief Operating Officer of Automobili Lamborghini America, LLC. “We are pleased to continue our relationship with Volkswagen Credit as well partner with Woodside Credit, an established financing organization in collector and specialty cars, in order to provide several financing options to our clients.”

The Murcielago LP 640 Coupe and Roadster are instantly recognizable Lamborghini models, with iconic scissor doors and an aggressive body. The 640 horsepower Coupe and Roadster can sprint from 0 to 62 in 3.4 seconds, and have top speeds of 211 and 205 miles per hour, respectively.

Qualified buyers with a credit score of 700 or higher will enjoy rates starting at 5.99 percent, a minimum down payment of 10 percent, low monthly payments and terms of up to 12 years. For those buyers with a credit score above 740 and making a higher down payment, the program offers a zero percent interest rate over a 60-month period.

source: Lamborghini America

After several consecutive record years, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. reports a decrease in worldwide sales for the first six months of the financial year 2009 (which ends 31/12/2009). In spite of the massive economic downturn in Lamborghini´s major markets the company is still among the few car companies maintaining overall profitability.

In the first six months of 2009, turnover reached 156.9 Million Euros, with a decrease of 43.4% compared to the same period of 2008 (277.4 Million Euros). Pre-tax profit was 5.4 Million Euros in comparison to 35.0 Million Euros in the first six months of 2008.

In terms of sales, the company delivered 825 cars: a reduction of 37% compared to the same period of 2008 with sales of 1.309 cars.

As expected, the markets showing the sharpest decline are those economies worst hit by the deep worldwide recession. Consequently, Lamborghini sales volumes saw the most substantial downturn in the USA, falling by 52% from 431 to 207 units sold.

Some markets’ sales figures however, counteract the trend. In Europe, the second largest market, Italy, accounted for 122 units, nearly on a par with the first six months’ performance of 2008 when 130 Lamborghini cars were sold.

Switzerland maintained stability with 49 units sold, compared with 51 units in 2008. The same holds true for France with 37 units sold (43 in the first half of 2008).

Beyond Europe, there are clear signs of sales stability in the Middle East, which presently is the fourth largest market in the world for Lamborghini (61 units sold against 79 in the first half of 2008) and in China, which has achieved a sales growth of 32% (29 units sold in the first half of 2009 against 22 in the first six months of 2008).

Some major European markets showed decreases: Germany down 52.0%, and the UK down 46.6%.

The President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann, commented, “As was expected, we are not immune to the global recession. However, I am certain that Lamborghini’s strong global presence and brand appeal, which remains unaffected, will enable us to steer the company through challenging times to achieve new strengths. Our business strategy continues to be driven by two fundamental principles that allow us to react to the present economic situation and preserve the success of our brand. Firstly, we will maintain the profitability of the company, a target confirmed by the results of the first six months of 2009. Secondly we continue our investment into the future with product technology and innovation alongside a firm ecological stance.”

Lamborghini remains with its long-term strategy, with a commitment to announcing at least one new product each year.

The latest examples of this confidence are the launch of the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder, the Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, and the new Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni: the first rear wheel drive Gallardo, celebrating the famous Lamborghini test driver, Valentino Balboni.

Investments into R&D and into reduction of CO2 emissions will continue as planned, resulting in continuing technology and product innovation. The company has recently announced its intention to complete its program of environmental sustainability in record time by presenting new plans which will enable Lamborghini to:

- achieve a 30% reduction, by the year 2010, in the CO2 emissions produced by its factory
- achieve a 35% reduction, by the year 2015, in the CO2 emissions produced by its vehicles

Lamborghini will commit 35 million Euros over the next five years for this purpose.

For the full year 2009, the company is not giving a definitive business forecast due to continuing market instabilities. However, Lamborghini is confident of also attaining a full year profit, thus remaining one of the few profitable companies in the industry.

Zircotec’s high performance Thermohold® based thermal treatment helps reduce the weight of the Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce.

Automobili Lamborghini has selected automotive coating specialist Zircotec to supply a high performance thermal barrier for the lightweight Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce. The ceramic based thermal coating is applied to the exhaust system and reduces the need for heat shields while allowing heat sensitive lightweight materials to be used in close proximity to the exhaust pipe. Zircotec’s Thermohold technology also protects other heat sensitive components from damage.

“Lamborghini previously used Zircotec for its Reventón where a durable solution to protect the composite bodywork and components around the exhaust was required,” says Zircotec’s sales and marketing director Peter Whyman. “This time the coating helped contribute to an overall weight saving of 100kg over the normal Murciélago, with 33kg of the reduction coming from the new powertrain and exhaust system.”

