Lamborghini For Sale

The resource cannot be displayed The resource you are looking for cannot be opened by your browser. Click the Back button to try another link. If you believe you should be able to view this directory or page, please contact the Web site administrator by using the e-mail address or phone number listed on the home page. HTTP Error 406 - Not acceptable Internet Information Services Technical Information (for support personnel) More information: Microsoft Support || Lamborghini UK Dealers Birmingham Edinburgh London Manchester Reading Sevenoaks * On selected new models. Terms and conditions apply Lamborghini Birmingham official Website Lamborghini Edinburgh official Website Lamborghini London official Website Lamborghini Manchester official Website Lamborghini Reading official Website Lamborghini Sevenoaks official Website || Lamborghini From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search For other uses, see Lamborghini (disambiguation) . Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. Type Fully owned subsidiary [ 1 ] Industry Automotive Founded October 30, 1963 [ 1 ] Founder(s) Ferruccio Lamborghini Headquarters Sant'Agata Bolognese , Italy Area served Worldwide Key people Stephan Winkelmann, CEO Wolfgang Egger, Head of Design Products Automobiles Revenue US$ 97.5 million (2002) [ 2 ] Profit US$ 18.1 million 2006 [ 3 ] Owner(s) AUDI AG Employees 567 (2002) [ 2 ] Parent Volkswagen Group Website Lamborghini.com Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. , [ Notes 1 ] commonly referred to as Lamborghini ( pronounced  [lamborˈɡiːni]   ( listen ) ), is an Italian automaker based in the small township of Sant'Agata Bolognese . The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like Ferrari . The company's first models were released in the mid-1960s, and were noted for their refinement, power, and comfort. Lamborghini gained wide acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coupé, which established mid-engine design as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era. After a decade of rapid growth, hard times befell the company in the mid-1970s, as sales plunged in the wake of the 1973 world financial downturn and oil crisis . After going through bankruptcy and three changes in ownership, Lamborghini came under the corporate umbrella of the Chrysler Corporation in 1987. The American company failed to return the automaker to profitability and sold it to Indonesian interests in 1994. Lamborghini's lack of success continued through the 1990s, until the company was sold in 1998 to AUDI AG (Audi), a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group , a German automotive concern . Audi's ownership marked the beginning of a period of stability and increased productivity for Lamborghini, with sales increasing nearly tenfold over the course of the 2000s, peaking in record sales in 2007 and 2008. The world financial crisis in the late 2000s saw Lamborghini's sales drop by nearly half by 2009, leading CEO Stephen Winkelmann to predict continued poor sales for supercar makers. Assembly of Lamborghini cars continues to take place at the automaker's ancestral home in Sant'Agata Bolognese, where engine and automobile production lines run side-by-side at the company's single factory. Each year, the facility produces fewer than 3,000 examples of the two models offered for sale, the V10-powered Gallardo coupé and roadster. The flagship V12-powered Murciélago coupé and roadster were discontinued at the end of 2010, with a successor expected in 2011. Contents 1 History 1.1 Origin 1.2 Early 1960s 1.3 1965–1966 1.4 1967–1968 1.5 1969–1970 1.6 1971–1972 1.7 1973–1977 1.8 1978–1986 1.9 1987–1993 1.10 1994–1997 1.11 1998–present 2 Vehicle lineup 2.1 Current range 2.2 Concept models 3 Motorsport 4 Identity 5 Corporate affairs 5.1 Sales history 5.2 Lamborghini of Latin America 6 Footnotes 7 Notes 8 External links [ edit ] History [ edit ] Origin A Lamborghini 22PS from 1951. Main article: Ferruccio Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini was founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini , the child of viticulturists from the comune (township) of Renazzo di Cento , Province of Ferrara , in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy . [ 1 ] [ 4 ] After serving as a mechanic in the Regia Aeronautica , [ 5 ] [ 6 ] during World War II, Lamborghini went into business building tractors out of leftover military hardware from the war effort. By the mid-1950s, Lamborghini's tractor company, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A., [ 7 ] had become one of the largest agricultural equipment manufacturers in the country. [ 8 ] He was also the owner of a successful gas heater and air conditioning manufacturer. [ 5 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Lamborghini's wealth allowed him to cultivate a childhood interest in cars, owning a number of luxury automobiles including Alfa Romeos , Lancias , Maseratis , and a Mercedes Benz . [ 9 ] He purchased his first Ferrari , a 250GT , in 1958, and went on to own several more. Lamborghini was fond of the Ferraris, but considered them too noisy and rough to be proper road cars , likening them to repurposed track cars . [ 9 ] Lamborghini decided to pursue an automobile manufacturing venture, with the goal of bringing to life his vision of a perfect grand tourer. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ edit ] Early 1960s Prior to founding his company, Lamborghini had commissioned the engineering firm Società Autostar to design a V12 engine for use in his new cars. Lamborghini wanted the engine to have a similar displacement to Ferrari's 3-litre V12; however, he wanted the engine to be designed purely for road use, in contrast to the modified racing engines used by Ferrari in its road cars. Autostar was led by Giotto Bizzarrini , a member of the "Gang of Five" of Ferrari engineers, who had been responsible for creating the famous Ferrari 250 GTO , but left the company in 1961 after founder Enzo Ferrari announced his intention to reorganize the engineering staff. [ 12 ] The engine Bizzarrini designed for Lamborghini had a displacement of 3.5 litres, a 9.5:1 compression ratio, and a maximum output of 360 bhp at 9800 rpm. [ 13 ] Lamborghini was displeased with the engine's high revolutions and dry-sump lubrication system, both characteristic of the racing engines he specifically did not wish to use; when Bizzarrini refused to change the engine's design to make it more "well-mannered", Lamborghini refused to pay the agreed-upon fee of 4.5 million Italian lire (plus a bonus for every unit of brake horsepower the engine could produce over the equivalent Ferrari engine). [ 13 ] [ 14 ] Lamborghini did not fully compensate the designer until ordered to do so by the courts . [ 14 ] The chassis design for the first Lamborghini car was created by famed Italian chassis engineer Gian Paolo Dallara . [ 14 ] Drawing on his experience working for Ferrari and Maserati, he assembled a team that included recent college graduate Paolo Stanzani and New Zealander Bob Wallace, who had previously been employed at Maserati, and was known for his keen sense of chassis handling and excellent feedback and developmental skills. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] Lamborghini hired then-relatively unknown designer Franco Scaglione to style the car's body, after turning down highly regarded names like Vignale , Ghia , Bertone , and Pininfarina . Ferruccio was unimpressed with the quality of the 350GTV, and ordered a complete redesign for Lamborghini's first production car. The Lamborghini 350GTV was designed and built in only four months, in time for an October unveiling at the 1963 Turin Motor Show. [ 13 ] Due to the ongoing disagreement with engine designer Giotto Bizzarrini, a working powerplant was not available for the prototype car in time for the show. The car went on display in Turin without an engine under its hood; according to lore, Ferruccio Lamborghini had the engine bay filled with bricks so that the car would sit at an appropriate height above the ground, and made sure that the bonnet stayed closed to hide the missing engine. [ 14 ] [ 16 ] The motoring press gave the 350GTV a warm response. [ 13 ] The Automobili Lamborghini Società per Azioni was officially incorporated on October 30, 1963. [ 5 ] Ferruccio Lamborghini purchased a property at Via Modena, 12, in the township of Sant'Agata Bolognese , less than 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Cento. A sign at the entranced declared "Qui Stabilimento Lamborghini Automobile" ( English : Lamborghini car factory here ), boasting 46,000 square metres (500,000 sq ft) of space. Sant'Agata was chosen as the location for the factory due to a favorable financial agreement with the city's communist leadership, which would not tax the plant's profits for its first ten years of trading, along with receiving an interest rate of 19% on those profits when they were deposited in the bank. As part of the agreement, the workers would have to be unionized . Sant'Agata was deep in the cradle of Italy's automobile industry, meaning that Lamborghini's operation would have easy access to machine shops, coachbuilders, and workers with experience in the automotive industry. [ 17 ] The 350GTV was reworked into the production 350GT; the grand tourer sold a total of 120 copies Despite the favorable press reviews of the 350GTV, Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to rework the car for production. The production model, which would be called the 350GT , was restyled by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan , and a new chassis was constructed in-house. Bizzarrini's V12 engine would be detuned for mass production, developing only 280 hp rather than the designer's intended 360 bhp. [ 18 ] The completed design debuted at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show , once again garnering positive reviews from the press. Production