2008 Lamborghini Gallardo - Review

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Enlarge PhotoOnce buckled into the driver’s seat, you’ll immediately notice key differences to the regular Gallardo. First up, the new seats, whose frames are composed entirely of carbon-fiber, have been lifted directly from the world of racing and are therefore perfect for the track. The same can’t be said for the road, where the near-zero padding becomes a direct connection between your butt and every bump on the road. Simply placing yourself into the buckets, itself, can be a challenge because of the car’s low stance and the seat’s side supports. It doesn’t end there. The four-point racing harness seatbelts lack retractable rollers, rendering even the most simple operations difficult such as reaching for your mobile phone or grabbing change for tolls – thank god for electronic tolls. Once you get over these issues, the flood of emotions for the rest of your senses is well worth it. An abundance of carbon-fiber makes you want to don a helmet and racing overalls every time you look down from the windshield, while the Alcantara on almost all the remaining surfaces ensures the interior is still plush. It is a Lamborghini after all. The white-backed instrument dials and minuscule typeface used for the speedometer is difficult to read, especially during a quick glance, but in a car like this it’s the tachometer you’re interested in anyway.

Technical

The Gallardo Superleggera’s most amazing aspect is the fact that it weighs 100kg less than the standard Gallardo. Trying to shed up to 100kg from a regular family sedan would be difficult enough for engineers, but doing it for a high-performance supercar is even tougher. Despite the tough challenge, technicians at Lamborghini have managed to cut down 47kg from the Gallardo’s interior, 12kg from the engine, 17kg from the transmission, 17kg from the car’s body and a further 7kg here and there. In a process that takes hours of laborious work, the interior of the Gallardo is fitted with the new carbon-fiber door panels and center tunnel.

Even with the weight saving program, engineers were still able to lift engine performance by 10hp, up to a total of 530hp from the standard 520hp. Modifications to the car’s powertrain include a new lightweight exhaust system, new intake and exhaust manifolds and reprogramming of the engine’s management system. As for the drivetrain, engineers dropped the kilos by installing lighter front axle and drive shafts and new wheel nuts made from titanium.

For the body, carbon-fiber was used for the undertray, rear-view and side mirror housing, engine cover and rear diffuser. The side and rear glass was replaced with lighter polycarbonate and even the windshield was replaced with a thinner sheet of glass to conserve mass.

On the road