“Zircotec helped us in achieving the attention to detail in weight reduction on this programme,” explains Luca Meschiari, head of exhausts at Lamborghini. “Their coating helps save weight yet is also durable, and meets our requirements in terms of performance and quality more than other solutions we have seen.”

Zircotec’s Thermohold based ceramic coatings offer OEMs a robust, easily packaged solution that can dramatically inhibit the transfer of heat from exhausts and catalysts, retaining the heat inside the system to protect surrounding components.

The coating is plasma-sprayed, in effect welding it to the base material, making it more resilient during heat cycling, abrasion and life testing. The whole process eradicates the need for heatshields and wraps that add weight and complexity. Learning from their experience in F1, Zircotec can ‘tune’ the coating’s thickness to cope with ‘hot spots’, applying the optimum amount to minimise weight (as low as 0.03g/cm² for some applications).

“The Murciélago SV is a growing testament that Zircotec’s coatings help weight reduction, reduce complexity and keep the car cool,” concludes Whyman.

Source: Zyrotec

Supercar makers always toy around with new ideas, oftentimes searching for inspiration in the strangest of places. Lamborghini designed the Reventon with the help of visual aids courtesy of the USAF F-22 Raptor, and boy was it a beauty. Having such a broad range of inspiration leads designers to dig even deeper in order to come up with something “original”. This time the pazzi (crazies) at Lamborghini have come up with something…crazy! With the aid of tremendous graphic design and virtual engineering,  the staff at the raging bull have created a concept completely dependent on insects and their exoskeletons. This crazy thought is actually not as crazy as you would imagine due to the fact that the exoskeletons of various insects are structurally built to handle weights and pressures 30-40 times superior to their own.
The vehicle, if built, will be based on the Gallardo chassis and will be powered by a form of Hybrid power. Is there a market for this you ask? We think so…

Remember when the Reventon first came out? Only 20 were to be produced and most of us in the auto industry couldn’t stop waking up at night dreaming of one day driving the road going stealth fighter. The whole lot of 20 sold quickly and most of us believed these rolling works of art would be going to the richest of the rich and the most avid car connaisseurs.
Well if you believed it you were partly wrong…because as of today 7 of the 20 Reventons can be found on the European website Jameslist for sale at 1.5 million Euros, roughly a quarter million more then originally listed. These seven examples of the Italian supercar are ready for immediate delivery and will surely make the centerpiece of any collection.
The funny thing about this whole story is the fact that these vehicles were purchased as “investments”, hoping that some wealthy gentlemen would be car crazy enough to pay a premium to own an example of Italian automotive history. Ultimately, we are reporting that these cars have not sold yet, meaning that there really has not been anyone out there yet to purchase one of the remaining seven. The question is, who will be next to own one?

Last month we reported how Ferrari was up in sales for 2008. Well now we are reporting that market competitor Lamborghini is beginning to feel some negative effects of the economy on its sales numbers. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann recently spoke of the state of Lamborghini and its future, depicting a grim 2009 with luxury market sales down spiraling 40 percent for the first two months of 2009.
For those who have already placed orders, well you are in luck. Average waiting times have been cut from twelve months to just under six months in order to complete orders and ship them out before anything else negative stirs up. So far, Lamborghini has received 100 orders for the new Murcielago LP 670-4 SV for which only 350 will be made. Ironically, in a more stable economy we would have seen all 350 units pre sold before the car even being available to the public.

Over 200 people were temporarily cut this week in an effort to stabilize an uncertain future. This 20% cut in workforce also mimics what Winkelmann explains as “temporary” despite the financial difficulties that Lamborghini will be facing in the near future.
Lamborghini expects a 20% drops in sales for 2009 but with the state of the American economy, and the fact that we are its largest market slice, things could get worse…

NURBURGRING – As many italian exotic manufacturers release state of the art additions to their lineup, Lamborghini has decided to take their Murcielago platform to the limit with the Super Veloce (SV). The last SVs were seen in the late 90s and have been collector’s items ever since.

As the Murci nears the end of its lifecycle, the most powerful edition of this italian stallion has yet to be seen. Expected to be shown and released to the public at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, the SV will push well over 700 HP and will weigh some 230 lbs less then the stock version. The interior will get the same treatment as the Gallardo Superleggera as the “heavy” materials will be replaced or deleted all together in an effort to save weight. All Wheel Drive (AWD) will no longer exist on the SV as power will go to the widened rear-wheels for a full race bread setup. Although plans to replace the Murcielago won’t happen until the “Jota” arrives in 2011, the SV will prove to be the Lamborghini benchmark until then. No official price estimates have been released.