Lamborghini has announced its new Lamborghini Academy dates for 2009. With courses open to all sports car enthusiasts as well as Lamborghini owners, the track driving schools provide an extraordinary opportunity to experience the full potential of Lamborghini cars, alongside the Italian super sports car manufacturer?s professional instructors.
The Track Academy course provides an entry into the Lamborghini Academy world. Held at various European race tracks from Spring 2009 onwards, participants? driving skills are improved alongside a professional driver instructor, while exploring the full potential of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4.




The Advanced Academy is the top level programme, and concentrates on optimum control and performance on the race track, fully supported by a professional in-vehicle telemetry system. Driving is undertaken in the Gallardo LP 560-4 and the Murciélago LP 640: the fastest and most extreme super sports car in its class.
All classes include technical and safety briefings, followed by handling and performance exercises, with instruction on how to get the ?ultimate kick? from race track driving! Participants improve their handling and feel of Lamborghini?s permanent four-wheel drive cars, learn to manage understeer and oversteer; practice manoeuvres with and without ABS and ESP; master ?controlled drifting? and, of course, find the ideal ?racing line? on track.




As a reminiscence of this experience each individual participant gets his own in-car-video with footage of the whole driving day as well as a photo CD of all the action of the day on the race track.
Lamborghini Academy courses start from 3,900.00 euro, including accommodation, cars at the race track and all driving instruction, but excluding travel. For full details, go to www.lamborghiniacademy.com, or contact your local Lamborghini dealer.

The museum and flagship store of Automobili Lamborghini is featured in the new Wallpaper* City Guide: Bologna (Phaidon Press, EUR 8.95), one in a series of pocket-sized insider guides for the design-conscious traveller. The Wallpaper* City Guide: Bologna describes the Northern Italian city close to Lamborghini?s home town as a fascinating mix of great tradition and vibrant modernism.

The Wallpaper* City Guide: Bologna is bound in black, which happens to be a classic Lamborghini colour, ? more than any other, of course, the Lamborghini brand represents uncompromising design and extreme sportiness. The City Guide features the ultimate places to enjoy art and architecture and to sleep, eat, drink, shop, exercise and relax in the city.




The guide takes the reader through Bologna and praises it as a ?city with its heart in the south? with a ?laid-back lifestyle? and a vibrant economy. The guide highlights must-see aspects of one of Europe?s most fascinating cities, from historical and modern architecture such as Piazza Maggiore, new ?design-led hotels? including Art Hotel Corona D?Oro, and ?cutting-edge cultural venues? such as MAMBo. In the ?Sports and Spas? section of the guide, there is a recommendation to visit Automobili Lamborghini in neighbouring Sant?Agata Bolognese.

WALLPAPER* CITY GUIDES are compiled by the travel experts at Wallpaper*, the international design, fashion and lifestyle magazine, and published by Phaidon Press, the world's leading publisher of books on the visual arts (www.phaidon.com).

The Wallpaper* City Guide: Bologna is now available in all good book stores, in the Collezione Automobili Lamborghini flagship store in Sant?Agata Bolognese, priced at EUR 8.95 / USD 9.95 / GBP 4.95 and on-line: www.lamborghinistore.com.

Alongside the new Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder, Lamborghini will present two exclusive, highly individualized super sports cars at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. With a unique, matt-luster paint finish in matt blue and all available special equipment options, this Murciélago LP 640 and Gallardo LP 560-4 demonstrate the virtually limitless possibilities and expert craftsmanship presented through the Ad Personam individualization program by the specialists in Sant?Agata Bolognese.

"Ad Personam offers every Lamborghini customer the opportunity to acquire a completely exclusive vehicle from a unique brand ? one that is perfectly in tune with their own lifestyle,? says Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini. ?A super sports car from Lamborghini is always a fundamental expression of the buyer?s personality. And that is why the highest levels of exclusivity are possible, right through to absolute one-of-a-kind Lamborghini vehicles.?

