Alien Species
July 24, 2008
It looks harder and goes harder than the old Gallardo, which makes the new LP560-4 one very special life-form
'We want to introduce Lambo's new bad boy to one of the world's baddest places'
The 'movie' Vegas - Swingers, Ocean's 11, all the Rat Pack stuff - is a sexy, seductive, shimmering neon paradise, where lissom blondes whisper sweet nothings to Clooney or Sinatra, and dice tumble across green baize.
The 'real' Vegas is a series of gaudy hangars, where natural light is banned and the morbidly obese - willing participants in a mass lobotomy - waddle between rows of one-armed bandits. Drink yourself insensible, and it's theoretically possible to enjoy Vegas for what it is. But if ever there was a city that's all mouth and no trousers, it's this one.
Lamborghini used to be guilty of a similar 'mouth/trousers' malfunction. Few of Lambo's many owners during its 45-year existence have ever had much cash to invest in the company, so there hasn't always been the substance to back up the bravado. Granted, no one with petrol in their veins could argue with the Miura or Countach or even the Diablo. But then few with normally
sized limbs could fit into them, either.Anyway, it's July 2008, and here we are inside a large inflatable marquee moored in a hotel car park in Vegas on the occasion of the launch of the new Gallardo LP560-4.The times have a-changed. Lamborghini has prospered royally under Audi ownership, and now trades under the brand banner, 'Always Different'. Tonight's dinner certainly is, not least because there's a catwalk in the middle of the table and between courses we're being treated to a 'turn'.
First some girls appear and start shimmying to the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army. Then a slinky blonde soprano in a white dress wanders out and begins warbling. Best of all, though, are a pair of Ninja parkour types, who leap around brilliantly, imperilling the bread rolls. Lamborghini's executives, including the impressively leonine Stephan Winkelmann, are clearly making a point here: this is no ordinary car company.
>'The all-new 5.2-litre V10 engine uses direct injection, but can still rev to 8,000rpm'
Rounding things off is a beautifully shot black-and-white film, during which a Gallardo power-slides expertly out of an LA junction and the words 'anti-boredom assist' appear on the screen. What could they mean?
Luckily, Lambo's financial results back up this machismo. Last year, the company sold 2,406 cars, and made a £37m pre-tax profit off sales of £369m. That's a 160 per cent increase, year-on-year.
In these troubled economic times, it's more proof that the world's highest-net-worth individuals have reached a point where they're immune to the turbulence that's affecting the rest of us.
Winkelmann says that the company must make the world's most desirable cars and, rather intriguingly, "be the best place to work". Brand director Manfred Fitzgerald adds that Lambos are "extreme, uncompromising and Italian", because, as he told me earlier this year, they're the "only bad boys left out there".
With Russia and Asia-Pacific now coming on-stream in a big way, there's clearly a market for this sort of bad-boy brash. The Gallardo, meanwhile, is Lamborghini's most successful ever
model. More than 7,000 have been sold since 2003, and the last time I drove one, I have to say I didn't think there was much wrong with it. Which makes this the perfect time to unveil the v2.0 reboot.Chief among the changes is the 'all-new' 5.2-litre V10 engine. It uses direct injection - iniezione diretta stratificata, if you want to impress your friends or alienate your girlfriend - but can still rev to 8,000rpm. Combustion is more efficient, and it's also 34bhp more powerful. But the big story here isn't what's increased, it's what's got smaller. CO2 emissions have been reduced by 18 per cent, down to 327g/km for the 'e-gear' model. Fuel consumption has been reduced similarly (the claimed combined average is 21mpg).
In other words, though its performance stats and power-to-weight ratio are almost identical to last year's Superleggera, the Gallardo is now much cleaner and more economical.
"We have an internal road map," says R&D boss Maurizio Reggiani, "and we are working towards reducing CO2 emissions by 40 per cent across our entire model range."
