A true automotive icon, Land Rover鈥檚 Range Rover will soon arrive in its 4th generation guise after more than 40 years of production. Does it look like a Range Rover? Does it drive like a Range Rover? Let鈥檚 start with the exterior design work. All basic proportions are correct, with a bit more curve and rake here and there while maintaining the Range Rover presence and style. Where things go a bit awry is the area of brightwork, or automotive jewelry. There are three main areas the auto critics are pointing to, the first being the headlights and taillights. Word has it they are eerily reminiscent of the current Ford Explorer light assemblies. What the design team at Land Rover was trying to do was create a bit of family resemblance with their run-away hit Evoque, which quite frankly I have no problem with. 2 centers around the 3-slat faux vents on the front doors.
Done for a tie-in to the previous generation Range Rover as well as removing some visual heft from the side-view, I am not sure it was the best solution. Lastly the front bumper vents just plain stink. They are too busy and out of place, even though they are a functional vent. OK鈥?Now that I have covered the design junk, let鈥檚 get to the serious go-bits. 700 pounds lighter in the britches, this new Range-er will outperform the previous in virtually every category, including today鈥檚 politically correct fuel efficiency category. Performance will be guided by Land Rover鈥檚 new Terrain Response 2 management system and a 5.0 liter V8 engine paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The speed-freaks out there will want to opt for the supercharged version for even more power! The interior meets the Range Rover luxury standards with yards of stitched hides and an available 29-speaker stereo system to drown out all superfluous noise. Available this winter in U.S.
The new brand of Chinese super-wealthy are snapping up Aventadors on a regular basis. Russian oligarchs are fans of the brand, but so far the lure of the Lamborghini has remained limited in the overpaid football star circles. No, the Lamborghini Aventador is a car that will appeal to the extravagant exhibitionist, and with those looks, is it any wonder? The sharp, aggressive and shark-like front end and brutally cut, functional and clipped rear end are 21st century Lamborghini trademarks, and the Aventador has carried on where the Murcielago left off. It鈥檚 a design that works in many ways - it achieves the stunning visual effect it aims at and is effortlessly memorable - but it does split opinion. Is this a product of 21st century refinement? Contemporary reviews, while raving over the quite sensational - and still unsurpassed in terms of utter outlandishness - looks and specification of the Countach, also pointed out that the car was, quite simply, not very nice to drive.
Heavy, awkward, and with limited vision, the car was practically dangerous at speed and was really a showcase only. The same cannot be said of the Lamborghini Aventador, for today鈥檚 supercar buyers actually want to drive their cars. So, the hard-line reviewer looking for the sense of danger and extremeness in the Aventador will be disappointed, while the buyer, looking to impress on the school-run, will see money well spent. Lamborghini Aventador - Bring It On! So, with clever management by the VW Group, who have understood the history behind the marque, we have a car that is actually a somewhat refined Lamborghini. It is undeniably different, there is nothing else that looks quite like it on the market today, and it is worthy of the name. It is a sensational car, and one that hits all its targets without a doubt. There is something lacking, though, in Lamborghini鈥檚 history that rivals Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche and others can claim, and it is also something that came about thanks to Ferruccio Lamborghini鈥檚 vision. To this day, Lamborghini鈥檚 motorsport heritage has remained limited. That is something that, for many buyers of supercars, leaves it trailing behind - in particular - Ferrari. For the record, things could have been different. In 1993, when Lamborghini was owned by Chrysler, Ayrton Senna tested a Lamborghini-engined McLaren in secret. The engine had been used by other smaller teams to decent effect, and Senna declared himself impressed with the engine. Some say a handshake deal was made, but the combination never came off, and McLaren plumped - disastrously - for the new Peugeot engine. So, back to the Lamborghini Aventador, and those quite sensational looks. In a world where supercar designers strive to produce the most memorable and startling designs few can touch the Lamborghini back-catalogue, and the Aventador will undoubtedly go down in history as another success story for this legendary, iconic maker.