began shortly afterwards, and by the end of the year, cars had been built for 13 customers; Lamborghini sold each car at a loss in order to keep prices competitive with Ferrari's. The 350GT remained in production for a further two years, with a total of 120 cars sold. [ 19 ] [ edit ] 1965–1966 The 400GT (foreground) featured an uprated 3.9 litre engine. The Miura (background) became Lamborghini's first high-performance two-seater. In 1965, Gian Paolo Dallara made improvements to the Bizzarrini V12, increasing its displacement to 3.9 litres, and its power output to 320 bhp at 6,500 rpm. [ 19 ] The engine was first installed in the 400GT, essentially a 350GT with the larger engine. At the 1966 Geneva Auto Show, Lamborghini debuted the 400GT 2+2 , a stretched revision of the 350GT/400GT that featured 2+2 seating and other minor updates. The 400GT 2+2, like its predecessors, was well-received by the motoring press. [ 20 ] The revenue from sales of the 2+2 allowed Lamborghini to increase the labor force at his factory to 170 employees, and expand services offered to Lamborghini customers. [ 19 ] During 1965, Dallara, Stanzani, and Wallace invested their personal time into the development of a prototype car that they envisioned as a road car with racing pedigree, capable of winning on the track as well as being driven on the road by enthusiasts. [ 15 ] They hoped to eventually sway Ferruccio Lamborghini away from the opinion that such a car would be too expensive and distract from the company's focus. When finally brought aboard, Lamborghini allowed his engineers to go ahead, deciding that the car, known as the P400, would be useful as a potential marketing tool, if nothing more. The car's rolling chassis, featuring an unusual-for-Lamborghini transversely mounted mid-engine layout, was displayed at the Turin Salon in 1965, impressing showgoers. A version with bodywork styled by Bertone was finished only days before its debut at the 1966 Geneva motor show. As had happened three years earlier at the debut of the 350GTV, an ill-fitting engine meant the prototype's engine bay was filled with ballast, and the hood kept locked. [ 21 ] The favorable reaction to the P400 at Geneva led Lamborghini to slate the car for production by 1967, under the name Miura . The Miura's layout and styling would become the standard for mid-engine two-seat high-performance sports cars, [ 22 ] a trend that continues today. Lamborghini now had an offering that positioned the fledgling automaker as a leader in the world of supercars, while the 400GT was the sophisticated road car that Ferruccio Lamborghini had long desired to build. By end of 1966, the workforce at the Sant'Agata factory had expanded to 300, and enough deposits were made by prospective buyers to begin final development on the Miura in 1967. The first four cars produced were kept at the factory, where Bob Wallace continued to improve and refine the car. By December, 108 cars had been delivered. [ 23 ] [ edit ] 1967–1968 Production of the 400GT continued, with Ferruccio Lamborghini seeking to replace the four-year-old design. Lamborghini commissioned Touring, which had styled the 350GT and original 400GT, to design a possible replacement based on the same chassis. Touring's 400 GT Flying Star II did not win Lamborghini's approval. Giorgio Neri and Luciano Bonacini, of Neri and Bonacini coachbuilders in Modena produced their own design, the 400GT Monza , which was rejected as well. [ 24 ] Facing mounting financial difficulties, Touring would close its doors later that year. The Islero was a sales disappointment, but faithful to Ferruccio's ideal of a reliable grand tourer. Ferruccio Lamborghini turned to Bertone designer Mario Marazzi, who had formerly worked at Touring. Together with Lamborghini's engineers, he created a four-seater named the Marzal . The car rode on a stretched Miura chassis, and was powered by an in-line six-cylinder that was made from one-half of Lamborghini's V12 design. [ 25 ] Despite an innovative design that featured gullwing doors and enormous glass windows, Lamborghini rejected the design. Eventually, a toned-down version became the Islero 400GT . While the car was not the full four-seater that he desired, Ferruccio Lamborghini thought the car represented a well-developed gran turismo product. [ 26 ] It failed to attract buyers, with only 125 cars produced between 1968 and 1969. [ 27 ] External videos 1968 video of the Sant'Agata factory, followed by 1969 footage of a drive in an Islero New versions of the Miura arrived in 1968; the Miura P400 S (more commonly known as the Miura S) featured a stiffened chassis and more power, with the V12 developing 370 bhp at 7000 rpm. At the 1968 Brussels auto show, the automaker unveiled the Miura P400 Roadster (more commonly the Miura Spider), an open-top version of the coupé. Gandini, by now effectively the head of design at Bertone, had paid great attention to the details, particularly the problems of wind buffeting and noise insulation inherent to a roadster. [ 28 ] For all of Gandini's hard work, Sgarzi was forced to turn potential buyers away, as Lamborghini and Bertone were unable to reach a consensus on the size of a theoretical roadster production run. The Miura Spider was sold off to an American metal alloy supplier, who wanted to use it as a marketing device. 1968 was a positive time for all of Ferruccio's businesses, and Automobili delivered 353 cars over the course of the year. [ 28 ] The Espada was Lamborghini's first truly popular model, with more than 1,200 sold during its ten years of production. Bertone was able to persuade Lamborghini to allow them to design a brand-new four-seater. The shape was penned by Marcello Gandini , and a bodyshell delivered to Ferruccio for inspection. The businessman was less than pleased with the enormous gullwing doors that Gandini had included, and insisted that the car would have to feature conventional doors. [ 25 ] The car that resulted from the collaboration was debuted at the 1969 Geneva show with the name Espada , powered by a 3.9-litre, front-mounted evolution of the factory's V12, producing 325 bhp. The Espada was a runaway success, with a total production run of 1,217 cars over ten years of production. [ 26 ] In August 1968, Gian Paolo Dallara , frustrated with Ferruccio Lamborghini's refusal to participate in motorsport, was recruited away from Sant'Agata to head the Formula One program at rival automaker De Tomaso in Modena. With profits on the rise, a racing program would have been a possibility, but Lamborghini remained against even the construction of prototypes, stating his mission as: "I wish to build GT cars without defects - quite normal, conventional but perfect - not a technical bomb." [ 29 ] With cars like the Islero and the Espada, his aim to establish himself and his cars as equal or superior to the works of Enzo Ferrari had been satisfied. Dallara's assistant, Paulo Stanzani, would assume his old boss' role as technical director. Unfortunately for Dallara, the De Tomaso F1 program was underfunded, and the automaker barely survived the experience; the engineer left the company soon after. [ 30 ] [ edit ] 1969–1970 In 1969, Automobili Lamborghini encountered problems with its fully unionized work force, among which the machinists and fabricators had begun to take one-hour token stoppages as part of a national campaign due to strained relations between the metal workers' union and Italian industry. [ 30 ] Ferruccio Lamborghini, who often rolled up his sleeves and joined in the work on the factory floor, was able to motivate his staff to continue working towards their common goal despite the disruptions. The Jarama was a shortened, sportier version of the Espada. Throughout that year, Lamborghini's product range, then consisting of the Islero, the Espada, and the Miura S, received upgrades across the board, with the Miura receiving a power boost, the Islero being upgraded to "S" trim, and the Espada gaining comfort and performance upgrades which allowed it to reach speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h). The Islero was slated to be replaced by a shortened yet higher-performing version of the Espada, the Jarama 400GT . The 3.9-litre V12 was retained, its compression ratio increasing to 10.5:1. [ 31 ] The Urraco was the first clean-sheet Lamborghini design since the 350GTV. By the time the Jarama was unveiled at the 1970 Geneva show, Paulo Stanzani was at work on a new clean-sheet design, which would use no parts from previous Lamborghini cars. Changes in tax laws and a desire to make full use of the factory's manufacturing capacity meant that the Italian automaker would follow the direction taken by Ferrari, with its Dino 246 and Porsche, with its 911 , and produce a smaller, V8-powered 2+2 car, the Urraco . The 2+2 body style was selected as a concession to practicality, with Ferruccio acknowledging that Urraco owners might have children. [ 31 ] The single overhead cam V8 designed by Stanzani produced 220 bhp at 5000 rpm. Bob Wallace immediately began road testing and development; the car was to be presented at the 1970 Turin motor show. [ 31 ] In 1970, Lamborghini began development of a replacement for the Miura, which was a pioneering model, but had interior noise levels that Ferruccio Lamborghini found unacceptable and nonconforming to his brand philosophy. [ 32 ] Engineers designed a new, longer chassis that placed the engine longitudinally, further away from the driver's seat. Designated the LP500 for its 4.97-litre version of the company's V12, the prototype was styled by Marcello Gandini at Bertone. The car that was presented was debuted at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show , alongside the final revision of the Miura, the P400 SuperVeloce . Completing the Lamborghini range were the Espada 2, the Urraco P250, and the Jarama GT. [ 33 ] [ edit ] 1971–1972 As a world financial crisis began to take hold, Ferruccio Lamborghini's companies began to