Unlikely as it is to be inducted into the Friends of the Earth hall of fame, you've got to give them some credit for trying to clean up their act. As if any Russian oligarch or coke-addled Hollywood executive really gives a toss...
The LP560-4's militaristic redesign is probably a
bit more relevant to them, though. Last year's Reventón ushered in a design language straight out of Top Gun, the best bits of which now reappear on the Gallardo. So there are graphic new front air intakes, which shovel more air into the car's vital organs and nod back to the geometric forms of Marcello Gandini's original Countach LP400.The previous Gallardo's rather stunted rear end has mutated into something a little more graceful; rather than drawing the eye down in the vertical plane, the 560's new lights and perforated grille draw the eye across. Yes, there are curves, but this isn't about calling to mind buxom Italian women, this is about creating a restless, edgy menace.
There's a new rear diffuser which, in combination with the car's flat underbody, generates a level of aerodynamic efficiency 31 per cent better than the previous model's. The suspension has redesigned kinematics, and there's an extra track rod for improved stability. Which should stop all that extra restless, edgy menace translating to the driver as he enters a sweeping corner at 140mph.
>'The previous Gallardo's rather stunted rear end has mutated into something a little more graceful'
Detail enhancements include Y-shaped LED bi-xenon headlights; the Y motif - which first appeared on the dodgy 2006 Miura concept - reappears in the tail-lights. Inside, not much has changed, apart from the arrival of some little aluminium-effect hoops over the row of buttons on
the centre console.
The £147,330 that the LP560-4 will cost when it arrives in your local Lambo showroom this month includes two-zone aircon, a multimedia system and a USB connector. Beefy steel brakes (365mm upfront) are standard, with the carbon ceramic brakes remaining a pricey option.
Rest assured that Lambo's marketing people have dreamt up a number of other ingenious ways of diverting all that high net worth into the Sant'Agata bank account; watch out for increasingly mad paint schemes, including a remarkable - and remarkably hard-to-keep-clean - matt black. I'm not sure if Lambo has someone specifically to police the frontiers of good taste, but they might want to think about it.
Having said that, our test car is painted a virulent lime green so we can't talk. At least it's an old-school Lambo colour, and parked up in the paddock of our Vegas Speedway base, it has the appearance of something recently arrived from
another planet. The Gallardo has always looked and felt chunky, wieldy and properly useable, and the 2008 visual refresh only underlines that. Nice job.
While a Russian journalist rearranges the facelift by parking his car in a barrier at high speed, we hit the interstate and leave the hollow allure of Las Vegas behind. We want to introduce Lamborghini's new bad boy to one of the world's baddest places: Death Valley. Heat, dust, fatigue - contemplating a journey like this in a Lambo even 10 years ago would've been risky to say the least. Not now. Hopefully.
As destinations go, Death Valley isn't everyone's idea of a good time. But do not pass up the opportunity to go there. Head south out of Vegas on the I-15, then west on the Blue Diamond Road, towards Pahrump. You can't miss it. You can't miss it because, once you've cleared the gas stations, single-storey shops and soulless malls
that stud the edge of every major American city, there is nothing to miss.
the centre console.The £147,330 that the LP560-4 will cost when it arrives in your local Lambo showroom this month includes two-zone aircon, a multimedia system and a USB connector. Beefy steel brakes (365mm upfront) are standard, with the carbon ceramic brakes remaining a pricey option.
Rest assured that Lambo's marketing people have dreamt up a number of other ingenious ways of diverting all that high net worth into the Sant'Agata bank account; watch out for increasingly mad paint schemes, including a remarkable - and remarkably hard-to-keep-clean - matt black. I'm not sure if Lambo has someone specifically to police the frontiers of good taste, but they might want to think about it.
