Lamborghini Gallardo 2008 News

A rear-drive Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder has just arrived for Australia, joining the similar 550-2 Coupe that already opens the action for the Italian brand. The new roadster comes in at $50,000 than the existing 550-4 Spyder a price point that's already winning interest from supercar shoppers. "When you consider thje price difference it makes it quite interesting. We're expecting to get it in the first quarter of the new year," says Martin Roller, one of the Lamborghini agents for Australia. "There will be around 10 cars for Australia for next year." But Roller, from Brisbane, says the Gallardo Spyder is more than just another low-volume Italian exotic. "It's the beginning of a new age for Lamborghini in Australia. In the past the brand perhaps hasn't had the justice it has deserved," he says. "There are lots of positive signs. The Aventador is hot and the Gallardo is going well." Lamborghini has recently changed its distributors in Sydney and Brisbane and is about to crank up the involvement from its Asia-Pacific headquarters in China. It has even shipped cars to Australia for test programs with potential buyers. The Spyder is too new for a widespread push but it has the right combination of price and position for success, with total worldwide sales of the Gallardo closing on 12,000 cars. Lamborghini focussed on driving enjoyment in the new Spyder, claiming extensive modifications in concentrating on the rear-wheel drive. There is a new suspension package and even the aerodynamics were tweaked for the new weight and power distribution. The car has a locking rear differential, with a Corsa program to give larger drift angles, although it is not available with a manual gearbox, just the E-Gear system. The car's 5.2-litre V10 engine makes 405 kiloWatts and, with a weight of 1520 kilograms, that means a top speed of 319km/h and a 0-100km/h sprint in 4.2 seconds.

The car used for the world's fastest one-make production car race series has been tuned for the street with the launch of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Stradale. The 5.2-litre V10 is a 420kW/540Nm missle that hits 100km/h just 2.8 seconds after launch. Company CEO Stephan Winkelmann calls the combination of lightweight construction, edgy styling  and outright power "performance art". Exclusivity is guaranteed with only 150 examples to be built. If that's too common for you, the Sesto Elemento concept car has been confirmed as a low-volume production model. Low volume for Lamborghini is 20 cars ... with an estimated price of around $2.8 million each and a 0-100km/h time of 2.5 seconds. The Sesto Elemento (Italian for sixth element) uses the same engine as the Super Trofeo Stradale but extensive use of carbon firbe and kevlar trims weight by around 280kg.

First unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March, the successor to the hugely successful Murcielago, redefines super sports car parameters. The Aventador boasts brutal power, outstanding lightweight engineering, and phenomenal handling precision to deliver an unparalleled driving experience. Named after a particularly courageous Spanish Bull, this beast boasts a 6.5-litre V12 engine and produces a phenomenal 515kW of power and 690Nm of torque. The spectacular looking coupe, complete with the Lamborghini scissor doors, has been described as an avant-garde work of art with its extreme razor sharp lines and taut surfaces. Inspiration from modern aeronautics is evident from the front spoiler to the rear diffuser on the exterior while the interior boasts a next generation TFT-LCD instrument display. The carbon fibre monocoque chassis ensures extreme rigidity and outstanding driving precision and safety. The exceptional lightweight engineering of the monocoque ensures that the kerb weight is kept to just 1575kg resulting in some mind blowing performance figures. Through its permanent four wheel drive system the 7-speed Aventador accelerates at 0-100km/h in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of 350km/h. “The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 is two generations ahead in terms of design and technology.” Andrew Smith, managing director of Lamborghini Melbourne said after driving the car recently on the Vallelunga circuit near Rome. “The Aventador is a truly exceptional package of design, style and technical perfection. Its performance is simply astonishing and is unrivalled in the super sports car arena.” Mr Smith said. “The Aventador looks amazing in photographs, but this is nothing to seeing it in person. I’m sure the visitors to the Australian International Motor Show are going to love it.” Australian International Motor Show event director Russ Tyrie says that the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 is the sort of vehicle that motor shows are traditionally about. “There is no greater drawcard for a motor show than a spectacular, brand new, never-seen-in-Australia super sports car” Mr Tyrie said. “To have such an important and impressive supercar unveiled locally so soon after its global unveiling is very exciting for the Australian International Motor Show.” The Australian International Motor Show opens at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre at 6pm on Friday 1 July, and runs until Sunday 10 July.

