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World's most expensive model car will be wrapped in thin gold sheet [w/video]

A couple of years ago, we featured a car that had a body made out of carbon fiber and an interior and wheels fashioned from gold and platinum and lined with diamonds. The price for that supercar, based on the Lamborghini Aventador, was a staggering $4.7 million. The hook: it was a 1/8-scale model! The man behind that model, Robert Gülpen, is at it again, and will offer for sale at an auction house another baby Aventador, but this one is wrapped in gold and will command a price of at least $7.5 million - making it the most-expensive model car in the world. Compare the model's price with that of the real thing - $397,500 - which means you could have 18 real Aventador coupes (!) for the price of the gold-wrapped model.
The car's details are even more impressive than the last model Gülpen produced, starting with the gold wrap. After baking the carbon-fiber model at a high temperature and under pressure, the body is wrapped in a gold sheet that's 1/1,000-mm thin. The resultant effect allows one to admire the gold hue, but the wrap is so thin that the carbon-fiber weave is plainly visible. The interior is lined with high-carat gemstones and the wheels are cast in gold and platinum, just like the last model. The doors open and close, the wheels turn and, while the engine looks like a smaller version of the V12 found in the full-size car, it does not function.
The materials used in the build are valued at $2.6 million, so what the buyer is paying for is the work behind putting the model together. The car will be mounted inside a bulletproof showcase with a Lamborghini logo made of gold, platinum and gemstones, among other goodies that are included for one well-heeled buyer.

Lamborghini Miura SV burns to the ground in London

If there's one thing Italian supercars seemingly love more than moving quickly, it's being on fire. That even applies to iconic machinery like the Lamborghini Miura SV, one of our personal favorite exotics of all time. One such Lamborghini owner just witness their machine go all flambé during a photo shoot in London. Details are scarce at the moment, but it looks as if something went awry in the engine bay.
You can watch the disaster in the video below, but just make sure your stomach is well prepared for the nauseating sight. Nothing's worse than watching $700,000-worth of gorgeous collector car go up in smoke.

Lamborghini Cabrera spotted, ready to fill Gallardo shoes

Facebook user Marchettino (already a minor YouTube celebrity for his supercars channel) spotted the successor to the Lamborghini Gallardo throne out and about on public streets and was kind enough to snap a few photos of the machine. Word has it that a concept car precursor to the newest supercar will bow at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show this September under the Cabrera name. As you've likely already heard, the model is said to ride on the second-generation Audi R8 platform, complete with a composite aluminum and carbon fiber construction to reduce weight as much as possible. How light will will the Cabrera be? Lamborghini is reportedly shooting for a curb weight of around 3,300 pounds.
Power will likely come from a massaged version of the 5.2-liter V10 in the current Gallardo. Expect around 600 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.
The vehicle in these photos looks to have abandoned some of the Gallardo's angles in favor or more organic lines, though it's possible body cladding is hiding the car's true design. Murcielago SV-style sills and side air intakes serve up quite a bit of aggression and the quad exhaust looks properly menacing as well. We can't wait to see the finished product.