Lamborghini Gallardo

The Lamborghini Gallardo is a sports car built by Lamborghini. The Gallardo is Lamborghini's most-produced model to date, with over 10,000 built in its first seven years of production. The car is named after a famous breed of fighting bull. It competes with the American Chevrolet Corvette, the scintillating Audi R8, the gorgeous SLS AMG, the cool Ferrari Italia, the superfast McLaren MP4-12C, the awesome M6 and the classic 911.

The Gallardo offers two choices of transmissions, a conventional (H-Box) six-speed manual transmission, and an advanced six-speed electro-hydraulically controlled semi-automatic robotized manual, which Lamborghini abbreviates to "E-gear". The "E-gear" allows the driver to make shifts much faster than a manual transmission would. The driver shifts up and down via paddles behind the steering wheel, but can also change into automatic mode.

For the MY2006 (launched in late 2005) Lamborghini introduced many changes to the car to counter some criticisms garnered from the press and owners. These were derived from the limited edition Gallardo SE. The exhaust system was changed to a more sporty one (including a flap to make it quieter around town), the suspension was revised and a new steering rack was fitted, the engine power was increased by 20 bhp to a maximum of 512 brake horsepower (382 kW), the biggest change was an overall lowering of the gearing especially in 1st to 5th. The result was a much improved car; it handled and turned better, sounded better under full throttle and the extra power and lower gearing turned an already fast car into a seriously quick one.

The Audi R8 sports car, launched in early 2007, is based on the Gallardo platform, and uses a 4.2 litre V8 in place of the Gallardo's V10 to avoid competing directly with the Gallardo. In December 2008, Audi unveiled a V10 Audi R8, with a detuned version of the Gallardo's engine, placed between the R8 V8 and the Gallardo.

For the 2008 model year, features added to the Gallardo included an onboard computer, iPod connectivity with USB, heated mirrors, Q-citura stitching that originally could only be found on the Nera model, and a beige soft-top on the Spyder.

Replacement

With the launch of the Aventador to replace the Murcielago, rumours of replacing the Gallardo is high on the agenda. Lamborghini announced that the Gallardo would be replaced with a car named the Cabrera which may pack a V10 packing a possible 592 brake horsepower (441 kW; 600 PS). The Cabrera will also feature Carbon Fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts that will help to reduce the car’s total weight. Four-Wheel drive is also being considered. The clarified name would be 'Cabrera LP600-4'.

Specifications

Models	Coupe 2003-2005	SE (2005)	Spyder 2006-2008	Nera (2007), Coupe 2006-2008	Superleggera (2007–2008)	LP 560-4	LP 560-4 Spyder	LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni rear wheel drive	LP 570-4 Superleggera
Engine
Type	4,961 cc (4.961 L; 302.7 cu in) V10 40 valves DOHC					5,204 cc (5.204 L; 317.6 cu in) V10 40 valves DOHC
Power@rpm	500 PS (368 kW; 493 hp)@7800	520 PS (382 kW; 513 hp)@8000			530 PS (390 kW; 523 hp)@8000	560 PS (412 kW; 552 hp)@8000		550 PS (405 kW; 542 hp)@8000	570 PS (419 kW; 562 hp)@8000
Torque@rpm	509.8 N·m (376.0 lb·ft)@4500		509.8 N·m (376.0 lb·ft)@4250			539 N·m (398 lb·ft)@6500
Performance
0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) (sec)	4.2	4.0	4.3	4.0	3.8	3.7 3.2+ (R&T)	4.0	3.9	3.4
0 to 200 km/h (120 mph) (sec)	14.0	13.6	14.3	13.6	12.4	11.8	13.1	?	10.2
1/4 mile	12.4 s @ 118 mph (190 km/h)	12.1 s @ 120 mph (190 km/h)	-	12.1 s @ 120 mph (190 km/h)	11.7 s @ 123 mph (198 km/h)	11.2 s @ 129.5 mph (208.4 km/h) (R&T) 11.9s @ 120.5 mph (193.9 km/h) (MT)	-	11.5s @ 126.7 mph (203.9 km/h) (R&T) 11.5s @ 125.6 mph (202.1 km/h)	-
Top speed	309 km/h (192 mph)	314 km/h (195 mph)	314 km/h (195 mph)	314 km/h (195 mph)	315 km/h (196 mph)	325 km/h (202 mph)	324 km/h (201 mph)	320 km/h (200 mph)	325 km/h (202 mph)

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