sports car maker Lamborghini from US auto giant Chrysler Corp.

An Associated Press report said Bermuda-based Mega Tech Ltd. had agreed to buy the upmarket car maker for a reported $40 million.

Lamborghini produces the $265,000 Diablo, a 5.7 liter V-12, 492-horsepower supercar and the Diablo VT, an all-wheel-drive version. Chrysler sold 195 Diablos in 1992 and expects to sell 215 this year.

Chrysler purchased Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and its subsidiaries in April 1987 for a reported $25 million. The cash sale of the company is expected to be finalised before the end of the year.

Mega Tech Ltd. was described as a company which specialises in high technology industries. The sale includes Automobili Lamborghini, Lamborghini Engineering, based in Italy, and Lamborghini USA, based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Chrysler said it had not been seeking a buyer for Lamborghini. Discussions began earlier this year after SETDCO, the primary owner of Mega Tech, approached Chrysler.

Firm buys Lamborghini SETDCO is a conglomerate with interests in shipping, mineral exploration, manufacturing, textiles, agribusiness and entertainment.

Appleby, Spurling & Kempe lawyer Ms Angela Berry, who represents Mega Tech Ltd. in Bermuda, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The AP report said Chrysler, the third largest car maker in the US, will continue several technology sharing deals, including final preparation of a turbodiesel engine for its Austrian-built minivan. That engine will be used in Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles planned.