run into financial difficulties. In 1971, Lamborghini's tractor company, which exported around half of its production, ran into difficulties. Cento, Trattori's South African importer, cancelled all its orders. After staging a successful coup d'état , the new military government of Bolivia cancelled a large order of tractors that was partially ready to ship from Genoa . Trattori's employees, like Automobili's, were unionized and could not be laid off. In 1972, Lamborghini sold his entire holding in Trattori to SAME , another tractor builder. [ 7 ] [ 34 ] The entire Lamborghini group was now finding itself in financial troubles. Development at the automaker slowed; the production version of the LP500 missed the 1972 Geneva Show, and only the P400 GTS version of the Jarama was on display. Faced with a need to cut costs, Paulo Stanzani set aside the LP500's powerplant, slating a smaller, 4-litre engine for production. [ 35 ] Ferruccio Lamborghini began courting buyers for Automobili and Trattori; he entered negotiations with Georges-Henri Rossetti, a wealthy Swiss businessman and friend of Ferruccio's, as well as being the owner of an Islero and an Espada. [ 35 ] Ferruccio sold Rossetti 51% of the company for US$600,000, thereby relinquishing control of the automaker he had founded. He continued to work at the Sant'Agata factory; Rossetti rarely involved himself in Automobili's affairs. [ 34 ] [ edit ] 1973–1977 The 1973 oil crisis plagued the sales of high performance cars from manufacturers around the world; the rising price of oil caused governments to mandate new fuel economy laws, and consumers to seek smaller, more practical modes of transportation. Sales of Lamborghini's exotic sports cars, propelled by high-powered engines with little consideration for fuel efficiency, (the 1986 Countach , powered by a 5.2-litre evolution of the V12 engine, had a 6 mpg -US (39 L/100 km; 7.2 mpg -imp ) city and 10 mpg -US (24 L/100 km; 12 mpg -imp ) highway United States Environmental Protection Agency rating) [ 36 ] suffered greatly. The Countach, then the most popular and successful Lamborghini in history, was in production from 1974 to 1988. In 1974, Ferruccio Lamborghini sold his remaining 49% stake in the company to René Leimer, a friend of Georges-Henri Rossetti. [ 1 ] Having severed all connections with the cars that bore his name, he retired to an estate on the shores of Lake Trasimeno , in the frazione of Panicarola in Castiglione del Lago , a town in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region of central Italy, where he would remain until his last days. [ 6 ] In 1974, the LP500 finally entered production as the Countach , powered by a smaller, 4.0-litre V12. The first production model was delivered in 1974. In 1976, the Urraco P300 was revamped into the Silhouette , featuring a Targa top and a 3-litre V8. Its poor build quality, reliability, and ergonomics all worked against it, as did the fact that it could only be imported into the U.S. via the " grey market ". Only 54 were produced. [ 37 ] The Countach was also hampered by its lack of direct participation in the American market until the LP500 version, released in 1982. [ edit ] 1978–1986 The Jalpa, an update of the failed Silhouette, was the only new car released during receivership. As the years passed, Lamborghini's situation became even more dire; the company entered bankruptcy in 1978, and the Italian courts took control. They first appointed Dr. Alessandro Arteses to run the company's operations, but a year later, Raymond Noima and Hubert Hahne , who was Lamborghini’s German importer, were appointed to take over the running of the company. [ 38 ] In 1980, the Swiss Mimran brothers (Jean-Claude and Patrick ), [ 39 ] famed food entrepreneurs [ 40 ] with a passion for sports cars, were appointed to administer the company during its receivership . During administration, the automaker reworked the failed Silhouette into the Jalpa , which was powered by a 3.5-litre V8 that had been modified by former Maserati great, Giulio Alfieri. More successful than the Silhouette, the Jalpa came closer to achieving the goal of a more affordable, livable version of the Countach. [ 41 ] The Countach was also updated, finally allowing it to be sold in the U.S. with the release of the LP500 model in 1982. [ 42 ] By 1984, the company was officially in the hands of the Swiss. The Mimrans began a comprehensive restructuring program, injecting large amounts of capital into the floundering automaker. The Sant'Agata facilities were rehabilitated, and a worldwide hiring campaign to find new engineering and design talent began in earnest. [ 1 ] The LM002 sport-utility vehicle was introduced under Mimran ownership. The immediate results of the investment were good. A Countach "Quattrovolve" , producing a mighty 455 bhp, was released in 1984; the fumbling Cheetah project resulted in the release of the Lamborghini LM002 sport utility vehicle in 1986. However, despite the Mimrans' efforts, the investments proved insufficient to revive the company. Seeking a large, stable financial partner, the brothers met with representatives of one of America's "Big Three" automakers, the Chrysler Corporation . [ 1 ] [ edit ] 1987–1993 In April 1987, in an acquisition spearheaded by Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca , the American company took control of the Italian automaker, after paying out US$33 million [ Notes 2 ] to the Mimrans. [ 43 ] According to Jolliffe, the Mimran brothers were the only owners of Lamborghini to ever make money out of the company, having sold it for many times the dollar amount they paid for it six years earlier. [ 43 ] Iacocca, who had previously orchestrated a near-miraculous turnaround of Chrysler after the company nearly fell into bankruptcy, carried out his decision to purchase Lamborghini with no challenges from the board of directors. Chrysler people were appointed to Lamborghini's board, but many of the company's key members remained in managing positions, including Alfieri, Marmiroli, Venturelli, and Ceccarani. Ubaldo Sgarzi continued in his role as head of the sales department. [ 44 ] To begin its revival, Lamborghini received a cash injection to the tune of $50 million. [ 1 ] The automaker's new owner was interested in entering the "extra premium" sports car market, which it estimated at about 5,000 cars per year, worldwide. Chrysler aimed to produce a car to compete with the Ferrari 328 by 1991, [ 44 ] and also wanted the Italians to produce an engine that could be used in a Chrysler car for the American market. The decision was made to finally take the company into motorsport; the effort would be known as Lamborghini Engineering S.p.A., and would develop engines for Grand Prix teams. The new division was based in Modena , and given an initial budget of $5 million. [ 45 ] Danielle Audetto would be the manager, and Emile Novaro the president; their first recruit was Mauro Forghieri, a man with a stellar reputation in the world of motorsport, who had formerly managed Ferrari's Formula 1 team. Forghieri set about designing a 3.5-litre V12 engine, independent of road-car engine design undertaken at Sant'Agata. [ 46 ] Forghieri designed a V12 engine for Lamborghini's Formula 1 venture. At the time, Lamborghini was working on a successor to the Countach, the Diablo . The car's original design had been penned by Marcello Gandini , the veteran who had penned the exterior appearances of the Miura and the Countach while working for coachbuilder Bertone . However, Chrysler executives, unimpressed with Gandini's work, commissioned the American car-maker's own design team to execute a third extensive redesign of the car's body, smoothing out the trademark sharp edges and corners of Gandini's original design; the Italian was left famously unimpressed with the finished product. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] The Diablo had been intended for release in time for September 1988, when Lamborghini would celebrate its 25th anniversary; once it was clear that mark would be missed, a final version of the Countach was rushed into production instead. [ 49 ] The Anniversary Countach was later acclaimed as the finest version of the car to be built. [ 50 ] By the end of 1987, Emile Novaro had returned from his long recovery, and used his authority to halt Chrysler's increasing interference in the development of the Diablo. Much to the chagrin of the Fighting Bull, Chrysler exhibited a four-door concept car at the Frankfurt Auto Show , badged as a 'Chrysler powered by Lamborghini'. The Portofino was poorly received by the motoring press and Lamborghini's employees alike, [ 51 ] but went on to become the inspiration for the Dodge Intrepid sedan. In April 1988, the Bertone Genesis , a Quattrovalvole V12-powered, Lamborghini-branded vehicle resembling a minivan was debuted at the Turin motor show. The unusual car, intended to gauge public reactions, was abandoned, a misfit in both Lamborghini's and Chrysler's product ranges. [ 51 ] The Genesis had been commissioned alongside the new "baby Lambo" that would replace the Jalpa, occupying the then-empty space below the Diablo in Lamborghini's lineup. The project had been allocated a $25 million budget, with the prospect of selling more than 2,000 cars per year. [ 51 ] The Diablo was the fastest car in production when it was released in 1990. The Diablo was released to the public on January 21, 1990, at an event at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo . The Diablo was the fastest car in production in the world at the time, [ citation needed ] and sales were so brisk that Lamborghini began to turn a profit. The company's U.S. presence had previously consisted of loosely affiliated and disorganized private dealer network; Chrysler established an efficient franchise with full service and spare parts support. The company also began to develop its V12 engines for powerboat racing. Profits increased past the $1 million mark in 