Classic pearls of the future - Lamborghini Gallardo
02/16/2019
The Lamborghini Gallardo was the late successor to Lamborghini's seventies and eighties sports cars. However, instead of an eight-cylinder engine, it had a longitudinally mounted V10 engine in front of the rear axle with at least 500 hp. The coupé, designed by Luc Donckerwolke, was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2003. Although it had to do without scissor doors, it aptly conveyed the Lamborghini image.
The Spyder, which wore a tight fabric hood, followed in 2005. Performance had already increased somewhat and, in addition to the six-speed manual gearbox with paddle shift, there was also an E-Gear version with an automatic gearbox, which many customers preferred despite the extra charge.
In 2007, the "Superleggera" version appeared, which offered more power but less weight. The following year, the Gallardo underwent a facelift and received an enlarged 5.2 liter engine. As with all Gallardo models, 560 hp was now distributed to the four driven wheels.
Like all Gallardo models? Not quite, because the Balboni Edition was introduced in 2011. This version, dedicated to the legendary test driver Valentino Balboni, who had helped tune practically every Lamborghini since the Miura, had "only" driven rear wheels, 10 hp less (due to a different engine mapping) and, above all, noticeably less weight. This meant that the driving performance of the more powerful models could easily be equalized. Initially planned as a special model, the rear-wheel drive was later also used in other Gallardo versions and played the role of the entry-level variant towards the end of production - another facelift was carried out in 2012.
In November 2013, the last of just over 14,000 Gallardo was built, the successor was called the Huracan. A large proportion went to the States; it feels like 90 percent of the vehicles on the used car market are equipped with the automated E-Gear transmission, although the open splitter gearbox is likely to be very popular with collectors. Prices are still 1/3 to half of the basic prices at the time, and when buying, it is advisable, as always, to buy the best-maintained car, as the maintenance costs can quickly add up to really big money.
The Gallardo is definitely a classic gem, after all it brought rear-wheel drive back to Lamborghini after many years. It also looks good and has that incredibly aggressive-sounding ten-cylinder engine on board ...
