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Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.

Tamara Ecclestone's Lamborghini has gone missing

A Lamborghini Aventador owned by socialite Tamara Ecclestone has disappeared from a garage in London where it was being serviced. The daughter of billionaire Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone reportedly purchased the car a couple of years ago from a dealer named Ziad Shawadi when she was dating businessman Omar Khyami. The supercar was put under Omar's name to secure a resident's parking permit, but it was registered to her Chelsea, London, address.
Tamara tried to sell the Lamborghini last summer after the couple split, but learned that her boyfriend had used the $400,000 exotic as collateral on a loan - and that set off a legal battle due for a hearing later this year.
But now the car has disappeared, and the culprits are alleged to be men working for Shawadi who have apparently repossessed it as a result of the outstanding loan. Ecclestone filed a complaint at a Notting Hill police station, but the authorities have said they won't be moving on this one. There has been no word on the fate of the parking permit.

Infographic: Comparing the Veneno, LaFerrari and P1 supercars

This year's Geneva Motor Show served as the launch platform for three of the world's latest and greatest supercars. The Italians brought us the Lamborghini Veneno and the Ferrari LaFerrari, while the British unveiled the production version of the McLaren P1.
To put the three in better perspective - as if any of us will ever fully comprehend trio of million dollar coupes - the Aussies at Motoring.com built an infographic (click above to enlarge) that outlines what makes each of these cars so spectacular. Using unique colors to represent each of the vehicles, the team put together a variety of charts that focus on vital statistics, pricing, total production run and other parameters all designed to ease the process of digesting an overabundance of exotic goodness. We have uploaded the graphic full size in this link.