1991, and Lamborghini enjoyed a positive era. [ 1 ] The uptick in fortunes was to be brief; in 1992, sales crashed, as the $239,000 Diablo proved ultimately to be unaccessible to American enthusiasts. With Lamborghini bleeding money, Chrysler decided that the automaker was no longer producing enough cars to justify its investment. [ edit ] 1994–1997 Setiawan Djody also owned supercar maker Vector (a Vector W8 is pictured here), and hoped that Lamborghini and Vector would collaborate to the benefit of both companies. Chrysler began looking for someone to take Lamborghini off its hands, and found it in a holding company called MegaTech . The company was registered in Bermuda and wholly owned by Indonesian conglomerate SEDTCO Pty., headed by businessmen Setiawan Djody and Tommy Suharto , the youngest son of then- Indonesian President Suharto . By February 1994, after $40 million had changed hands, Lamborghini had left Italian ownership, and MegaTech took over the automaker, its Modena racing engine factory, and the American dealer interest, Lamborghini USA. [ 1 ] Djody, who also owned a 35% stake in troubled American supercar manufacturer Vector Motors , thought Vector and Lamborghini might be able to collaborate to improve their output. Michael J. Kimberly, formerly of Lotus , Jaguar and executive vice-president General Motors , was appointed president and managing director. After reviewing the entire Lamborghini operation, Kimberly concluded that the company needed to expand its offerings from more than just one or two models, and provide a car accessible to American car enthusiasts. He implemented a marketing strategy to raise awareness of Lamborghini's heritage and mystique. In 1995, Lamborghini produced a hit, when the Diablo was updated to the top-end SuperVeloce model. But in 1995, even as sales were climbing, the company was restructured, with Tommy Suharto's V'Power Corporation holding a 60% interest, MyCom Bhd., a Malaysian company controlled by Jeff Yap, holding the other 40%. [ 1 ] The Diablo would be Lamborghini's mainstay throughout the 90s, and was continually updated throughout the various changes in ownership. Never leaving the red despite its increase in sales, in November 1996 Lamborghini hired Vittorio di Capua as President and CEO, hoping that the veteran of more than 40 years at auto giant Fiat S.p.A. could finally make the sports car maker profitable again. Di Capua immediately launched cost-cutting measures, letting go of a number of company executives and consultants, and overhauling production in order to achieve a 50 percent gain in productivity. In 1997, Lamborghini finally passed its break-even point, selling 209 Diablos, thirteen more than it needed to be profitable. Di Capua also leveraged the Lamborghini name and identity, implementing aggressive merchandising and licensing deals. Development of the "baby Lambo" finally began, moving forward with a $100 million budget. [ 1 ] [ edit ] 1998–present The financial crisis that gripped Asia in July of that year set the stage for another ownership change. The new chairman of Volkswagen AG , Ferdinand Piëch , grandson of Volkswagen's founder, Ferdinand Porsche , went on a buying spree through 1998, which included the acquisition of Lamborghini for around $110 million. Lamborghini was purchased through Volkswagen's luxury car division, AUDI AG . Audi spokesman Juergen de Graeve told the Wall Street Journal that Lamborghini "could strengthen Audi's sporty profile, and on the other hand Lamborghini could benefit from our technical expertise." [ 1 ] Only five years after leaving American ownership, Lamborghini was now under German control. Yet again, the troubled Italian automaker was reorganized, becoming restructured into a holding company, Lamborghini Holding S.p.A., with Audi president Franz-Josef Paefgen as its chairman. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. became a subsidiary of the holding company, allowing it to focus specifically on designing and building cars while separate interests took care of the company's licensing deals and marine engine manufacturing. Vittorio Di Capua originally remained in charge, but eventually resigned in June 1999. He was replaced by Giuseppe Greco, another industry veteran with experience at Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari. The Diablo's final evolution, the GT, was released, but not exported to the U.S., its low-volume production making it uneconomical to go through the process of gaining emissions and crashworthiness approval. In much the same way that American ownership had influenced the design of the Diablo, Lamborghini's new German parent played a large role in the creation of the Diablo's replacement. The first new Lamborghini in more than a decade, known internally as Project L140, represented the rebirth of Lamborghini, and was named, fittingly, for the bull that originally sired the Miura line that had inspired Ferruccio Lamborghini almost 40 years before: Murciélago . The new flagship car was styled by Belgian Luc Donckerwolke , Lamborghini's new head of design. The "Baby Lambo", envisioned in 1997, was introduced in 2003 as the Gallardo . Under German ownership, Lamborghini found stability that it had not seen in many years. In 2003, Lamborghini followed up the Murciélago with the smaller, V10-equipped Gallardo , intended to be a more accessible and more livable than the Murciélago. In 2007, Wolfgang Egger was appointed as the new head of design of Audi and Lamborghini, replacing Walter de'Silva , who was responsible for the design of only one car during his appointment, the Miura Concept of 2006. Towards the end of the 2000s, Lamborghini produced a number of revisions of the Murciélago and Gallardo. The Reventón , a limited-edition derivative of the Murciélago featuring revised, angular styling, was released in 2008, with a roadster following the year after. The final update to the Murciélago came in 2009 with the release of the LP 670-4 SV ("SuperVeloce"). The 4,000th Murciélago was produced in 2010. The car was delivered to China. At the time, the growing Asia-Pacific vehicle market represented 25 percent of Lamborghini's sales. [ 52 ] A slide in Lamborghini's sales that began at a high of 2,580 units in 2007 was attributed to the effects of the world financial crisis . CEO Stephan Winkelmann predicted that poor sales figures for supercars would continue through 2011. [ 53 ] [ edit ] Vehicle lineup Main article: List of Lamborghini automobiles [ edit ] Current range As of November 2010, when production of the Murciélago ended, [ 54 ] Lamborghini's product range consists of the Gallardo LP560-4 and Spyder . [ edit ] Concept models The Concept S, a Gallardo derivative. The Estoque, a 2008 sedan concept. Throughout its history, Lamborghini has envisioned and presented a variety of concept cars , beginning in 1963 with the very first Lamborghini prototype, the 350GTV . Other famous models include Bertone's 1967 Marzal , 1974 Bravo , and 1980 Athon , Chrysler's 1987 Portofino , the Italdesign -styled Cala from 1995, and the Zagato -built Raptor from 1996. A retro-styled Lamborghini Miura concept car , the first creation of chief designer Walter de'Silva, was presented in 2006. President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann denied that the concept would be put into production, saying that the Miura concept was "a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. Retro design is not what we are here for. So we won’t do the [new] Miura.” [ 55 ] At the 2008 Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini revealed the Estoque , a four-door sedan concept. Although there had been much speculation regarding the Estoque's eventual production, [ 56 ] [ 57 ] Lamborghini management has not made a decision regarding production of what might be the first four-door car to roll out of the Sant'Agata factory. [ 58 ] At the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini unveiled the Sesto Elemento . The concept car is made almost entirely of carbon fibre making it extremely light, weighing only 999 kg. The Sesto Elemento shares the same V10 engine found in the Lamborghini Gallardo. Lamborghini hopes to signal a shift in the company's direction from making super cars focused on top speed to producing more agile, track focused cars with the Sesto Elemento. The concept car can reach 0-62 in 2.5 seconds and can reach a top speed of over 180 mph. [ 59 ] [ edit ] Motorsport The Miura began as a clandestine prototype, a car that had racing pedigree in a company that was entirely against motorsport. In contrast to his rival Enzo Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini had decided early on that there would be no factory-supported racing of Lamborghinis, viewing motorsport as too expensive and too draining on company resources. [ citation needed ] This was unusual for the time, as many sports car manufacturers sought to demonstrate the speed, reliability, and technical superiority through motorsport participation. Enzo Ferrari in particular was known for considering his road car business merely a source of funding for his participation in motor racing. Ferrucio's policy led to tensions between him and his engineers, many of whom were racing enthusiasts; some had previously worked at Ferrari. When Dallara, Stanzani, and Wallace began dedicating their spare time to the development of the P400 prototype, they designed it to be a road car with racing potential, one that could win on the track and also be driven on the road by enthusiasts. [ 15 ] When Ferruccio discovered the project, he allowed them to go ahead, seeing it as a potential marketing device for the company, while insisting that it would not be raced. The P400 went on to become the Miura. The closest the company came to building a true race car under Lamborghini's supervision were a few highly modified prototypes, including those built by factory test driver Bob Wallace, such as the Miura SV-based "Jota" and the