Having said that, our test car is painted a virulent lime green so we can't talk. At least it's an old-school Lambo colour, and parked up in the paddock of our Vegas Speedway base, it has the appearance of something recently arrived from
another planet. The Gallardo has always looked and felt chunky, wieldy and properly useable, and the 2008 visual refresh only underlines that. Nice job.While a Russian journalist rearranges the facelift by parking his car in a barrier at high speed, we hit the interstate and leave the hollow allure of Las Vegas behind. We want to introduce Lamborghini's new bad boy to one of the world's baddest places: Death Valley. Heat, dust, fatigue - contemplating a journey like this in a Lambo even 10 years ago would've been risky to say the least. Not now. Hopefully.
As destinations go, Death Valley isn't everyone's idea of a good time. But do not pass up the opportunity to go there. Head south out of Vegas on the I-15, then west on the Blue Diamond Road, towards Pahrump. You can't miss it. You can't miss it because, once you've cleared the gas stations, single-storey shops and soulless malls
that stud the edge of every major American city, there is nothing to miss.And I mean nothing. You crest the top of a rise, modest mountains fringing the road each side, and the nothingness unfurls in front of you like a big hazy carpet for about 60 miles. It's sort of beautiful, in a desolate way, but after a bit, it starts messing with your head. And this is just the start.
Fortunately, distractions don't come any more distracting than a lime-green Lamborghini packing 552bhp. Cops with itchy trigger fingers and radar are an ever-present threat out here, but sitting in sixth gear at 65mph for the next 200 miles is clearly not an option. So with the signal from the obligatory classic rock station fading, I start playing tunes with the Lambo's exhaust instead.
Pavarotti's spirit must have moved into the manifold. Even in sixth with about 4,000rpm showing on the rev counter, a little throttle tickle elicits a great barrel-chested roar that swells into a feral howl as you close in on the red line. This sort of thing is part of an Italian supercar's job description,but the LP560's V10 sounds better than most.
Like everyone else, Lambo insists the automated manual is the way forward. I insist it isn't, even if 90 per cent of Gallardo buyers opt for the 'e-gear' transmission. The new car's 'box has been completely redesigned, and it's now lighter and comes with five different shift maps (including the potentially ruinous 'Thrust' mode for showing off).
The shift time has apparently been cut from a positively glacial 210m/s to 120m/s, which is still some way off the pace. It remains fairly agricultural in feel, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. Apparently, Lamborghini's customers prefer a more 'emotional' experience, which is to say a jerky, mechanical shift versus the seamless action you get in the latest dual-clutch transmissions.
Fortunately, distractions don't come any more distracting than a lime-green Lamborghini packing 552bhp. Cops with itchy trigger fingers and radar are an ever-present threat out here, but sitting in sixth gear at 65mph for the next 200 miles is clearly not an option. So with the signal from the obligatory classic rock station fading, I start playing tunes with the Lambo's exhaust instead.
Pavarotti's spirit must have moved into the manifold. Even in sixth with about 4,000rpm showing on the rev counter, a little throttle tickle elicits a great barrel-chested roar that swells into a feral howl as you close in on the red line. This sort of thing is part of an Italian supercar's job description,but the LP560's V10 sounds better than most.
Like everyone else, Lambo insists the automated manual is the way forward. I insist it isn't, even if 90 per cent of Gallardo buyers opt for the 'e-gear' transmission. The new car's 'box has been completely redesigned, and it's now lighter and comes with five different shift maps (including the potentially ruinous 'Thrust' mode for showing off).
The shift time has apparently been cut from a positively glacial 210m/s to 120m/s, which is still some way off the pace. It remains fairly agricultural in feel, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. Apparently, Lamborghini's customers prefer a more 'emotional' experience, which is to say a jerky, mechanical shift versus the seamless action you get in the latest dual-clutch transmissions.
>'A little throttle tickle elicits a barrel-chested roar that swells into a feral howl as you close in on the red line'
By the time we've 'crossed the hump to Pahrump', as the locals like to say, the temperature has risen from 23 to 33ËšC. Pahrump is the last proper town - fast-food joints, churches, malls, billboards promoting lawyers and vasectomies and lawyers who can handle bungled vasectomies - before Death Valley. There is genuine tumbleweed and dust.
