Best of 'Top Gear' Car Tests

(L-R) Presenterts Jeremy Clarkson and James May attend the Top Gear Live photo call ahead of the start of the Acer Arena live show tomorrow night, at Campbell's Cove on February 10, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. (Getty Images)more pics »

We can all agree that Top Gear is one of the most thrilling and brutally honest car shows on the planet. Their "tests" of vehicles are more or less a savage thrashing of the cars they somehow convince manufacturers to lend them. Below are some of the highlights of those tests. Enjoy!

Spada unveils Codatronca Monza roadster in all its glory

Spada Codatronca Monza

The father-son design team of Ercole and Paolo Spada made a real splash a few years back when they unveiled the Codatronca. Inspired by the Kamm-tailed Alfas Ercole designed back in the day for Zagato, the Codatronca looked something like a cross between a Chevrolet Corvette, a Lamborghini and Darth Vader's helmet.

Radical as the design was, however, it wasn't quite extreme enough for Aznom. So the Italian coachbuilder and aftermarket firm commissioned Spada to build the car you see here: the Codatronca Monza.

Initially unveiled at the Top Marques Monaco a couple of months ago, Spada has only now revealed the details in full. The roadster packs the same 710-horspower twin-supercharged 7.0-liter V8 (presumably based on the Z06's LS7), but in an open-roof bodystyle named after the legendary Italian racing circuit. Weighing in at only 2,600 lbs, the show car features a stripped-out cockpit with Sabelt buckets and full data acquisition system centered around the F1-style steering wheel. It rides on a fully adjustable suspension with OZ Ultraleggera wheels, Pirelli PZero Corsa tires and Brembo brakes with the same ABS system employed in the FIA GT3 series. The Spada boys say these factors add up to a 0-62 mph time of three seconds flat and a face-shredding 208 mph top end.

The Monza was commissioned by Aznom as a demonstration vehicle, but Spada says it would built more to order, and will develop and additional Barchetta derivative that will presumably offer a little more in the way of creature comforts at the expense of the Monza's extremity. In the meantime you can check out the full high-res image mega gallery along with the press release and video after the jump for a closer look.

Gallery: Spada Codatronca Monza

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Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 gets Star Wars-inspired wrap

2009 Lamborghini LP640 Star Wars

Brian Zuk wrapped a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 with a Star Wars-themed vinyl skin for this year's Gold Rush Rally 3. Verdict? We like.

The wrap features Clone Wars-era Jedi Order crests on the passenger side, Galactic Republic/Galactic Empire crests on the driver's side, and an overhead view of an R2 unit on the car's roof (very handy for repairing the V12's hyperdrive). If nothing else, this Lambo's a lock to score one of the prime valet spots outside Jabba's palace. Hop the jump to watch video of it in action.

Millions in exotic cars go swimming in flooded Singapore garage

Flood-damaged cars sit in Singapore garage – Click above to view image gallery

The Orchard Road area of Singapore is filled with shopping, entertainment and high-end living. Unfortunately, it's also filled with lots of water at the moment, and that water found its way into the parking garage of the local St. Regis Residences. Home to people with a healthy number of dollars in their bank accounts, the parking garage is, not surprisingly, filled with all sorts of exotic machines.

Those vehicles are now sitting in a rather deep puddle of water.

From the photographs in the gallery below, we spy a Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari 458 Italia, Rolls-Royce Phantom, a handful of BMWs, an Aston Martin, a few Audis, a Maserati GranTurismo and one very sad looking Porsche. The only owner who might be able to muster up a smile is the one with the keys to the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

symbol Lamborghini Car

Automobili-Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini, is a subsidiary of German car manufacturer Audi AG [1]. It is a manufacturer of high performance sports cars based in the small Italian village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna. The company was founded in 1963 by businessman Ferruccio Lamborghini (April 28, 1916–February 20, 1993), who owned a successful tractor factory, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A..

Facts of lamborghini ,Lamborghini Facts

Lamborghini, or Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. as it's officially called, produces some of the most exciting sports cars in the word. Some of the newer Lamborghini models are the Countach, the Diablo, the Gallardo and the Murcielago.
Fact 1:
Lamborghini is named after the founder of the company Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916-1993). Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the company in 1963 when he was 47 years old. The factory is located in a small Italian village called Sant'Agata Bolognese near Bologna.