Jarama S-based "Bob Wallace Special". Under the management of Georges-Henri Rossetti, Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to build a production racing car in sufficient quantity for homologation . However, Lamborghini was unable to fulfill its part of the agreement. The car was eventually developed in-house by the BMW Motorsport Division, and was manufactured and sold as the BMW M1 . [ 60 ] [ 61 ] The 1991 Lotus 102 B, which featured a Judd V8 in place of the unreliable Lamborghini V12 used in the original 102. In the 1980s, Lamborghini developed the QVX for the 1986 Group C championship season. One car was built, but lack of sponsorship caused it to miss the season. The QVX competed in only one race, the non-championship 1986 Southern Suns 500 km race at Kyalami in South Africa, driven by Tiff Needell . Despite the car finishing better than it started, sponsorship could once again not be found and the program was cancelled. [ 62 ] Lamborghini was an engine supplier in Formula One between the 1989 and 1993 Formula One seasons . It supplied engines to Larrousse (1989–1990,1992–1993), Lotus (1990), Ligier (1991), Minardi (1992), and to the Modena team in 1991. While the latter is commonly referred to as a factory team, the company saw themselves as a supplier, not a backer. The 1992 Larrousse–Lamborghini was largely uncompetitive but noteworthy in its tendency to spew oil from its exhaust system. Cars following closely behind the Larrousse were commonly colored yellowish-brown by the end of the race. [ citation needed ] In late 1991, a Lamborghini Formula One motor was used in the Konrad KM-011 Group C sports car, but the car only lasted a few races before the project was canceled. The same engine, re-badged a Chrysler , Lamborghini's then-parent company, was tested by McLaren towards the end of the 1993 season, with the intent of using it during the 1994 season . Although driver Ayrton Senna was reportedly impressed with the engine's performance, McLaren pulled out of negotiations, choosing a Peugeot engine instead, and Chrysler ended the project. A Murcielago R-GT participating in the FIA GT Championship at Silverstone in 2006. Two racing versions of the Diablo were built for the Diablo Supertrophy, a single-model racing series held annually from 1996 to 1999. In the first year, the model used in the series was the Diablo SVR, while the Diablo 6.0 GTR was used for the remaining three years. [ 63 ] [ 64 ] Lamborghini developed the Murciélago R-GT as a production racing car to compete in the FIA GT Championship , the Super GT Championship and the American Le Mans Series in 2004. The car's highest placing in any race that year was the opening round of the FIA GT Championship at Valencia , where the car entered by Reiter Engineering finished third from a fifth-place start. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] In 2006, during the opening round of the Super GT championship at Suzuka , a car run by the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club garnered the first victory (in class) by an R-GT. A GT3 version of the Gallardo has been developed by Reiter Engineering . [ 67 ] A Murciélago R-GT entered by All-Inkl.com racing, driven by Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke, won the opening round of the FIA GT Championship held at Zhuhai International Circuit , achieving the first major international race victory for Lamborghini. [ 68 ] [ edit ] Identity The Lamborghini wordmark, as displayed on the back of its cars. The world of bullfighting is a key part of Lamborghini's identity. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] [ 71 ] In 1962, Ferruccio Lamborghini visited the Seville ranch of Don Eduardo Miura , a renowned breeder of Spanish fighting bulls . Lamborghini, a Taurus himself, was so impressed by the majestic Miura animals that he decided to adopt a raging bull as the emblem for the automaker he would open shortly. [ 12 ] After producing two cars with alphanumeric designations, Lamborghini once again turned to the bull breeder for inspiration. Don Eduardo was filled with pride when he learned that Ferruccio had named a car for his family and their line of bulls; the fourth Miura to be produced was unveiled to him at his ranch in Seville. [ 12 ] [ 21 ] The automaker would continue to draw upon the bullfighting connection in future years. The Islero was named for the Miura bull that killed the famed bullfighter Manolete in 1947. Espada is the Spanish word for sword , sometimes used to refer to the bullfighter himself. The Jarama's name carried a special double meaning; intended to refer only to the historic bullfighting region in Spain, Ferruccio was concerned about confusion with the also historic Jarama motor racing track . [ 31 ] The Diablo (background) was named for a legendary bull, while the Countach (foreground) broke from the bullfighting tradition. After christening the Urraco after a bull breed, in 1974, Lamborghini broke from tradition, naming the Countach not for a bull, but for countach! (pronounced [kunˈtɑtʃ] ( listen ) ), an exclamation of astonishment used by Piedmontese men upon sighting a beautiful woman. [ 72 ] Legend has it that stylist Nuccio Bertone uttered the word in surprise when he first laid eyes on the Countach prototype, "Project 112". [ 73 ] The LM002 sport utility vehicle and the Silhouette were other exceptions to the tradition. The Jalpa of 1982 was named for a bull breed; Diablo, for the Duke of Veragua 's ferocious bull famous for fighting an epic battle against "El Chicorro" in Madrid in 1869; [ 46 ] [ 47 ] Murciélago , the legendary bull whose life was spared by "El Lagartijo" for his performance in 1879; Gallardo, named for one of the five ancestral castes of the Spanish fighting bull breed; [ 74 ] and Reventón, the bull that defeated young Mexican torero Félix Guzmán in 1943. The Estoque concept of 2008 was named for the estoc , the sword traditionally used by matadors during bullfights. [ 75 ] [ edit ] Corporate affairs Lamborghini is structured as part of the Lamborghini Group , consisting of a holding company, Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. , with three separate companies: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. , manufacturer of cars; Motori Marini Lamborghini S.p.A. , maker of marine engines; and Lamborghini ArtiMarca S.p.A. , the licensing and merchandising company. [ 1 ] The group additionally contains Volkswagen Group Italia S.p.A. and Volkswagen Group Firenze S.p.A. [ 76 ] The most important markets for Automobili Lamborghini's sports cars are the U.S. (41%), Germany (13%), Great Britain (9%) and Japan (8%). The company produces around 400 cars per year. [ 2 ] Motori Marini Lamborghini produces a large V12 marine engine block for use in powerboat racing, notably the World Offshore Series Class 1. The engine displaces around 8,171 cc (499 cu in) with an output of around 940 hp (700 kW). [ 77 ] Automobili Lamborghini Artimarca licenses Automobili Lamborghini's name and image for use on other companies' products and accessories. Examples include a variety of apparel items, various model car lines, and the ASUS Lamborghini VX series notebook computers . [ edit ] Sales history This section requires expansion . Year Units sold 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 Ferruccio Lamborghini (1963–1972) 1968 [ 28 ] 353   Georges-Henri Rossetti and René Leimer (1972–1977) Receivership (1977–1984) Patrick Mimran (1984–1987) Chrysler Corporation (1987–1994) 1991 [ 1 ] 673   1992 [ 1 ] 166   1993 [ 1 ] 215   MegaTech (1994–1995) V'Power and Mycom Sedtco (1995–1998) 1996 [ 78 ] 211   1997 [ 1 ] 209   AUDI AG (1998–present) 1999 [ 79 ] 264   2000 [ 80 ] 291   2001 [ 81 ] 280   2002 [ 82 ] 442   2003 [ 83 ] 1,357   2004 [ 83 ] 1,678   2005 [ 84 ] 1,436   2006 [ 85 ] 2,095   2007 [ 86 ] 2,580 2008 [ 87 ] 2,430   2009 [ 88 ] 1,417   [ edit ] Lamborghini of Latin America Automóviles Lamborghini Latinoamérica S.A. ( English : Lamborghini Automobiles of Latin America S.A. ) was a Mexican company that built cars bearing the Lamborghini name under license from the Italian automaker. The licensing agreement was struck in 1995, while Automobili Lamborghini was owned by Indonesian corporation MegaTech and helmed by Michael Kimberly. The Mexican group was allowed to sell merchandise related to Lamborghini, and the contract included a clause that allowed them to "carry on the promotion and sale worldwide, of the vehicles which are manufactured or assembled with its "own restyling" within the Territory of the Mexican United States , and/or Latinoamerica ." Automóviles Lamborghini has produced two rebodied versions of the Diablo called the Eros and the Coatl under its licensing agreement. The company is currently led by Jorge Antonio Fernandez Garcia. [ 89 ] As of July 2010 the company's website has been down and it may be defunct. [ edit ] Footnotes ^ S.p.A. stands for Società per Azioni, the Italian version of a Joint stock company . ^ In the next chapter, Jolliffe states, "Chrysler Corporation's $25.2m acquisition of the Fighting Bull..." Other sources agree with a figure closer to $25 million. [ edit ] Notes ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Automobili Lamborghini Holding S.p.A. Company History" . http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Automobili-Lamborghini-Holding-SpA-Company-History.html . Retrieved August 13, 2009 .   ^ a b c "Lamborghini" . Myautoworld.com . http://myautoworld.com/lamborghini/lamborghini.html . Retrieved May 21, 2010 .   ^ Alannah Tremblay. "Lamborghini Quadruples Profits in First Half of 2007" . Automobile.com . http://www.automobile.com/lamborghini-quadruples-profits-in-first-half-of-2007.html . Retrieved May 21, 2010 .   ^ Jolliffe, 15. ^ a b c Sackey, 14. ^ a b Wood, Jonathan (February 23, 1993). "Obituary: Ferruccio Lamborghini" . The Independent (London) . http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-ferruccio-lamborghini-1474704.html . Retrieved August 12, 2009 .   ^ a b "Museo Storico Gruppo Same" . http://www.samedeutz-fahr.com/museo/uk/marchi-lamborghini.htm . Retrieved August 17, 2009 .   ^ a b c Jolliffe, 18. ^ a b c d "Interview with Ferruccio Lamborghini" . Thoroughbred & Classic Cars . January 1991 . http://www.400gt.com/articles/compare/interview.htm   ^ Unknown. (Unknown). Interview with Ferruccio Lamborghini . [TV interview]. Italy: RAI . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmUFKgjB6KQ .   ^ "Lamborghini, by Lamborghini" . 400gt.com . http://www.400gt.com/articles/compare/lamborghini-by-lamborghini.htm . Retrieved May 24, 2010 .   ^ a b c Sackey, 15. ^ a b c d Jolliffe, 25. ^ a b c d e Sackey, 16. ^ a b c Jolliffe, p. 29. ^ "Widescreen Action" . Classic and Sportscar . July 1996 . http://www.400gt.com/articles/400GT/classic.htm .   ^ Jolliffe, 20. ^ DeMatio, Joe (May 2003). "FEATURES: Lamborghini's Big Four-O" . Automobile . http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/0305_lambo40/index.html . Retrieved February 21, 2010 .   ^ a b c Jolliffe, 28. ^ "Lamborghini 400GT: One Drive and Everyone had a New Favorite Car" . Road & Track . 1966-12 . http://www.vintageandsportscar.com/iWeb/LAMBORGHINI/400GT%20RT%2010-66.html . Retrieved February 18, 2010 .   ^ a b Jolliffe, 31. ^ Top Gear Episode 4, spoken by Richard Hammond . ^ Jolliffe, 36. ^ Jolliffe, 37. ^ a b Jolliffe, 38. ^ a b Jolliffe, 39. ^ "Lamborghini Islero 400GT" . Lamborghiniregistry.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007 . http://web.archive.org/web/20071021045450/http://lamborghiniregistry.com/Islero/Islero/index.html . Retrieved January 21, 2010 .   ^ a b c Jolliffe, 40. ^ Jolliffe, 41. ^ a b Jolliffe, 42. ^ a b c d Jolliffe, 43. ^ Jolliffe, 44. ^ Jolliffe, 45. ^ a b Jolliffe, 48. ^ a b Jolliffe, 46. ^ "Gas Mileage of 1986 Vehicles by Lamborghini" . Fueleconomy.gov . http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/bymake/Lamborghini1986.shtml . Retrieved August 17, 2009 .   ^ Lawrence, "Silhouette". ^ The Lambo Dealer, the $12m Swindle, the Slammer . ^ Lamborghini LM002 | Birth of an icon | evo . ^ "THE BILLIONAIRES - September 7, 1992" . CNN . September 7, 1992 . http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1992/09/07/76826/index.htm .   ^ Lawrence, "Jalpa". ^ Lawrence, "Countach LP500/LP500 Quattrovalvole". ^ a b Jolliffe, 82. ^ a b Jolliffe, 86. ^ Jolliffe, 88. ^ a b Jolliffe, 90. ^ a b Mark Smeyers (2006). "Diablo" (PDF). www.lambocars.com . http://www.lambocars.com/pdf/diablo.pdf . Retrieved May 24, 2010 .   ^ "Lamborghini Diablo 6.0VT" . Classicandperformancecar.com. March 30, 2009 . http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/features/octane_features/234875/lamborghini_diablo_60vt.html . Retrieved August 16, 2009 .   ^ Jolliffe, 92. ^ Jolliffe, 94. ^ a b c Jolliffe, 95. ^ "Lamborghini Builds 4,000th Murcielago" . Motor Authority . February 12, 2010 . http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1042544_lamborghini-builds-4000th-murcielago .   ^ Winterbottom, Jo (June 10, 2009). "Lamborghini sees no recovery until 2011" . Reuters . http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5591XB20090610 .   ^ Final Lamborghini Murciélago November 5th 2010 ^ "LAMBO PLANS: ESPADA, MIURA OUT, SUV IN" . AutoWeek . October 19, 2006 . http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/22912249/LAMBO-PLANS-ESPADA-MIURA-OUT-SUV-IN/fulltext .   ^ "Secret new Lambo revealed" . Top Gear . http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/lambo-paris . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   ^ "Edmunds Inside Line - The Radical Lamborghini Sedan From the Paris Auto Show" . Edmunds.com. September 30, 2008 . http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=132648 . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   ^ "Edmunds Inside Line - IL Exclusive: No Green Light - Yet - for Lamborghini Estoque" . Edmunds.com. March 23, 2009 . http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=144726 . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   ^ "Paris 2010: Lamborghini Sesto Elemento" . Top Gear. 30 September 2010 . http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/paris-motor-show-2010-lamborghini-sesto-elemento . Retrieved 30 September 2010 .   ^ New and Used Cars. "Auto Lemon - Used Car History Check: BMW M1" . Is-it-a-lemon.com . http://www.is-it-a-lemon.com/used-car-history/bmw-m1.htm . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   ^ "BMW M1 Car Guide" . Qv500.com . http://www.qv500.com/bmm1p1.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   [ dead link ] ^ "Lamborghini QVX Car Guide" . Qv500.com . http://www.qv500.com/lamborghiniqvxp1.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   [ dead link ] ^ "Lamborghini Diablo SVR" . Qv500.com . http://www.qv500.com/lamborghinidiablop11.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   [ dead link ] ^ "Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 GTR Car Guide" . Qv500.com . http://www.qv500.com/lamborghinidiablop13.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   [ dead link ] ^ "Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT Car Guide" . Qv500.com . http://www.qv500.com/lamborghinimurcielagop3.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   [ dead link ] ^ "Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT 2004 Season" . Qv500.com . http://www.qv500.com/lamborghinimurcielagop4.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   [ dead link ] ^ "Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Car Guide" . Qv500.com . http://www.qv500.com/lamborghinigallardop5.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   [ dead link ] ^ "FIA GT Championship Results: 2007 Round 1 - Zhuhai" . Fiagt.com . http://www.fiagt.com/results.php . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   ^ Cockerham, Paul W. Lamborghini: the spirit of the bull Tiger Books, 1997 ^ Schleifer, Jay. Lamborghini: Italy's raging bull Crestwood House, 1993 ^ Lieberman, Jonny (September 12, 2007). "The Baddest Bull: Lamborghini Miura Vs Countach Vs Murcielago LP640" . http://jalopnik.com/298911/the-baddest-bull-lamborghini-miura-vs-countach-vs-murcielago-lp640 .   ^ "Countach LP500" . Lamborghiniregistry.com . http://www.lamborghiniregistry.com/Countach/CountachLP500/ . Retrieved August 30, 2010 .   ^ Lawrence, "Countach LP400/LP400S" ^ "Gallardo - The Name" . Lamborghiniregistry.com. November 22, 2003. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008 . http://web.archive.org/web/20080314194057/http://lamborghiniregistry.com/Gallardo/Name.html . Retrieved January 21, 2010 .   ^ Edmunds Inside Line - Lamborghini Estoque Concept First Look . ^ "Audi Geschäftsbericht 2009" (PDF). audi.de . 2009 . http://www.audi.de/etc/medialib/ngw/company/investor_relations/pdf/finanzberichte/Geschaeftsberichte_2009.Par.0020.File.pdf/audi_gb_2009_de.pdf . Retrieved May 25, 2010 .   (German) ^ "Introducing the Class 1 Championship — The Engines" . http://www.class1uk.co.uk/engine.php .   ^ "Lamborghini Reports Record Figures (sold)" . February 21, 2004 . http://www.carpages.co.uk/lamborghini/lamborghini_reports_record_figures_21_02_04.asp   ^ "Volkswagen AG Annual Report 1999" (PDF) . http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2000/03/Annual_Report_1999.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/VW_AR_1999_e.pdf   p.21, "Sales to the dealer organization by product line" ^ "Volkswagen AG Annual Report 2000" (PDF) . http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2001/03/Annual_Report_2000.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/VW_GB_2000_e.pdf   ^ "Volkswagen AG Annual Report 2001" (PDF) . http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2002/03/annual_report_2001.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/20020312_GB_2001_e.pdf   ^ "Volkswagen AG Annual Report 2002" (PDF) . http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2003/03/annual_report_2002.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/vw_gb_2002_en.pdf   ^ a b "Audi Facts and Figures 2004" (PDF) . http://www.audi.com/etc/medialib/ngw/company/investor_relations/pdf/finanzberichte/fakten_und_zahlen.Par.0008.File.pdf/pdf_par_0066_file.pdf   ^ "Audi Facts and Figures 2005" (PDF) . http://www.audi.com/etc/medialib/ngw/company/investor_relations/pdf/finanzberichte/fakten_und_zahlen.Par.0007.File.pdf/pdf_par_0202_file.pdf   ^ "Audi Facts and Figures 2006" (PDF) . http://www.audi.com/etc/medialib/ngw/company/investor_relations/pdf/finanzberichte/fakten_und_zahlen.Par.0006.File.pdf/pdf_par_0322_file.pdf   ^ "Audi Facts and Figures 2007" (PDF) . http://www.audi.com/etc/medialib/ngw/company/investor_relations/pdf/finanzberichte/fakten_und_zahlen.Par.0005.File.pdf/pdf_0803_par_0012.pdf   ^ "Audi Facts and Figures 2008" (PDF) . http://www.audi.com/etc/medialib/ngw/company/investor_relations/pdf/finanzberichte/fakten_und_zahlen.Par.0010.File.pdf/audi_fuz_2008_en.pdf   ^ VW AG 2009 Annual Report ^ "Lamborghini Diablo Coatl Special" . Lambocars.com. May 4, 2003 . http://www.lambocars.com/archive/diablo/special.htm . Retrieved October 18, 2009 .   Jolliffe, David; Willard, Tony (2004). Lamborghini: Forty Years . MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. doi : 10.1007/b62130 . ISBN   0760319456 . http://books.google.com/?id=d8GxQqUQqrsC&dq=Lamborghini+bullfighting .   Lawrence, Mike (1996). A-Z of sports cars, 1945-1990 (A-Z Series) (Illustrated ed.). MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. ISBN   1870979818 . http://books.google.com/?id=glKW-Kh-lmcC&dq=lamborghini+countach .   Lyons, Pete (1998). The Complete Book of Lamborghini (Illustrated ed.). Publications International. ISBN   0517667154 . http://www.petelyons.com/Books.html .   Sackey, Joe (2008). The Lamborghini Miura Bible (Illustrated ed.). Veloce Publishing Ltd. ISBN   1845841964 . http://books.google.com/?id=B1dadHSJMBYC&dq=ferruccio+lamborghini .   [ edit ] External links Companies portal Media related to Lamborghini at Wikimedia Commons Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. Lamborghini at the Open Directory Project v   •   d   •   e Lamborghini road car timeline, 1963–1989 — marque of the Volkswagen Group — next » layout / type / class 1960s 1970s 1980s 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 owner Ferruccio Lamborghini Rossetti / Leimer receivership Mimram Chrysler ···> front- engine , RWD GT 350GT 2+2 400GT Islero Jarama Coupé Espada mid- engine , RWD V8 Silhouette Jalpa 2+2 Urraco V12 Miura Countach SUV LM002 ···> founder: Ferruccio Lamborghini  • Lamborghini corporate website  • A marque of the Volkswagen Group v   •   d   •   e « previous — Lamborghini road car timeline, 1980s–present — a marque of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 layout / type / class 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 owner <··· receivership Mimram Chrysler M'tec / V'Power AUDI AG (part of Volkswagen Group ) mid- engine V8 / V10 Superleggera Jalpa Gallardo V12 <··· Countach Diablo Murciélago Reventón SUV LM002 founder: Ferruccio Lamborghini  • Lamborghini corporate website  • A marque of the Volkswagen Group v   •   d   •   e Lamborghini — owned by AUDI AG , a marque of the Volkswagen Group People Ferruccio Lamborghini Production models 350GT  • 400GT  • Countach  • Diablo  • Espada  • Islero  • Jalpa  • Jarama  • LM002  • Miura  • Reventón  • Silhouette  • Urraco  • Murciélago  • Murciélago Roadster  • Gallardo  • Gallardo Spyder Engines V8  • V10  • V12 Concept cars 350GTV  • 400GT Monza  • Flying Star II  • Marzal  • Bravo  • Cheetah  • Athon  • Marco Polo  • LMA001  • LMA002  • LM003  • LM004  • Bertone Genesis  • Portofino  • Calà  • Zagato Raptor  • Concept S  • Miura concept  • Estoque  • Sesto Elemento Italics – vehicle still in production || || Skip Links Skip to navigation Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content Skip to tertiary content Skip to footer The Independent Christmas Appeal: Ceausescu's orphans given a new start in life People 5 ° London Hi 9°C / Lo 2°C Query: Go Popular Topics Headlines Love i ? Show us how much for a chance to win a year's subscription | Navigation News UK Home News UK Politics Crime This Britain World Europe Americas Middle East Asia Africa Australasia World Politics Business News Comment Analysis & Features Sharewatch SME Business directory Headhunter Network Business Energy Business Wall People News Profiles Diary Science Media Opinion TV & Radio Press Online Advertising Education News Schools School Tables Further Higher Training & Courses Obituaries Video Appeals Indy Appeal IoS appeal Corrections News Wall myIndependent Opinion Leading Articles Commentators Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Terence Blacker Simon Carr Rupert Cornwell Mary Dejevsky Robert Fisk Andrew Grice Adrian Hamilton Johann Hari Philip Hensher Howard Jacobson Dominic Lawson John Lichfield Hamish McRae Matthew Norman Christina Patterson John Rentoul Steve Richards Sarah Sands Mary Ann Sieghart Joan Smith Mark Steel Janet Street-Porter Andreas Whittam Smith Columnists Julie Burchill Richard Ingrams Alex James Dom Joly Dylan Jones David Lister Thomas Sutcliffe Brian Viner John Walsh Janet Street-Porter Letters myIndependent Environment Climate Change Green Living Nature UK butterflies myIndependent Sport Video Athletics Cricket Live Scores Football International News & Comment Premier League Football League European Scottish FA & League Cups Transfers Live Scores Golf Motor Racing Olympics Racing Rugby League Rugby Union News & Comment International Club Rugby Sailing Tennis Others Life & Style Fashion News Features Food & Drink News Reviews Features Recipes Health & Families Health News Features Healthy Living Health A-Z Health Advice House & Home Interiors Gardening Property Pets Property Search Tradesmen Search History Gadgets & Tech News Gaming Features Motoring Motoring News Features Road Tests Comment Used Car Search New Car Search Christmas 2010 Dating Puzzles & Games Most Popular Games Crosswords Quizzes Action Games Sports Games Shooting Games Puzzles Arts & Ents Video Art News Features Reviews Great Works Architecture Music News Features Reviews Music Magazine Classical News Features Reviews Films News Features Reviews TV & Radio News Features Reviews Theatre & Dance News Features Reviews Comedy News Features Reviews Books News Features Reviews Puzzles & Games Most Popular Games Crosswords Quizzes Action Games Sports Games Shooting Games Puzzles Travel News 48 Hours In Africa Americas Asia Australasia & Pacific Europe Middle East UK Hotels Skiing Sound & Vision Travel Shop Money Spend & Save Loans & Credit Mortgages Pensions Insurance Tax Pensions & Investment Centre Independent Compare myIndependent IndyBest Fashion & Beauty Gadgets & Tech House & Garden Food & Drink Outdoor & Activity Arts & Books Travel Green myIndependent Blogs Student News Career Planning Apprenticeships Vocational Study Getting a Job Graduate Jobs Getting Into University A-Z Degrees A-Z Unis & Colleges Applying Clearing Overseas Student Life Health Accommodation Finances Music & Film Fashion Technology & Gaming Postgraduate Postgraduate Study MBAs Guide A-Z Business Schools Business school search Competitions Ezines myIndependent Shopping from The Independent & The Independent on Sunday Home > News > People > Profiles Danica Patrick: 'I've stopped driving my Lamborghini to dinner...' The Brian Viner Interview: US motor sport's first lady explains why she uses her femininity to get on, her love of speed, her hatred of England and how excited she is by Sunday's Indy500 Friday, 28 May 2010 Share Close Digg del.icio.us Facebook Reddit Google Stumble Upon Fark Newsvine YahooBuzz Bebo Twitter Independent Minds Print Email REUTERS Danica Patrick gets ready for practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of Sunday's Indy 500 More pictures It is the crushing handshake that offers the first indication that there is more to 28-year-old Danica Patrick than meets the eye. The first physical indication, anyway, for her reputation has preceded her into a suite in the swanky W Hotel in Manhattan. This pretty, petite young woman, five foot not very much, is an IndyCar driver of huge and ever-burgeoning renown in the United States, with a prestigious win behind her in the 2008 Indy Japan 300, and, more momentously still, third place in last year's Indianapolis 500. In this year's Indy 500, on Sunday, Patrick looks like a long shot to improve on third. She will start 23rd, further back on the grid than she has been in all five of her previous runs in the great race, and last Saturday was booed for blaming her poor qualifying performance on an inadequate car. Broadcast over the track's public address system, her comments were deemed disrespectful towards other members of her team, Andretti Autosport. Yet, as I am to discover in her hotel suite, this was simply Patrick being characteristically forthright. Politically correct, she ain't. Take her comments about Formula One, and indeed about Britain. Ever since her emergence as a star of the IndyCar scene, there have been rumours that she might switch to Formula One, becoming only the sixth woman to compete in that testosterone-fuelled world since the whole thing began in 1950. Certainly, the mind boggles at the marketing impact Patrick's presence would have on Bernie Ecclestone's global circus. But when I raise the prospect with her, she is swift to dampen any speculation. Related articles McLaren fastest in Turkish Grand Prix practice Search the news archive for more stories "I think it's not completely realistic," she says. "I lived in England for a few years – I raced Formula Ford over there – but I really like being with my family and friends, having the creature comforts of the States and everything. I'd never say never, and Formula One I imagine would be amazing, but having fun is important to me and I think the environment of F1 is a little bit cold. You don't see drivers hanging out together. Takuma Sato came to IndyCar [from F1] and he was, like, 'Everyone's so nice here'. It's a much more fun environment, and it's different again from IndyCar to Nascar stock-car racing [in which Patrick races part-time]. Everyone there is so kind and friendly. So, it [switching to F1] would have to be a unique opportunity." Nevertheless, she concedes that it was in Britain where she cut her teeth (and what teeth they are, by the way, not just white but movie-star white) as a driver. Precociously brilliant behind the wheel of a go-kart, she met a Brit in Indianapolis who told her she could learn more in a year in the old country than in five years in the States. "And I would have to say that was true, but not from a racing perspective. From a life experience perspective." Aged 16, and burning with ambition, she moved from the family home near Chicago to "sleeping on the couch in a small little apartment thing" in Milton Keynes. The first wave of culture shock came with the realisation that, irony of ironies, she wasn't old enough to drive on British roads. Before leaving home, moreover, she'd had to sell her beloved Ford Mustang Cobra, which she'd been driving, "totally illegally", since she was 15. And when she did turn 17, all she could afford in Milton Keynes was a Fiat Punto, in which, she says, "I got up to 108mph with the wing mirrors tucked in. Wheeeee!" Wheeeee, indeed. Having exhausted the Punto, she moved on to a Vauxhall Vectra, "and then a Granada or something awful. An old brown thing, about 20 years old. I remember having to drive from Birmingham to Silverstone racetrack and you could never let off the throttle or it would just die." She stayed for three years. "I enjoyed the first year but every year after that got more depressing. The weather really got to me." As, apparently, did our institutionalised sexism. "It felt much more old school. Women still cooked and cleaned. It felt like, you know, the women's movement