The replacement for the Gallardo has been spotted several times and now speculation in Europe is shifting to the name. Jota - a name from the past - is widely tipped but Lamborghini is always looking to the future these days, so the car could easily wear different badges once the camouflage in this Carparazzi picture is stripped away.

It's 15kg lighter than a Porsche Boxster and, at a mind-altering 419kW, is almost twice as powerful into the bargain.  The weight? It’s just 1343kg – about the same as a Mercedes-Benz B Class. And four times the power. It’s the kind of car that puts nearly all other cars – even the desirable ones – nicely in perspective, don’t you think?  Superleggera is Italian for ‘super lightweight’ which, in concert with the staggering performance from the familiar – albeit tweaked – 5.2-litre V10 engine, gives the newest, lightest and baddest Lambo in the shed absolutely unassailable performance credentials. That makes it 90kg lighter than the previous jaw-droppingly impressive LP560-4 Superleggera. And 28kW more powerful.  Most of the lost weight is attributable to an even greater investment in carbon fibre, although some has been trimmed by making the aluminium wheels even lighter. A real highlight with this car is the massive-worked front air intakes, obviously inspired by another incomprehensibly dramatic Lambo – the fighter jet-inspired Reventon.  If that’s not enough to ensure standing room only around the Lamborghini stand for the duration of the Motor Show, Lamborghini will also showcase the new Gallardo 560-4 Spyder and the 550-2 (2WD) supercars, the latter of which, with a stupendous 405kW driving just two wheels, was inspired by Valentino Balboni, Lamborghini’s legendary test driver. Balboni served the company for 40 years in perhaps the world’s most enviable job, before retiring in October 2008. He started his career at Lamborghini in 1968 as a mechanic before a personal request by the founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, saw him test driving the cars for a living. He reportedly drove 80 per cent of all Lamborghinis ever made. He continues to work for the company today, as a consultant.

Europeans tore themselves away from exotic supercars to catch a close-up glimpse of the Nano, a tiny, basic and extremely cheap runabout which promises to turn the motoring world on its head.

You can have them all for a fraction of the price.P1 is a multi-million dollar version of a car-rental company but you need to be quick if you want to be a part of the action.Less than a year after launching its Melbourne office, memberships in the exclusive and expensive rental company are running out.More than 135 Australians have signed up and the company will limit its membership to 200 to make sure there are enough cars to go around.“We'll never go above 200 members,” says James Ward, general manager of P1 in Victoria, “basically to maintain a ratio of five new members for each new car.”Though only 29 vehicles are spread across the company's three Australian locations — in Richmond, Sydney and the Gold Coast — the quality of the cars and motorbikes has seen the company lay out $29 million on equipment.Set up by former Formula One world champion Damon Hill in 2000 in Britain, the club came to Australia in December 2006. The Richmond branch opened last March.Members can join for $4550 and pay annual charges ranging from $27,000 to $36,500 to have access to a dream garage.P1's roster includes three examples of the Lamborghini Gallardo, a Lamborghini Murcielago, Ferrari 430, Ferrari 575M, Aston Martin DB9, Bentley GT Continental, Porsche 997 GT3, Porsche Cayman S, Audi RS4 Avant, Lotus Exige, Hummer H2, and a Ducati 1098 and BMW K1200 for bikers.Packages give customers a bank of points to use through the year.As is befitting the cost, the company offers a range of services. They drop off the cars anywhere they are required and can store and wash the customer's personal car.“It's as much about the car as it is about the service,” Ward says . “It's whatever suits our customers.” 

