HISTORY
In car development, as in evolution, there are winners and losers.
Those who saw Italdesign's Cala prototype were certain that this was
going to be the baby Lamborghini, the spiritual successor to the
Urracco, the SIilhouette and the Jalpa. Back in 1994, it looked exactly
right. Put it next to the car which did become the inheritor of that
bloodline, the Luc Donckerwolke designed Gallardo, and it looks baggy
and overblown, unsubtle in its detailing and determinedly last century.
The Gallardo, all crisp lines and geometric precision, still looks fresh
and challenging.
It certainly drew some plaudits when it was first shown at the 2003
Geneva Auto Salon, offering a squatter, sharper take on big brother
Murcielago. Both six-speed
manual
and e-gear coupe models were available, both powered by the same 492bhp
V10 engine. 2005 saw the release of the Gallardo SE with its Calisto
rims, black roof and tweaks to the steering and gear ratios, with engine
power rising to 520bhp. A Nera special edition model, of which 184
units were produced, was introduced in early 2006.
2006 was a key year in the
Gallardo's
development. Few thought that the engine, gearing and steering changes
lavished upon the SE would not filter down to the ‘stock' Gallardo model
and so the MY2006 car proved. Despite looking very similar to the
previous year's car, this model was transformed into an angrier, more
effective sports car. Equipment levels were improved and a Spider
convertible model was released. The following year saw the release of
the hardcore Superleggera coupe, a lower volume model that was 100kg
lighter than the Gallardo coupe and was targeted at the well-heeled
track day customer.
WHAT YOU GET
The Gallardo's shape works wonderfully well. Although it shares many styling cues with its bigger brother, the
Murcielago,
the Gallardo is surprisingly small and slightly more aggressive with
its chopped-off angles. Luc Donkerwolke, the man responsible for penning
both cars, has once again excelled himself. Obviously a Lamborghini,
the Gallardo's detailing does enough to distance it from the Murcielago.
Park the two side by side and you'll appreciate the differences but
such is the success of the Gallardo's lines that the latest Murcielago
has adopted a sharper, Gallardo-looking front end.
The Spyder is an interesting piece of kit. The Gallardo chassis was
designed from the outset with an open-topped car in mind and hence has
an incredible resistance to twisting. Even with the metal roof lopped
off, the Gallardo is still a good deal stiffer than many supercar
coupes. Only a very small amount of strengthening work was required,
with some reinforcements added to the sills.
Unlike the Murcielago Roadster, which has a fiendishly complicated
ragtop, the erection of which would make a fitting Krypton Factor
finale, the Gallardo shows significant progress with an electrically
folding hood mechanism operated by a pair of buttons on the centre of
the dashboard. Twenty seconds later, you're good to go, the roof either
neatly cinched into place or secreted beneath the engine cover well out
of harm's way. The rear screen moves automatically while the hood is
being raised or lowered and defaults to a raised position. Unlike its
great rival, the Ferrari F430 Spider, the Lamborghini actually looks
pretty smart with the roof up, the angular styling giving it a far
better resolved profile than the slightly awkward-looking Ferrari.
If ultimate performance is your goal, look no further than the
Gallardo Superleggera. Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres, optional four-point
seat belts and carbon ceramic brakes signal its intent. The key change
was excising just over 100kg from the car's dry weight which dropped to
1,330kg largely through extensive use of carbon fibre. The biggest
change to the styling, aside from the CF splitter and diffuser, was the
fitment of 19-inch forged alloy wheels with titanium wheel nuts to shave
an additional few grammes off. There's also a Superleggera side decal.
WHAT YOU PAY
Early Gallardos can be found from around £75,000 although you'll need to add £2,500 for the e-gear sequential manual gearbox, should you so desire it. You'll still need £94,000 for a manual
model year 06 car. Gallardo Spyders and Superleggeras are still trading
for serious money and the canny buyers will wait a while until this
market cools down.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The big ticket item to watch out for with a Gallardo is the clutch.
Early cars came with a clutch plate made of a material not entirely
dissimilar to Swiss cheese and there were reports of some cars with as
little as 1,500 miles on the clock on their third clutch. Naturally,
this would be dependent on the driver's skill or lack thereof, and in
2005 the clutch was upgraded to a beefier item. Residual values tend to
take a sharp dip after two years due to the fact that the 24 month
Lamborghini warranty was not originally extendable and many owners took
this as an opportunity to offload and move on. Look for scrapes to the
front valance caused by car park ramps and also kerb damage to the alloy
wheels. The interiors tend to be strong and the Audi-derived major
mechanicals are also tough. Some have complained about paint resilience
at the front of their cars and the Gallardo does seem very prone to
stone chipping. Meticulous owners will apply 3M or similar protective
films.
REPLACEMENT PARTS
(approx based on a 2005 Gallardo coupe) Spares are predictably
expensive. The Pirelli P-Zero tyres retail at around £180 a pair for the
front boots and £280 for the rears (fitted and balanced), which means
that a new set of rubber isn't going to leave much change from £1,000.
Servicing comes every 7,500 miles and a normal server is around £1100
with bigger ones £2200. Lamborghini dealers have really got their act
together in recent years and unlike in days of yore, won't sting you
with hidden costs.
ON THE ROAD
Against the clock, the latest Gallardo will
register
a sprint to 60mph in 3.8 seconds and keep going to 196mph. The
four-wheel drive electronics aren't quite as clever as those in a 911
Turbo when it comes to stepping cleanly off the line but get up to
higher velocities and you won't begrudge that, the Gallardo behaving for
the most part like a traditional rear driver. Only when you're really
pushing it over scabby tarmac can you feel the front tyres biting for
grip. What impresses most is the body control. Drive the same section of
road in a Porsche 911 or even a Ferrari F430 and there would be a lot
more
roll, squat and dive. The
Lamborghini planes flat, almost sucked to the ground, its hefty 19-inch
tyres and foursquare stance giving the driver almost unassailable
confidence levels.
The Superleggera takes things to another level. The car is definitely
louder than a standard Gallardo but the performance differences don't
look much on paper: an identical top speed and torque figure, 0.2s
knocked off the sprint to 100kmh (now 3.8s) and 10bhp added to the power
output. On track, a different picture emerges with the Superleggera
offering superior grip and body control, largely down to the tyre
choice. Snappy at the limit, it demands respect but is massively
capable, on well-surfaced, dry tarmac at least.
Needless to say, it
delivers savage punch out of corners.
OVERALL
Before the advent of the Gallardo, the dream ticket was always an
Italian supercar with German build quality. Now that such a thing
exists, it seems strange that some see fit to complain about an erosion
of Lamborghini brand values. The top brass at Sant'Agata hold the belief
that the naysayers can complain all they like as the order books
demonstrate this to be clearly a winning formula. Used Gallardos are
generally sturdy. Look for the uprated clutch and servicing done on
the button with no corners cut and you shouldn't go far wrong.