- TEN YEARS OF AN ITALIAN ICON
- THE ‘MOST SOLD’ LAMBORGHINI SUPER SPORTS CAR
- STILL BEST IN CLASS WITH RECORD LAP TIMES
26/11/2013.- In the historic factory buildings of Sant’Agata Bolognese, the last Lamborghini Gallardo has left the production line. The final model is a Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante in Rosso Mars (red) and it is destined for a private collector. With a total of 14,022 units the Gallardo is not only by far the most-built Lamborghini, it ranks among the most successful super sports cars — and has long since established itself as an icon of Italian design and the art of automotive engineering.
With its appearance ten years ago in the year of the company’s 40th anniversary, the Gallardo marked a fundamental watershed in the history of Automobili Lamborghini. In Lamborghini’s first four decades, an average of just 250 Lamborghinis were built per year. In the decade of the Gallardo, production grew to a whole new dimension with volumes of around 2,000 cars per year on average — while, in global terms, retaining the highly
exclusive nature of vehicles bearing the badge of the bull. In keeping with theLamborghini tradition, the name of the Gallardo too was derived from the world of bullfighting. Bred in the 18th century, the Gallardo bloodline was known for its exceptional courage and undaunted nature.
The great career of the Lamborghini Gallardo began in 2003 at the Geneva Motor Show. Its unique, extreme design, created by the Centro Stile Lamborghini, phenomenal dynamics and outstanding quality formed the basis for its enormous and enduring success over a whole decade. The Gallardo’s technical concept was compelling from day one: systematic lightweight design through an aluminum space frame; the combined power and highrevving characteristics of the ten-cylinder naturally aspirated engine; the Lamborghini e-gear, a completely new robotized sequential gear shifting system; and, finally, the amazing handling and safety provided by permanent all-wheel drive.
This notwithstanding, an enhancement in the driving experience was already in the pipeline – the open-air driving thrill of the Gallardo Spyder, which joined the lineup in 2005. The Gallardo Superleggera came along in 2007. With its reduced weight, thanks to a large number of carbon fiber components, its output increased to 530 hp and with its purist design, pushed the performance benchmark yet another notch higher.
The second generation of the Gallardo arrived in 2008. With a redesigned front and rear, a new engine with gasoline direct injection and 560 hp, plus further-enhanced equipment, the Gallardo LP 560-4 proved that even an excellent product can be improved. The second-generation Spyder was also delivered to its first customers in 2008. The new version of the Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera followed in 2010 with an increase in output to 570 hp, this time also as the open-top Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante. Occupying another niche in the broad spectrum of Gallardo versions were the LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni limited edition and the LP 550-2 Spyder: with their rearwheel drive, they appealed to a particularly purist group of sports car fans.
The pinnacle of sporting performance among the total of 32 Gallardo variants was marked by the Super Trofeo Stradale and, finally, the Gallardo Squadra Corse. They draw a direct line from the competition version in the world’s fasted single-brand race series, the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, to the road. The LP 570-4 Squadra Corse, in particular, demonstrated in several comparison tests just how outstanding the Gallardo still is. In specialist magazines from Quattroruote in Italy, through Car in the United Kingdom to Sport Auto in Germany, the Gallardo continued to prove right up to the end of its career that it was still the clear frontrunner in terms of performance, handling and driving pleasure, setting a best-in-class lap time in Hockenheim (Germany) and record lap times in Balocco and Vairano (Italy).
The Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse boasts a dry weight of 1340 kilograms, 70 less than the already lean Gallardo LP 560-4. With a stunning power-toweight ratio of 2.35 kilograms per hp it delivers breathtaking performance: from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, from 0 to 200 km/h in just 10.4 seconds. Top speed is 320 km/h. The carbon ceramic brake system guarantees unmatched stopping power.
The Lamborghini Gallardo was sold in more than 45 countries across the globe. In true Italian style, the Gallardo offered an exceptionally high range of choices for individualization. Via the ‘‘Ad Personam’’ program, each and every customer was able to have his Lamborghini V10 super sports car perfectly tailored to suit his own preferences. A whole decade of production also brought with it a wide array of special editions, often exclusive to specific markets, like the Singapore, Malaysia, China and India Editions. One particularly exclusive version of the super sports car gained global prominence through its very special service record: several units were built of the Gallardo Polizia Stradale with blue lights, special paintwork and dedicated equipment. Two are currently in service with the Italian State Police.
The Gallardo continues to prove its motorsport competence, racing in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo. Alongside European race tracks, this fascinating one make series has now also conquered the circuits of Asia and North America with its own series in those regions. The Gallardo GT3 has also celebrated numerous successes at sports car races around the globe.
In the year of Automobili Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary, the Gallardo success story has now come to an end with car number 14,022. Almost half of all 30,000 Lamborghinis built since the company was first founded in 1963, are Gallardos.
More information:
Text: Lamborghini
Photograph: Umberto Guizzardi
