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Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
With the Superleggera, Lamborghini finally has a car that can perform on a track but it comes at a cost Story Craig Lieberman
In the world of advertising and marketing, the words “new” and “improved” get tossed around quite liberally. The practice has been in place for decades and is often abused. In a recent jaunt to the supermarket I was reminded of this when I noticed that my favorite blend of ice cream was suddenly adorned with these encouraging words. After closer inspection, I noticed that the real changes were to the packaging…brighter colors, but a smaller carton meaning less ice cream, yet the price went up. New packaging, yes, improved profits for the maker, affirmative.
Fortunately, this does not appear to be the case with the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera – bright colors aside. For starters, shaving 126 pounds off the base Gallardo is a good thing as is the bump in horsepower over the base Gallardo, up from 512hp to 522hp. According to Lamborghini the bump in power comes from new software and a revised intake.
Now the bad news: the car we tested was optioned with goodies bumping the price to $246,000. Not too long ago, that was Murciélago territory.
What does that money get you? For starters, you get the 19-inch wheels that are an option on the base Gallardo. Carbon ceramic brakes add $15,600 to the bottom line, which can seem like a rip-off when you consider Porsche charges just $8,800 for the option. It can also be seen as a deal, when you realize Ferrari gouges you for $22,000.
BEST IN CLASS INTERIOR
In addition to a few carbon fiber bits inside, the interior receives a host of upgrades. The dash is Alcantara, the carbon fiber sport seats that are optional in the Gallardo are standard here. There is detailed stitching throughout the cabin and carbon fiber door add a racecar feel. These interior upgrades definitely live up to the car’s image, although I’d love it if Lamborghini would do something a little more Ferrari-esque with the steering wheel.
The interior space can be described as adequate, although I’ve always found the seating position in the Gallardo to be odd…you’re so far from the windshield and that little extra window frame just forward of the door’s window reminds me of a 1950 Ford DeSoto. I’ve never liked it, but that’s a minor complaint when you consider the big picture.
Space constraints inside, the Gallardo Superleggera’s interior is stunning. Unlike a Porsche Turbo, the dash is not a monolith with Buick design cues. It has flowing, ergonomically pleasing attributes lavished in suede, or Alcantara, or some sort of soft fuzzy stuff. Audi’s civilized approach to the Lamborghini has paid dividends inside the car and the Superleggera’s overall fit, finish and feel set the standard by which all cars in this class should be judged.
DATED LOOKS
On the outside, there is little to distinguish the Superleggera from its base sibling, so in essence, the packaging is the same, but the content is better. Fine by me. Admittedly, the styling is starting to show signs of age, but with the newer crop of Lamborghinis taking styling cues from military aircraft I’ll stick to it. I’m sure that in time I’ll warm-up to the new Lambo aesthetics, but I’m not quite there yet.
ON THE TRACK: CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
Where this car really shines is on the track. While I found the brakes touchy and a bit difficult to modulate, there was plenty of stopping power. The raucous V-10 engine delivers the goods and with official 0-60 times of 3.8 seconds (and real world testing resulting in even better numbers) as well as a quarter mile time of 11.7 seconds, we’re squarely in supercar territory here. Power is not an issue here.
During my brief but joyous track experience with the car, other than a lack of headroom, the experience was enjoyable with just the right amount of understeer at turn in to keep you honest and enough grip to make it virtually impossible to step the tail out unless you’re really pushing it.
My test car was wearing Toyo R888s so the traction was superb, but with the standard Pirelli PZeros, the Superleggera approaches 1g on the skidpad. For $246,000 it damn well better.
The E-gear’s blip-on-downshift feature is appreciated, but perhaps I need time to master it…it seemed jerky, compounded by touchy brakes but again, my experience with these transmissions, whether in BMWs or Lambos is that finesse with the accelerator can mitigate some of the jerkiness that may sometimes arise. I didn’t have time to master this is my very short session.
As I carved my way around California Speedway, a great sense of awareness came over me. Here at last, with the Gallardo Superleggera, Lamborghini has created a car capable of running with the big boys on the track. Gone are the days of temperamental exotic car ownership experiences. No more heavy clutch pedal. No more overheating in traffic. No more weak air conditioners. All of those idiosyncrasies that we were forced to live with have been swept away, replaced with refinement and civility to a point where purists argue that the exoticness of the cars has been watered down.
