The LP640, as most of you would know, is an even higher performance version of the already potent Lamborghini Murciélago. It comes as no surprise then that the car was too hard to handle for even some motoring journalists. The motoring press has compiled a frightful record behind the wheel of Lamborghinis in recent past. A Car and Driver journo previously crashed one, and before that at a media event on a European racetrack, a writer took off at full throttle and crashed in the first turn, killing both occupants. Two LP640’s have already been totalled, so it was with extreme caution that Jerry Garrett from the New York Times took to the roads in the big bad Murcié.

The regular Murciélago on which the LP640 is based has sold over 2,000 units, a huge number for a supercar, and this 640hp (632 for US versions) is faster yet easier to live with. Gas mileage is on par with the thirstiest big trucks, just 9 miles a gallon in town and 13 on the highway, however, the toughest thing about the LP640 is the searing heat it generates.

What next? No gearshift selector? This car was equipped with an optional $10,000 automatic transmission called e-gear, which you shift only with levers on either side of the steering wheel. The most surprising thing about the LP640 is its driveability, it benefits from an electronic drive-by-wire engine management system that metes out punch in survivable doses, which allows you to go from zero to 60mph in 3.3 seconds. Follow the jump to read the full review.

[Source: New York Times]