Lamborghini's 'baby Lambo', the Gallardo (above right), underwent a complete re-designing in late 2008 after being in production since 2004. The new Gallardo is named the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. LP stands for Longitudinale Posteriore which is the positioning of the engine in the car (positioned in the rear), 560 stands for the impressive 560 horsepower that the Gallardo puts out, and the dash 4 stands for the 4 wheel drive system the car uses. The Gallardo now has a more lighter, more powerful 5.2 liter V-10 engine putting out 398 lb-ft of torque that can propel the car from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds and take the car up to a red-line limited 202 mile per hour. The LP560 still retains the two choices of transmission of a 6-speed manual or the Lamborghini designed 6 speed 'E-Gear' (clutch-less manual). The new transmission provides 40% quicker shift times than that of the previous Gallardo. Of course, with a 560 horsepower V-10 engine, fuel economy that makes Al Gore happy isn't available; it gets a disappointing 12 miles per gallon. Who cares about the fuel economy when you get an exhaust note sounding like this? Tony Quiroga, a reviewer from Car and Driver Magazine, said "There are times when we actually wish the Lambo was just a bit slower so we could revel in the music for longer than bursts lasting only a few seconds." Quiroga, along with many other reviers were none too impressed with the $15,000 optional ceramic brakes -"With the exception of the optional brakes, this Lambo is so good that the may have just been toppled."The Gallardo not only underwent a drive-train upgrade, but the body was completely re-designed for 2009. With a new front and rear fascia, the Gallardo looks as mean as the engine it houses. It received stunning new Y-shaped LED running lights underneath the Bi-xenon headlights as well as taillights with the same Y-shaped LED design causing the Gallardo to look great at any time of day. The entire body was molded to provide better aerodynamics that are a great factor in making the car be able to obtain 200+ mile per hour speeds. If being hit by a Lamborghini while walking down the street has ever concerned you, you can stop worrying because Lamborghini has designed the bumper in accordance with Europe's directives to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision. The bumpers on the car have been made with special materials designed to lessen the force of an impact making the car safer. Below is the Gallardo LP560-4 on the right next to the previous model Gallardo Spyder on the left. The difference in styling is amazing.
When taking advantage of Lamborghini's individualism program, Ad Personam, the Gallardo can be created in any way you like it. The customer can choose anything from the five different types of wheels to the color of the body to the color of the stitching on the steering wheel. The interior can be crafted of fine Italian leather in any color combination possible or an optional luxurious Alcantara suede in black. With either material, the customer can choose any color stitching and can even choose the pattern of the stitching. How is that for fine details? I personally have seen beautiful color combinations on the interior as is shown here in my video. Ad Personam is responsible for the amazing color combinations that are found in the interior Lamborghinis and the car's exterior is able to customized as well. The car comes in all of the standard colors including the bright Lamborghini oranges and yellows and with Ad Personam, the customer can order a special matte black, nero nemesis, a matte white, Bianco Canopus, or a matte brown, marrone apus. When you are choosing colors, you can choose matte, metalic, or gloss and the program really live up to it's motto of "Think the impossible." When you are paying a base price of $202,000 dollars for your car, being able to choose every fine detail you want is almost expected.
With prices ranging up to $260,000 dollars, this car is not cheap, but with the incredible looks, power and handling, it is completely worth it. This car may not be someone's daily driver, but when they do drive it and they turn the key and hear that V-10 roar to life, they realize what a great piece of Lamborghini engineering they are sitting in.
*Note: All images and videos on this post were created by and are property of Ryan Cohen.