At the crossroads of the 127 and 190 highways, we arrive at Death Valley Junction, established in the 1920s by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. It's 43ËšC outside, but the LP560 is coping perfectly. Now the car really does look like something from another planet. In fact, right now this planet looks like something from another planet. We press on; the Lambo feels more muscular than ever, more tangibly macho than the occasionally highly strung Ferrari F430 or bullish Aston Martin Vantage.
Dante's View, the top of which crests 5,475ft, contrasts starkly with Badwater; at 282ft below sea level, it's not only the lowest point in North America but also a Precambrian geological marvel, which means it's been doing its thing for about 1.8 billion years. Zabriskie Point, celebrated in Antonioni's counter-cultural 1970 film classic and featured on the cover of U2's Joshua Tree, is even more mind-blowing (and younger too, at a mere 65 million years).
All told, there are 3.3 million acres to choose from in Death Valley, including a surprising number of corners. With four-wheel drive, and shod in new low-rolling-resistance Pirelli P Zeroes, the Gallardo is blessed with other-worldly levels of grip and balance.
Ferrari's F430 is ultimately more adjustable, and a little easier to slide if that's what you're after, but the Gallardo's speed and composure through fast corners is little short of phenomenal. Great steering too; some small refinements mean it's now less likely to kick back in your hands when the surface beneath the wheels turns nasty. It's even comfortable.
In fact, this is a truly great car. Lamborghini has almost always produced great-looking cars, but with the Gallardo LP560, 45 years of epic potential has finally been fulfilled. Yes, it'll do 202mph and accelerate to 62mph in 3.7 seconds. And yes, it has weapons-grade looks, and eats corners for breakfast. But as we turn round, settle into a sixth-gear cruise, and head back into civilisation - well, Las Vegas anyway - something awful dawns on me.
This bad boy isn't very bad at all. It's very good.
At the crossroads of the 127 and 190 highways, we arrive at Death Valley Junction, established in the 1920s by the Pacific Coast Borax Company. It's 43ËšC outside, but the LP560 is coping perfectly. Now the car really does look like something from another planet. In fact, right now this planet looks like something from another planet. We press on; the Lambo feels more muscular than ever, more tangibly macho than the occasionally highly strung Ferrari F430 or bullish Aston Martin Vantage.
Dante's View, the top of which crests 5,475ft, contrasts starkly with Badwater; at 282ft below sea level, it's not only the lowest point in North America but also a Precambrian geological marvel, which means it's been doing its thing for about 1.8 billion years. Zabriskie Point, celebrated in Antonioni's counter-cultural 1970 film classic and featured on the cover of U2's Joshua Tree, is even more mind-blowing (and younger too, at a mere 65 million years).
All told, there are 3.3 million acres to choose from in Death Valley, including a surprising number of corners. With four-wheel drive, and shod in new low-rolling-resistance Pirelli P Zeroes, the Gallardo is blessed with other-worldly levels of grip and balance.
Ferrari's F430 is ultimately more adjustable, and a little easier to slide if that's what you're after, but the Gallardo's speed and composure through fast corners is little short of phenomenal. Great steering too; some small refinements mean it's now less likely to kick back in your hands when the surface beneath the wheels turns nasty. It's even comfortable.
In fact, this is a truly great car. Lamborghini has almost always produced great-looking cars, but with the Gallardo LP560, 45 years of epic potential has finally been fulfilled. Yes, it'll do 202mph and accelerate to 62mph in 3.7 seconds. And yes, it has weapons-grade looks, and eats corners for breakfast. But as we turn round, settle into a sixth-gear cruise, and head back into civilisation - well, Las Vegas anyway - something awful dawns on me.
This bad boy isn't very bad at all. It's very good.
Jason Barlow
Photography by Lee Brimble
Photography by Lee Brimble
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