Penfolds Unveils 2020 Collection
The range is led by the newcomer ‘g4’ alongside the expected grange and others.
The range is led by the newcomer ‘g4’ alongside the expected grange and others.
The Penfolds Collection 2020 is finally here – and while the 66th consecutive Grange release will claim much of the attention, it’s singing back-up to the g4 and its frontman swagger.
Already a notable and multiple award-winning drop – the g4 brings together 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2016 Grange vintages. Given its limited fill of just 2500 bottles, move quickly to secure what is something truly phenomenal.
“These four Grange vintages are amongst our favourites of the last two decades – all so different in every sense, not just climatically,” offers Peter Gago, Penfolds Chief Winemaker. “The synergistic blending of these vintages worked perfectly from a quality, structural and style perspective.”
As for the 2016 Grange, Gago believes it may “politely nudge the classic 2004 and 2010 Grange.”
While the spotlight will always fall across new Grange releases, the included 2018 Bins also prove some of the winemaker’s best releases of the last half-century. Of note, the Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz (celebrating 60 years since its first release) remains a collectable and balanced standout, the 2018 Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet making a sixth appearance and also worthy of some of the spotlight.
Not to be outdone, the four white releases here hold their own – the Bin 311 Chardonnay embracing the cool-climate conditions to become, according to Gago, “an awakened and enlightened blend.”
The Penfolds Collection 2020 and Penfolds g4 are available from today (August 6) from Penfolds’ cellar doors and select fine wine dispensaries.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
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The marketplace has spoken and, at least for now, it’s showing preference for hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) over battery electrics. That makes Toyota’s foot dragging on EVs (and full speed ahead on hybrids) look fairly wise, though the timeline along a bumpy road still gets us to full electrification by 2035.
Italian supercar producer Lamborghini, in business since 1963, is also proceeding, incrementally, toward battery power. In an interview, Federico Foschini , Lamborghini’s chief global marketing and sales officer, talked about the new Urus SE plug-in hybrid the company showed at its lounge in New York on Monday.
The Urus SE SUV will sell for US$258,000 in the U.S. (the company’s biggest market) when it goes on sale internationally in the first quarter of 2025, Foschini says.
“We’re using the contribution from the electric motor and battery to not only lower emissions but also to boost performance,” he says. “Next year, all three of our models [the others are the Revuelto, a PHEV from launch, and the continuation of the Huracán] will be available as PHEVs.”
The Euro-spec Urus SE will have a stated 37 miles of electric-only range, thanks to a 192-horsepower electric motor and a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery, but that distance will probably be less in stricter U.S. federal testing. In electric mode, the SE can reach 81 miles per hour. With the 4-litre 620-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine engaged, the picture is quite different. With 789 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque on tap, the SE—as big as it is—can reach 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and attain 193 mph. It’s marginally faster than the Urus S, but also slightly under the cutting-edge Urus Performante model. Lamborghini says the SE reduces emissions by 80% compared to a standard Urus.
Lamborghini’s Urus plans are a little complicated. The company’s order books are full through 2025, but after that it plans to ditch the S and Performante models and produce only the SE. That’s only for a year, however, because the all-electric Urus should arrive by 2029.
Thanks to the electric motor, the Urus SE offers all-wheel drive. The motor is situated inside the eight-speed automatic transmission, and it acts as a booster for the V8 but it can also drive the wheels on its own. The electric torque-vectoring system distributes power to the wheels that need it for improved cornering. The Urus SE has six driving modes, with variations that give a total of 11 performance options. There are carbon ceramic brakes front and rear.
To distinguish it, the Urus SE gets a new “floating” hood design and a new grille, headlights with matrix LED technology and a new lighting signature, and a redesigned bumper. There are more than 100 bodywork styling options, and 47 interior color combinations, with four embroidery types. The rear liftgate has also been restyled, with lights that connect the tail light clusters. The rear diffuser was redesigned to give 35% more downforce (compared to the Urus S) and keep the car on the road.
The Urus represents about 60% of U.S. Lamborghini sales, Foschini says, and in the early years 80% of buyers were new to the brand. Now it’s down to 70%because, as Foschini says, some happy Urus owners have upgraded to the Performante model. Lamborghini sold 3,000 cars last year in the U.S., where it has 44 dealers. Global sales were 10,112, the first time the marque went into five figures.
The average Urus buyer is 45 years old, though it’s 10 years younger in China and 10 years older in Japan. Only 10% are women, though that percentage is increasing.
“The customer base is widening, thanks to the broad appeal of the Urus—it’s a very usable car,” Foschini says. “The new buyers are successful in business, appreciate the technology, the performance, the unconventional design, and the fun-to-drive nature of the Urus.”
Maserati has two SUVs in its lineup, the Levante and the smaller Grecale. But Foschini says Lamborghini has no such plans. “A smaller SUV is not consistent with the positioning of our brand,” he says. “It’s not what we need in our portfolio now.”
It’s unclear exactly when Lamborghini will become an all-battery-electric brand. Foschini says that the Italian automaker is working with Volkswagen Group partner Porsche on e-fuel, synthetic and renewably made gasoline that could presumably extend the brand’s internal-combustion identity. But now, e-fuel is very expensive to make as it relies on wind power and captured carbon dioxide.
During Monterey Car Week in 2023, Lamborghini showed the Lanzador , a 2+2 electric concept car with high ground clearance that is headed for production. “This is the right electric vehicle for us,” Foschini says. “And the production version will look better than the concept.” The Lanzador, Lamborghini’s fourth model, should arrive in 2028.
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
Consumers are going to gravitate toward applications powered by the buzzy new technology, analyst Michael Wolf predicts