?Think the impossible? is the motto of the Lamborghini individualization program. Ad Personam offers a host of possibilities to bring a highly individual style to the exterior and the interior of a Lamborghini ? all the way through to a Lamborghini like no other.

A unique color for a unique design

Both super sports cars presented in Detroit are such highly individualized examples? painted in matt blue, an all-new, powerful blue tone with a matt-luster finish. Dressed like this, the Murciélago and the Gallardo are elegant and refined, yet extremely powerful and dynamic. This is a unique color that fits perfectly to the unique design of a Lamborghini.





The super sports car brand from Sant?Agata Bolognese is the only auto maker to have mastered the difficult and complex craftsmanship required to work with the matt-luster paint finish. Alongside the new matt blue three more colors are permanently available in the Ad Personam program: Nero Nemesis is a matt-luster black, while the matt white is called Bianco Canopus; and Marrone Apus refers to the particularly elegant matt brown finish. In addition, Lamborghini Ad Personam offers its customers complete freedom to choose any color imaginable.

Luxuriously sporty or classically powerful

In their interiors, too, the highly individualized super sports cars presented in Detroit provide a clear example of the possibilities offered by the Ad Personam program. The base color applied to the upholstery of both vehicles is black, with color contrast supplied by fine diamond stitching in the blue of the exterior paintwork. This is applied to the seats, door trim, headliner and the steering wheel. The leather upholstery lends a luxuriously sporty look and feel to the Gallardo LP 560-4.

Furthermore, the Gallardo LP560-4 shows the finest in Nappa leather in color Nero Perseus which clads not only the seats, cockpit and door trim, but also the pillars and headliners. Further accents are provided courtesy of individual elements crafted in carbon fiber. The Callisto wheels are painted in high-gloss black, providing a contrast to the matt blue paint finish.

The Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640 is one of the most fascinating super sports cars of all time, and underscores this in Detroit with a purist interior finished in Alcantara ® with diamond stitching. Not only are the sports seats upholstered in Alcantara ®, but also the entire interior, including doors and headliner. The cockpit surround is finished in carbon fiber. The steering wheel features stitched suede and carbon fiber inlays. The high-gloss black of the Murciélago?s wheels ? in Hermera design ? also delivers the perfect contrast to the matt blue exterior paintwork.

An inexhaustible range

Ad Personam offers an inexhaustible range possibilities for bringing a completely unique style to the interior and exterior of every Lamborghini. The color and trim designers from Sant?Agata Bolognese have also created exceptionally exclusive equipment offerings for the entire product range. The extended leather finish, for example, enables the allure of the first-class natural product to be raised even further. Only the very finest quality leathers are used. The seats alone offer infinite possibilities through a vast range of color options for leather and Alcantara ®, two-tone contrasts, material mixes, stitching and piping in contrasting colors, as well as the diamond-stitched pattern of the seat squabs, known as Q-citura.

The exceptionally hi-tech carbon fiber material provides a hint of the racetrack, with elements such as the control panel for the air conditioning and the hand brake boasting a carbon fiber finish. Further finishing touches for personalizing the exterior include an extended range of wheel options and brake calipers in yellow and silver.

Within applicable vehicles, Lamborghini can comply with virtually any customer?s desire in vehicle individualization. The boundaries are set, however, by Lamborghini?s own quality demands, which apply to all modifications carried out. When a new Lamborghini exactly meets personal expectations in terms of colors, materials and trim, then aesthetic perfection has been achieved.

In spite of worldwide financial and economic turmoil, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. has delivered another historically very strong year in 2008. The Italian luxury sportscar manufacturer increased unit sales from 2406 to 2430. This means a growth of 1%.

Weaknesses in major traditional markets where more than offset by growth in other markets as well as in new and emerging markets.

