Italian

After a few decades off the radar, brown appears to be making a comeback as an automotive color. Cars ranging from the Volkswagen Jetta to the Lexus LFA are available in a shade of the muddy hue, and there’s even a Facebook group (of which we are a member, in the interest of full disclosure) dedicated to the rich history and current renaissance of gravy-tinged transportation devices. Yes, brown is back.

However, if you’re still in need of convincing, one of the regular exterior color options for Lamborghini’s latest flagship, the Aventador, is matte brown. And rather than just ignoring this color and model combination, German tuner Wheelsandmore is embracing it by offering a tuned Aventador dubbed the Chocolate LP777-4. And the name isn’t the only thing that makes us salivate.

Historically speaking, the convertible versions of Ferrari berlinettas (i.e. coupes) have been heavier, flimsier and altogether wussier than their fixed-roof brethren. Sure, they’re great for enjoying the fresh air (and the siren song of the engine), and they make it easier for people to see who the Richie Rich behind the wheel is. But if you were into performance, you were better off with a coupe.

That changes, however, with the 458 Spider. The stiff structure and remarkably light retractable hardtop mean the performance drop-off versus the 458 Italia is miniscule. Of course, that performance gap could be made smaller still, or even turned into a performance advantage. And that is precisely what Novitec Rosso has done.

To the average non-car person, the idea of a Lamborghini SUV straddles the fence between preposterous and blasphemous. Of course, those of us in the know (or those who read the recent feature on this site) know that a trail-ready Lambo is hardly unprecedented. However, the Italian supercar constructor has gone without an off-roader – concept or production – since the last LM002 rolled out of the factory in 1993.

That’s about to change, however. After years of “Will they or won’t they?” conjecture, Lamborghini is going to show the Urus (which is officially just a concept at this point) at next week’s Beijing Auto Show. And while the exact mechanical specifications are still unknown, we do know what it will look like thanks to the photos you see here being leaked. (Whether the leak was intentional or not is up for debate.)