happened a little faster here than it did there. I remember one of the team owners I drove for. I was the quickest one day in practice, and to the guys he was like, 'She's the quickest, come on!' as if it wasn't OK to be slower than me." Plenty were. She finished second in the 2000 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, the event won two years earlier by a certain Jenson Button, who was one of a "bratpack" of racing friends she made. She also recalls meeting the 16-year-old Lewis Hamilton at Button's 21st birthday party. Button, she tells me, "is a nice guy. I was happy to see him win last year." Despite hanging out with the boy racers, Patrick manifestly remembers her time in Britain with little affection. "What didn't kill me made me stronger," she says, woundingly, but concedes that it helped her land her first IndyCar seat with Rahul Letterman Racing, co-owned by the talk show host David Letterman (on whose studio sofa she is now something of a regular). "Bobby Rahul recognised that it was quite the commitment to go over there. As tough as it was, it did pay off." The whiff of sexism followed her back across the Atlantic, though, and it's still there, mixed with the smell of lubricating oil. In fact, she accepts that it will never entirely evaporate, especially while she continues to pose so seductively for magazines: see Google Images for numerous spectacular examples. I ask her whether it upsets her still to be referred to as a woman driver, rather than a driver? "It's fine," she says. "It would be hypocritical of me to use being female in some ways, and diss being female in other ways. It's part of the programme." As for the actual racing part of the programme, she reckons that being female actually helps. "If there are a lot of yellow flags, restarts and stuff, I feel like maybe the guys can get excited and wheeeee, boom, make a mistake and hit something. I take another deep breath and stay more relaxed, so maybe I'm able to keep my emotions a little bit more in check." That said, she owns up to being ferociously competitive in almost every aspect of life, more of a male than a female trait, and not least when playing the motor-racing video game, Blur, to which she has given her endorsement, and which she has come to New York to promote. On her first go, she beat the game's producer. "He was a little surprised," she says, with a gleaming smile. I ask what else gets her competitive juices flowing. "You name it. Cards, working out, beating people off the line at a red light." She drives a Mercedes ML63 AMG, and also owns a Lamborghini, which stays in the garage. "In the Lamborghini I have to avoid certain roads because of pot holes, and there's nowhere to put my drink, no cup holder. And I'm not going to lie, it looks pretentious. I used to think it was cool to, like, drive it to dinner. Now? Like I really need to be looked at any more." Along with those movie-star teeth, Patrick has, in the US, movie-star fame. There is a hint of it even in the hotel suite. When she finishes the last drop of mineral water in her bottle, an assistant steps instantly forward to hand her another. When she shifts in her chair, a jacket is offered just in case she might be registering the fact that she is cold, which she isn't, but there is a whole phalanx of people around her, their challenge to interpret her every syllable of body language. At heart, though, she's just a racer, and whether she's starting 23rd on the grid or in pole position, the Indianapolis 500 is the race that makes her heart pound like no other. "The day before, the night before, the morning of, you can feel the weight and importance of the race. It's nerve-racking. Even if you race 15 years you only have 15 tries, and I'm on number six already." Unsurprisingly, she wasn't wholly satisfied with third place last year. "When the potential to win is there it's very frustrating. But it's such a long race – 500 miles – that many strategies do play out." Will she consider it a failure if by the end of her career she has not become the only woman with an Indy 500 under her belt? "Oh no. My boss [Michael Andretti] is one of those who did it many times, led a ton of laps, and I'd be surprised if he thought he was a failure because he didn't ever win." Nevertheless, we can safely assume that for as long as she competes in America's blue riband race, nobody will be trying harder to win it. Which is precisely why she ruffled so many feathers with her outburst last weekend. "It's my favourite," she says. "I like the preparation, the pomp and circumstance, the people and parades. It's a huge event, and to be part of something that people care about makes you feel good." And with that my audience with the remarkable, redoubtable Danica Patrick is at an end, but for a valedictory handshake even more crushing than the first. Blur is released today for Sony Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC 17 mad4plaid I met her at a Indy Lights race in Milwaukee, WI, (about seven years ago, maybe?). She was funny and nice, and trully paid attention to the fans around her. She even remembered me when we ran into each other a day later at the airport. That is the access that fans have to drivers in the US, and its brilliant! (very un-F1). That being said, I never cheer for her. She may be a brilliant racer, but she is a better marketeer and it drives me crazy that she can make that kind of money without producing on the track. And as a woman, I must admit that the way she markets herself (the sex sells) really frustrates me. I get it: it works. But I still don't like it. mensliberty "As, apparently, did our institutionalised sexism. "It felt much more old school. Women still cooked and cleaned." Wow. Shock. The UK is sexist because women still cooked and cleaned. So much better to be in the USA and employ blacks and Hispanics to do it for you. What kind of a brainless twat is this woman? Steve Bobby Rahul??? And not just a one-off typo, but spelt wrongly twice. You'd think that a journalist interviewing a racing driver would either know, or at least check his facts!! nightside242 I'd say that her 'hatred' of England seems a strong word, she didn't seem to say that during the article. snotcricket Danica Patrick: 'I've stopped driving my Lamborghini to dinner' Just how far from the kitchen is her table? obidiah_slope Should have went to Santa Pod.... ourmaninberlin There have been some really rubbish Brian Viner 'interviews' over the years, but this is surely a contender for the worst. Foxexpress Without that word, very few people would have bothered to open the article... Foxexpress That exists everywhere, but it shows that people the character rather than the results. vhawk1951 so have i. driving my Lamborghini to dinner is a definite no no ever since they took my licence away; anyway the wheelchair won't fit in it. vhawk1951 everyone is skint and the country is on its knees and the indy wants to tell us about some daft bint and how she goes to get her nosh bogwart Or: I don't know why she bothers, Lambos don't eat anyway. Stuart In a show of solidarity I have stopped walking to the fridge. I now send the missus gram64 There is nothing to justify the word 'hatred' in describing Danice Patrick's attitude to Britain. She made clear her dislike of certian aspects of this country, but she also made clear the benefits she had obtained from her stay. David Drew It'll be a shame if she never drives in Formula 1. She seemed to be ideal. mathieu707 Formula One? ...... no she should be at home, cleaning and cooking for her man mathieu707 Formula One - no, she should be at home cooking and cleaning for her man Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Print Article Email Article Also in this section My Secret Life: Russell Kane, comedian, 30 Geoffrey Robertson QC: The Great Defender Russian billionaire feathers his Fabergé nest egg Jessica Simpson: From failed actress to billion-dollar brand EDITOR'S CHOICE The Essex factor: Rise of Olly Murs Fifty Best Xmas gifts for women Siege of Sidney Street Soldiers home from Helmand Mark Hix's Christmas feast Win: A year's i Wax goes green in Costa Rica World's best weather The IoS Christmas Appeal 48 Hours In: Vancouver Sign up: i launches iPad app Most popular Read Emailed Commented Read 1 'Off with their heads!' shouted the crowd as Charles and Camilla met rage in Regent Street 2 Hunter becomes the hunted as Palin critics say she can't shoot 3 CCTV footage 'shows Dewani giving package to taxi driver' 4 And finally... bizarre real life stories 5 I'm sorry, says son of Pink Floyd star who scaled Cenotaph 6 Chernobyl - 24 years on 7 WikiLeaks splits as volunteers quit to set up rival website 8 How come you didn't see the whole of the Moon? 9 We're powerless to prevent more violence, police forced to admit 10 Snow in the UK: Your winter 2010 pictures 11 Siege of Sidney Street: How the dramatic stand-off changed British police, politics and the media forever 12 Rock star's son faces quiz over Cenotaph protest 13 Robert Verkaik: The wall of silence erected by those in the know 14 Police investigate truncheon attack 15 Police watchdog to investigate truncheon blow Emailed 1 Hunter becomes the hunted as Palin critics say she can't shoot 2 Geoffrey Robertson QC: The Great Defender 3 'Off with their heads!' shouted the crowd as Charles and Camilla met rage in Regent Street 4 Lloyd Webber uncorks another fortune with sale of wine collection 5 Honeymoon killing 'unforgivable', says sister 6 Kathy Calvin: 'Money is welcome – but it isn't everything' 7 After 200-year quest, scientists finally unravel the bizarre origins of the duck-billed platypus Commented Article Archive Day In a Page Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat Select date Day Month Year Submit Sponsored Links Query: Independent.co.uk The Web Go ©independent.co.uk Terms & Policies | Email newsletter | RSS | Contact us | Syndication | Advertising Guide | London Careers | Subscriptions | Jobs