They’re wrong!
Anyone who’s owned exotic cars over the last 20 years can describe to you the days of getting out of a car and smelling like gasoline for hours after. Today’s exotic cars are more environmentally friendly, more reliable and more capable than ever before and the Gallardo Superleggera is the epitome of that assertion.
THE COMPETITION
So who buys these cars? For me, I can’t help but draw a comparison to the Gallardo’s rivals. At $246,000, is it nicer or a better performer than a Porsche Turbo, GT3 or GT2? What about the F430?
The Superleggera costs more than the GT2 and is sticker priced higher than a base F430…but many people paid may beyond sticker for an F430. The F430 has less power, and a smaller engine. Yet despite these handicaps, the F430 is fairly close to the performance numbers of the Superleggera. With the Porsche GT2, power levels are similar, but with RWD, it’s difficult to compare apples to apples, not to mention that as far as curb appeal, few would argue that the Gallardo seems more exotic at first blush.
Each of these cars takes a unique approach to the task of producing a street car with solid track capabilities. As I said, an apples to apples comparison is difficult. In the past, one could argue that true performance nuts would opt for the Porsche GT2 or the F430, but with the Superleggera, the gap continues to narrow to the point of invisibility. While the Gallardo is more forgiving in the hands of a novice, its rivals are nearly invincible on a track with a competent driver.
V-10 ACE UP ITS SLEEVE
But there’s something else, something perhaps intangible. I think many would agree that part of the appeal of a supercar is how it sounds. Few would argue that Ferraris emit sweet music at full song, a sound that is outdone by perhaps only one engine: the Lamborghini V-10. Candidly, I prefer the sound of the V-10 to the raging bull’s V-12 and I certainly prefer it over a Ferrari V-8…its close, but the nod goes to the Gallardo, especially one with a modded exhaust. I don’t care what exhaust you put on a Porsche Turbo, GT2 or GT3, it just doesn’t give me the same satisfaction as the Lamborghini V-10. But that’s me.
THE VERDICT
On the track, this is a huge part of the experience….the windows down, the shock waves of air buffeting your helmet, but even your helmet’s dense padding won’t muffle the rambunctious V-10. Couple that with the E-gear’s blip-on-downshift and the experience is as close to Formula One as you can get without a major sponsor.
These are hardly objective criteria by which I judge these car’s strengths and differentiations, but rationality rarely enters the conversation when we’re contemplating the purchase of such a vehicle. Owning a car like the Superleggera is not just about what it does to the road or the track, it’s about what it does to your soul, your passion for performance. In that regard, you’d be hard pressed to do better.
PLUS
Best in class interior
A Lambo you can actually track
V-10 sound can’t be beat
MINUS
Dated styling
Option out price of $246,000
Tight cabin with little headroom
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SPECIFICATIONS & DETAILS
2007 LAMBORGHNI GALLARDO SUPERLEGGERA
ENGINE
5.0-liter V10
DRIVETRAIN
Mid-engine, AWD, six-speed e-gear
WHEELS, TIRES AND BRAKES
(f) 19x8.5” aluminum alloy wheels with 235/35/19 Toyo R888 tires, eight-piston calipers with 14.4-inch carbon ceramic rotors; (r)19x11” aluminum alloy wheels with 295/30/19 Toyo R888 tires, four-piston calipers with 13.2-inch carbon ceramic rotors
SUSPENSION
Aluminum double wishbones front and rear with anti-roll bars
BODY
Carbon fiber engine cover with plexiglass, carbon fiber diffuser, underbody covering and side mirrors
INTERIOR
Alcantara dash, Carbon fiber and Alcantara seats, carbon fiber door panels and
Door panels and central tunnel are CF, CF seats with Alcanara
NUMBERS
Horsepower: 522 at 8000 rpm
Torque: 376 ft-lbs at 4250 rpm
Zero-60: 3.8 sec.
Top Speed: 196 mph
Length: 169.3”
Width: 74.8”
Height: 45.9”
Weight: 3,197 lbs
Weight distribution: 42/58
MSRP: $220,000
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