Fact 2:

Ferruccio Lamborghini was a successful tractor manufacturer before he got interested in sports cars. His interest in sports cars made him buy many different high-performance cars including both Maseratis and Ferraris, but he was never really happy with any of them and therefore decided to built his own, perfect sports car,

Fact 3:
Lamborghini used to be an independent company, but today it is a subsidiary of the German company Audi AG. Audi AG became the owner of Lamborghini in 1998. Lamborghini went bankrupt in 1978 and was sold to Chrysler a long time before Audi AG became the sole owner of the company.

Fact 4:
The fastest Lamborghini is the Le Mans version of the Murcielago R-GT model. It has been reported to have a top speed of 370 km/h. The fastest street model from Lamborghini is the Murcielago LP640 with an estimated top speed of 340 km/h. Both of the models have a V12 engine with more than 6000 cc.

Fact 5:
Several of the newer Lamborghini models feature the familiar Lamborghini scissor doors that rotate up and forward on a hinge near the front of the door. The Countach, the Diablo and the Murcielago all have scissor doors, but the Gallardo does not. Both the Countach and the Diablo are no longer being produced, so the Murcielago is the only current model with scissor doors.

Fact 6:
No Lamborghini have ever been produced with less than a V8 engine. Most of the Lamborghini models throughout the history of the company have come with the legendary Lamborghini V12 engine, but the newest model, Gallardo, only have a V10 engine. No Lamborghini models with a V8 engine have been since production of the Silhouette stopped in 1989.

Fact 7:
The first Lamborghini was the 350GTV from 1963. It was extremely fast for its time with a top speed of 280 km/h. In 1964 a smaller version of the 350GTV appeared. The smaller version was called 350GT and had a top speed of 240 km/h. The Countach from 1974 was the first Lamborghini to go faster than 300 km/h.

Fact 8:
In 1975 did Walter Wolf, a rich Canadian businessman and F1 racing team owner, persuade Lamborghini to produce three super powered Countach models. The Wolf Countach had the same engine as the orginal Countach prototype and were able to reach a top speed of 315 km/h.

Lamborghini Countach LP400

The Lamborghini Countach is the first true exotic supercar. It inspired many other car manufacturers to step up to the next level in building sport cars. Although Lamborghini admittedly knew that the Countach's major flaw is its aerodynamics, still it became an icon and a legend in the automotive industry worldwide.

Below are pictures of the LP400. Blue metallic with white interior. This 1:18 model is excellently made by Kyosho which has always been my choice when it comes to Countach and Miura models. The 1:43 version on the otherhand is made by Minichamps.

Lamborghini Espada

As is the case with most of Lamborghini's cars the Espada's name is also tied in to bulls and bullfighting. It means "sword" in Spanish, the weapon of the matador.

Based on the Marzal show car, displayed at the 1967 Geneva Auto Show, and the Bertone Pirana, a radically rebodied Jaguar E-Type. It was to fill the spot of a true four seat car in Lamborghini's lineup, which already included the 400GT and Miura. 1217 cars were made, making it the most successful Lamborghini model at the time.

The car was designed byGiorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, shortly before he designed the Volkswagen Passat in 1971.

The Espada was originally fitted with a 4L 325bhp V12 engine, fully independent suspension and four wheel disc brakes. Most transmission were manual, and the Espada also introduced one of the first automatic transmission able to absorb the torque of a large sporting V-12. It had unusual gearing, with 3 ratios: drive, 1 and reverse.

During its 10 year production the car underwent some changes, and three different models were produced. These were the S1 (1968-1970), the S2 (1970-1972) and the S3 (1972-1978). Each model featured engine power improvements, but only minor details were changed with the exterior design. The interior was altered dramatically between each model. An all new dashboard and steering wheel was installed for the S2, and the interior was again revamped for the S3. In 1970, power assisted steering was offered as an option, and in 1974 an automatic transmission was also offered. In 1976 impact bumpers had to be installed to meet United States safety requirements, and some people consider cars produced with them to be the S4, but Lamborghini did not officially change the designation. Near the end of the Espada's life, Bertone designed a four door prototype, which was never put into production.

In 1999, a new version of the Espada was rumored to be in the works, but it was right at the time Lamborghini wanted to concentrate on a Diablo successor, so little became of the idea aside from a few drawings.

Additional details:

- repainted some engine parts
- installed insulation under the hood
- installed wirings and throttle lever
- installed oil dip stick
- installed copper tubings
- installed high tension wire clips