A worldwide crackdown on emissions and economy will not hurt Lamborghini, according to the chief executive of the Italian brand.Stephan Winkelmann, who heads Lamborghini for the Audi group in Europe, says this year is already a sellout and Australian sales will probably be up almost 50 per cent on the 45 cars delivered last year.He says his company is booming and he is not worried about future emission standards.“Apart from the question of what is environmentally acceptable now and in five years, there is the question of social acceptability,” Winkelmann says.“Lamborghini means power and power means emissions".“But our cars are not driven regularly from point A to point B. Realistically, our emissions impact is zero.”During a brief trip to Sydney on a visit to the Asia-Pacific region— including the booming Chinese and Indian markets — Winkelmann says support for Lamborghini has never been better.He reports a record result for last year, with more than 2400 sales, dominated by a 75 per cent share for the Gallardo.But Lamborghini will never fight Ferrari for sales supremacy in the supercar class.“If you do that you destroy the dream; no one wants to buy your cars,” he says.“We are a two-model brand. Worldwide the average waiting time for delivery is 12 months, no longer than 18.”That, he says, ensures anticipation without causing frustration.It also guarantees the brand's elite status, which in turn should favour Lamborghini when the European Union's new emission standards come into effect in 2010.Because Lamborghini is a subsidiary of a subsidiary — owned by Audi, which is part of the giant Volkswagen Group — the parent companies will absorb the emission targets with their more mundane and fuel-efficient models.This will leave Lamborghini free to produce its immensely powerful V10 Gallardos and V12 Murcielagos.Winkelmann says Lamborghini has no interest in copying Audi's decision to fit a V12 diesel engine into its R8 supercar in addition to the existing V8 petrol powerplant, or to move into petrol-electric hybrids, despite Porsche's commitment to a hybrid in its forthcoming Panamera flagship.Indeed, Lamborghini's current elderly V12 — which is several decades old — may be produced beyond the current model cycle after some refinements in efficiency.Winkelmann says Lamborghini is a motoring icon, which ensures public goodwill and should help in the negotiations over emissions.“My own car is a Gallardo Superleggera and as I drive this much more often than a typical owner, I have a feeling of how people think of it,” he says.When driving around, he gets a lot of feedback.“With this car it is always this,” he says, giving a thumbs-up sign.“And never this”, giving the thumbs-down. 

Stephan Winkelmann spoke to carsguide during the Sydney stopover of his meet and greet tour of Asia-Pacific, which also takes in the burgeoning Chinese and Indian markets; the region Lamborghini has identified as its biggest potential market.Locally, 2007's 46 Australian Lamborghini sales figure is likely to increase by almost 50 per cent this year. Local dealers would sell more if they could get them, but the worldwide production for 2008 is already spoken for.Despite a record 2007 which saw more than 2400 sales, some 75 per cent of which were Gallardos, Winkelmann is adamant the marque will never pursue Ferrari figures.“If you do that you destroy the dream, no one is wishing to buy your cars,” he says. “We are a two model brand. Worldwide the average waiting time for delivery is 12 months, no longer than 18.”That, Winkelmann says, is about the right amount to guarantee anticipation without frustration. It also guarantees the brand's elite status, which in turn should favour Lamborghini when the European Union's new emission standards come into effect in 2010.“Lamborghini means power and power means emissions,” Winkelmann says. “But our cars are not those that are driven regularly from point A to point B. Realistically our emissions impact is zero.”Because Lamborghini is a subsidiary of a subsidiary (it's owned by the Volkswagen Group-controlled Audi marque) the parent companies would absorb the emission targets leaving Lamborghini free to produce its immensely powerful V10 Gallardos and V12 Murcielagos. There is no interest in emulating the V12 diesel version of Audi's R8, nor it seems, much acknowledgement of the hybrids recently vaunted by Porsche.Indeed, the current V12, a venerable device that traces it origins back several decades, will continue possibly beyond the current model cycle, albeit with some refinements in terms of efficiency. Surety is further provided by Lamborghini's status as a heritage icon, something Winkelmann is satisfied that not only European Union commissioners comprehend, but which translates to public goodwill.“Apart from the question of what is environmentally acceptable now and in five years, there is also the question of social acceptability,” he says.“My own car is a Gallardo Superleggera and as I drive this much more often than a typical owner, I have a feeling of how people think of it."“With this car it is always this,” Winkelmann says giving a thumbs up, “and never this,” giving the thumbs down.