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Civilised bull
Lambo's latest Gallardo is
comfortable for everyday use around town and, like the Porsche, is also
deserving of 'supercar' status
Be still, my beating heart! There were 22 of
the raging bulls parked in front of the Gran Melia' resort in Tenerife,
Spain, and the only right-hand-drive version of this Lambo - dubbed the
LP560-4 Spyder - had been assigned to this writer.
It's a lighter but more powerful version of the Gallardo. It's also
touted as being the cleanest, most economical and most environmentally
friendly Lamborghini ever built.
Not that any of those superlatives mean diddly-squat once you've
heard its all-new 5.2-litre V10 roar. The sound's enough to make your
heart race.
The average driver (like yours truly) will doubtless find it weird
that this 560hp four-wheel-drive - a vehicle which can reach 100kph
from a standstill in four seconds flat and won't quit until the speedo
hits 324kph - is regarded as a mere entry level product in the supercar
market. You can't even log into Facebook in four seconds!
At 24.7 million baht, this LP560-4 is a greener, more practical
presentation of Lamborghini with down-to-earth manners to show how
serious it is about being comfortable on the road.
Ergonomics galore with sat-nav, air-con and an audio system.
The new look
Its wedgy design cues, precise lines and clean, minimalist, design
ethos make it a sensual, high-performance athlete. But then a purist
like Jun Nichikawa, my drive partner for the day, can always throw in
the 1976 Countach LP400 for comparison purposes - he owns one!
Cleanest, highest-revving direct-injection engine to date.
So, sizing the Spyder up vis-a-vis the Coupe': There are smaller
side windows to accommodate the electric soft top which folds away in
just under 20 seconds. Compared to its predecessor, the LP560-4 shows
evidence of cosmetic surgery, starting with headlights integrated under
the bi-xenon lamps: 15 LEDs arranged in a horizontal, Y-shaped design
which is also repeated on its tail-lights.
Climb inside and it greets you with an ergo-nomically friendly
environment: nice sound system with CD changer behind the handbrake
between the seats; air-con; GPS; and rear-view camera.
Very light four-wheel-drive supercar.
It's bigger than its predecessor with an all-new, 5.2-litre, V10
engine capable of 560hp at 8,000rpm, a class-topping output per litre
of 107.6hp, and 540Nm of torque at 6,500rpm. And just one kilometre
slower than the Coupe' on top speed.
The LP560-4 has a dry weight of 1,550kg, 20kg less than its
predecessor, and a new Bosch direct-injection fuel system (iniezione
diretta stratificata), both contributing to the cleanest Lambo to date
as CO2 is brought down 18% from 400g/km to 330.
Lamborghini aura wins over Audi affiliation.
It's also the highest-revving, direct-injection engine in the world as the limiter cuts off at 8,200rpm.
Also new is most of the four-wheel-drive chassis (there are bigger
anti-roll bars front and rear, uprated dampers, and significant changes
to the steering and rear-suspension geometry) and an improved e-gear,
paddle-shift gearbox for faster shifts in the new Corsa, regular and
Sport modes.
On the tarmac
A 20-second soft-top operation.
Climb aboard, turn the key and the new 5.2-litre V10 detonates with
a sweet, high-pitched whoom. It feels like your first date: you're
nervous and haven't the faintest idea what to do.
Floor the accelerator and the the aural entertainment begins at just
over 4,000rpm. Your neck snaps back a little at each downshift, but the
cool part is how the engine automatically revs up to an appealing aural
high pitch, once.
The new six-speed, e-gear transmission is as intuitive and smooth as
a robotised manual gearbox. Shift speed required to change gear in
Corsa mode is reduced by 40%. You can use paddle-shifters mounted on
the steering wheel or else the automatic mode will work the gears for
you.
There's a level of ride comfort accompanied by a harmonious mix of
road grip and mature road manners that could be summed up as sheer
refinement.
With 540Nm of torque, the V10 pulls from a standstill with great
enthusiasm, but the beauty is that 70% of torque is available at
constant speed.
Of course, this lunatic performance requires big brakes: the LP560-4
I tested offered 380mm discs up front and 356mm at the rear. Great
"feelsome" stopping power for the front (235/35R19) and rear
(295/30R19) rubbers.
My thoughts ...
Putting the LP560-4 into perspective, given its open-top heritage, is really an exercise for prejudiced purists.
Though traffic levels prevented me from pushing the car to its
limits that day, I didn't have to; its civilised performance adequately
demonstrated how a 25 million baht supercar can deliver comfort and
refinement at both ends.
This LP560-4 stokes the lower end of the supercar market with great
ergonomics, thanks to Audi DNA (much to the chagrin of Lamborghini).
Yet Lamborghini's aura is not compromised by German precision
engineering.
Pop the front hood and there's enough usable space to fit a small Samsonite suitcase.
Tourists in rental cars puttering up the narrow road to the top of
3,718m Mount Teide - Spain's highest active, if long-dormant, volcano -
restricted most of my drive that day to second and third ratios. But
the LP560-4's ability to adapt to - if not exactly blend in with! - the
behaviour of the motoring hoi polloi on constricted, second-class roads
while taking the straights with consumate ease was a testament to its
unbelievable practicality.
Everyone is probably singing the praises of the LP560-4 - just because it's a Lamborghini!
I say it's a comfortable bull in the city and that, along with the
Porsche, it deserves to be described as a bona fide supercar which is
also perfectly suitable for everyday use.