The US market saw a decrease of 20.3% with 741 units sold instead of 930 the year before. The US share of worldwide sales decreased from 38.7 to 30.5%. In Europe, sales remained stable. While traditional markets like Germany and the UK showed relatively small single digit decreases, sales in the Italian homeland of the brand of longstanding tradition increased by 10% to 230 units sold. This sales growth pushed Italy into the position of second largest market in the world. Good performances were also recorded in France, which showed growth rates of 27%.

The strongest growth rates were achieved in the Middle Eastern and Far Eastern Asian core markets. The Middle Eastern region achieved a sales increase of 66% from 100 to 166 units sold. In the Far East, China more than doubled its sales from 28 to 72 units sold with an increase of 157%. Additionally, Hong Kong and South Korea showed high triple digit growth rates of 120 and more than 100%. The worldwide share of the Middle Eastern and Far Asian sales increased from 15.0 to 21.8%.

?In the light of worldwide economic insecurities and sluggish car markets, this new record year above all proves the sustainability of our business strategy. We know that there are tough times ahead now, but we have increased the value and attractiveness of our luxury brand in so many facets that we are ready to take on whatever challenges the future might bring us?, said Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.

With the youngest and most attractive product line-up in the company?s 46-year old history, with one new model launched every year, with the consistent expansion into new markets of the highest potential like the Middle East and Asia, Automobili Lamborghini has managed to show a strong above-market growth rate in recent years.

The company?s development marks one of the most respected turn-around projects in the automotive and luxury industries. Amongst other factors like a very positive brand image development the workforce has strongly increased in only four years.

Long before approaching 2009, the company has taken decisive steps to be well prepared for volatility in demand. Production flexibility is made possible by cooperative concepts developed with the union representatives. Besides flexible working hours, it is agreed to also encompass the option to change work time into training and qualification projects.

Lamborghini does not abandon its long-term strategy. Investment into R&D will not be reduced, as there will be ongoing expansion of the brand presence on a worldwide scale. The company sticks to its development of one new model each year. The latest example of this confidence is the announcement of the new Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder LP 560-4. Lamborghini is confident to become the most profitable luxury sportscar manufacturer, the most attractive employer in its segment.

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. will deliver another record year's results in 2008. Official sales figures will be communicated on the occasion of Lamborghini´s appearance at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2009.

Even as a low volume luxury car manufacturer, Automobili Lamborghini is not unaffected by the present downturn in economic activities in the wake of the global financial crisis. However, the company is in a favourable strategic position due to its identity as a luxury brand of longstanding tradition. One of its core brand values is exclusivity, which is maintained through tight management of volumes and a strict policy of maintaining a strong forward order bank. This exclusivity is of essential relevance to both dealers and customers and is pivotal for the appeal of the brand.

Lamborghini has the most attractive product line-up in the company´s 45 year history. With at least one new product launched every year, and the continued development of the dealer network to maximise market penetration, Automobili Lamborghini has produced a year on year record performance in terms of turnover, profit and volumes for the last four years, together with a rare double digit profit margin. The company´s development marks one of the most respected company turn-around programmes in the automotive and luxury industries.

Long before 2009, the company took decisive steps to address potential market volatility. Production flexibility is made possible by cooperative concepts developed with the union representatives. Besides flexible working hours, it provides the opportunity to create training and qualification programmes during work hours. There will be no layoffs, but an extension of the Christmas holiday for eight days has been confirmed.

Lamborghini will not divert from its long-term strategy. Investment into R&D will not be reduced, and there will be ongoing expansion of its brand presence on a world-wide scale, with more new products and further expansion of its dealer network. The company will continue its strategy of announcing at least one new product each year. The latest examples of this are the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Coupe for which deliveries commenced summer 2008, and the Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder unveiled in November 2008 with market launch in spring 2009. Lamborghini continues its stated objectives of becoming the most profitable supersportscar manufacturer, the most attractive employer and the most attractive brand in its market.