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Crunch watch July 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard, Ben Pulman, Ben Whitworth and Alex Michaelides Motor Industry 31 July 2009 11:23 Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour  Friday 31 July 2009• Lamborghini today posted pre-tax profits of €5.4 million – despite a sales drop of 37% in the first six months of 2009. Sant'Agata said turnover hit €156.9m in the first half (down 43%) as it sold 825 cars globally (Lamborghini)• British motorists could have to pay £250 in tax to park at work from 2012.

Hennessey Venom GT sets new 270mph world speed record

The Hennessey Venom GT has set a new world speed record for a two-seat sports car, hitting an official top speed of 270.49mph. Carried out on the 3.2-mile Space Shuttle landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, the Venom GT eclipsed the former fastest car in the world’s record, the 267.86mph Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. On Bing: see pictures of the Hennessey Venom GTHennessey Venom GT reaches 265.7mph top speed It’s not the first time the Lotus Exige-based sports car has tried to take the French marque’s crown, with previous tests getting oh-so-close to beating the Bugatti.

Pagani DID use different tyres to set the Top Gear lap record in the Huayra

We asked yesterday if the Pagani Huayra that set a new Top Gear lap record had cheated by using different tyres for the run. It did. Yesterday morning we reported that it seemed the Pagani Huayra that set the recent fastest lap on the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold may have had an advantage by using track tyres instead of road tyres.