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Lambo's latest Gallardo is
comfortable for everyday use around town and, like the Porsche, is also
deserving of 'supercar' status
Be still, my beating heart! There were 22 of
the raging bulls parked in front of the Gran Melia' resort in Tenerife,
Spain, and the only right-hand-drive version of this Lambo - dubbed the
LP560-4 Spyder - had been assigned to this writer.
It's a lighter but more powerful version of the Gallardo. It's also
touted as being the cleanest, most economical and most environmentally
friendly Lamborghini ever built.
Not that any of those superlatives mean diddly-squat once you've
heard its all-new 5.2-litre V10 roar. The sound's enough to make your
heart race.
The average driver (like yours truly) will doubtless find it weird
that this 560hp four-wheel-drive - a vehicle which can reach 100kph
from a standstill in four seconds flat and won't quit until the speedo
hits 324kph - is regarded as a mere entry level product in the supercar
market. You can't even log into Facebook in four seconds!
At 24.7 million baht, this LP560-4 is a greener, more practical
presentation of Lamborghini with down-to-earth manners to show how
serious it is about being comfortable on the road.
Ergonomics galore with sat-nav, air-con and an audio system.
The new look
Its wedgy design cues, precise lines and clean, minimalist, design
ethos make it a sensual, high-performance athlete. But then a purist
like Jun Nichikawa, my drive partner for the day, can always throw in
the 1976 Countach LP400 for comparison purposes - he owns one!
Cleanest, highest-revving direct-injection engine to date.
So, sizing the Spyder up vis-a-vis the Coupe': There are smaller
side windows to accommodate the electric soft top which folds away in
just under 20 seconds. Compared to its predecessor, the LP560-4 shows
evidence of cosmetic surgery, starting with headlights integrated under
the bi-xenon lamps: 15 LEDs arranged in a horizontal, Y-shaped design
which is also repeated on its tail-lights.
Climb inside and it greets you with an ergo-nomically friendly
environment: nice sound system with CD changer behind the handbrake
between the seats; air-con; GPS; and rear-view camera.
Very light four-wheel-drive supercar.
It's bigger than its predecessor with an all-new, 5.2-litre, V10
engine capable of 560hp at 8,000rpm, a class-topping output per litre
of 107.6hp, and 540Nm of torque at 6,500rpm. And just one kilometre
slower than the Coupe' on top speed.
The LP560-4 has a dry weight of 1,550kg, 20kg less than its
predecessor, and a new Bosch direct-injection fuel system (iniezione
diretta stratificata), both contributing to the cleanest Lambo to date
as CO2 is brought down 18% from 400g/km to 330.
Lamborghini aura wins over Audi affiliation.
It's also the highest-revving, direct-injection engine in the world as the limiter cuts off at 8,200rpm.
Also new is most of the four-wheel-drive chassis (there are bigger
anti-roll bars front and rear, uprated dampers, and significant changes
to the steering and rear-suspension geometry) and an improved e-gear,
paddle-shift gearbox for faster shifts in the new Corsa, regular and
Sport modes.
On the tarmac
A 20-second soft-top operation.
Climb aboard, turn the key and the new 5.2-litre V10 detonates with
a sweet, high-pitched whoom. It feels like your first date: you're
nervous and haven't the faintest idea what to do.
Floor the accelerator and the the aural entertainment begins at just
over 4,000rpm. Your neck snaps back a little at each downshift, but the
cool part is how the engine automatically revs up to an appealing aural
high pitch, once.
The new six-speed, e-gear transmission is as intuitive and smooth as
a robotised manual gearbox. Shift speed required to change gear in
Corsa mode is reduced by 40%. You can use paddle-shifters mounted on
the steering wheel or else the automatic mode will work the gears for
you.
There's a level of ride comfort accompanied by a harmonious mix of
road grip and mature road manners that could be summed up as sheer
refinement.
With 540Nm of torque, the V10 pulls from a standstill with great
enthusiasm, but the beauty is that 70% of torque is available at
constant speed.
Of course, this lunatic performance requires big brakes: the LP560-4
I tested offered 380mm discs up front and 356mm at the rear. Great
"feelsome" stopping power for the front (235/35R19) and rear
(295/30R19) rubbers.
My thoughts ...
Putting the LP560-4 into perspective, given its open-top heritage, is really an exercise for prejudiced purists.
Though traffic levels prevented me from pushing the car to its
limits that day, I didn't have to; its civilised performance adequately
demonstrated how a 25 million baht supercar can deliver comfort and
refinement at both ends.
This LP560-4 stokes the lower end of the supercar market with great
ergonomics, thanks to Audi DNA (much to the chagrin of Lamborghini).
Yet Lamborghini's aura is not compromised by German precision
engineering.
Pop the front hood and there's enough usable space to fit a small Samsonite suitcase.
Tourists in rental cars puttering up the narrow road to the top of
3,718m Mount Teide - Spain's highest active, if long-dormant, volcano -
restricted most of my drive that day to second and third ratios. But
the LP560-4's ability to adapt to - if not exactly blend in with! - the
behaviour of the motoring hoi polloi on constricted, second-class roads
while taking the straights with consumate ease was a testament to its
unbelievable practicality.
Everyone is probably singing the praises of the LP560-4 - just because it's a Lamborghini!
I say it's a comfortable bull in the city and that, along with the
Porsche, it deserves to be described as a bona fide supercar which is
also perfectly suitable for everyday use.
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