2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Review

[StoleIt]

By Jonny Lieberman
October 14, 2008 - 1 views




Dig to the bottom of our current fiscal nightmare and you’ll discover an oddball type of derivative that Warren Buffet famously termed, “financial weapons of mass destruction.” Also known as Credit Default Swaps (CDS). Essentially, it’s a bet that a bad investment will fail. A strange type of insurance to be sure, where the purchaser of said CDS isn’t required to have anything to do with what’s being insured. Oh, and it’s a $55 trillion market. Er, was. And because of Gordon Gekko-huffing-PCP style greed, all of our 401ks have been halved. If not worse. Maybe the Adderall-addicted pukes that tanked our economy were trying to accumulate enough cash to buy a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4? While I can’t forgive ‘em, I do understand.

As you may or may not know, the LP560-4 has both an exterior and an interior. Got it? Moving on.

The sick thing about the latest, greatest Gallardo is that you’d have as much fun thrashing it down your favorite road as you would sitting in a closed garage and kicking the throttle. If cleanliness is next to Godliness, the LP560-4 makes the single filthiest noise I’ve ever heard. That’s what you get when ten cylinders and forty valves are all exploding 142 times per second twelve-inches from your neck. Utterly devilish. Here’s one for your bucket list: driving this raging bull through a tunnel with the windows down and the tach pegged at eight grand. Even I’m jealous of me.

The LP560-4’s all new 5.2-liter V10 now sports direct injection and variable valve timing that together increase fuel economy while cutting emissions. Who bloody cares? All that matters is the fact that your right foot is now in command of 552 merciless horsepower and 398 lb-ft of ruthless twist. Even better, redline is 8,500 rpm. Hey, if peak oil and chronic global warming are really here, best to go down swinging. Or is that swigging?

As you may imagine, this car is fast. Like, stupid fast. Yes you can hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds on your way to a top speed of 202 mph. But all supercars do that. What so blows your frigging mind is when you’re under the impression you’re jogging along at 75 mph when in reality you’re doing a buck thirty. Velocity becomes so effortless– and the Gallardo LP560-4 is so firmly planted and composed– that you might as well be having tea.

I’ll come back to the maniac acceleration in a moment: first I have to explain Lambo’s new e-gear transmission. It’s a paddle-shifted affair, though you can run around in full auto. Which sucks. However, one tug on a lever and you’re in control of the gears, which is actually pretty good. Of course pressing “Sport” is much better, as the shifts happen much faster. There’s a new button that reads “Corsa” and it happens to be best of all because gears get swapped via angry gunpowder. BANG! I say, BANG! Don’t believe me? My driving companion got whiplash. Corsa’s that wonderfully violent.

Back to acceleration. We found a very straight and even emptier stretch of road to “test” Corsa. Up until this point we’d been going relatively easy on our borrowed $222k Italian plaything. Not here. I activated Corsa, deactivated the ESP and by mashing the gas pedal inadvertently activated launch mode where the $20k optional carbon ceramic brakes hold the car until the revs hit 5,000. Then sheer lunacy broke loose. Honestly, NASA could learn a thing or two about defeating inertia from this Gallardo. The combination of the skin being tugged from your skull and Satan’s trumpet blasting your ear acts as an adrenaline pump. It’s physically addictive.

Oh yes– handling. That’s superb, too. Thrust is split 30/70 front to rear through the AWD system. There’s also the aluminum intensive chassis and body: together they engender a power-to-weight ratio that rivals Napoleon. We never approached the car’s limits, but even at (maybe) 6/10 we constantly giggled. The rest of the time was spent shaking our heads in skeptical disbelief. Why? Because when diving into 45 mph turns at more than 90 mph you realize you could be doing 120 mph. Best of all, the LP560-4’s attitude becomes both more responsive and eager when the nanny’s sent packing. I mentioned the addictive thing, right?

I ran into Tanner Foust at the Formula Drift Championship that afternoon. He’d recently driven a LP560-4 around Italy for a week. We compared notes. His biggest beef with the newest Lamborghini is that in America, people look and assume you’re a cock. When Mr. Faust was in Italy, the citizens literally got out of their cars and clapped as he roared by. We should follow the Italians’ lead here, as the LP560-4 is a masterpiece. Bravo sirs. Bravo indeed.





http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/200...p560-4-review/

[wabmorgan]

That is one SHARP car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spoolin]

Damn!!!

[Tainted]

lambo always makes the badass shit. to hell with ferrari

[geetee500]

Lambo is for rockstars, Ferrari is for racecar drivers!

[StoleIt]

Originally Posted by geetee500

Lambo is for rockstars, Ferrari is for racecar drivers!

You really believe that?



Lets see...the Ferrari 360 was a dawg. The F430 loses to a standard Gallardo. Finally Ferrari had to make the Scud to get anything decent for under 1/2 a million.


The Lp640 beats any of the V12 Ferrari's in production.







Lamborghini doesn't have as celebrated of a racing pedigree as Ferrari, but that doesn't mean its not there.

[Tainted]

plus theres a lot more ferraris than a lamborghini

[VENGEANCE]

Lambo > Ferrari. If im buying a car for above 200k It better garner the most looks and have some balls to back it up. If you read ferrarichat or any forums for high end cars, all the guys who own both F430's and Gallardos all say their lambos get way more looks than their ferraris.

So lets be honest, if you didnt care to have people look at your car you would have just stayed in your camaro.

Dont get me wrong I love an F430 or a Scuderia by themselves, but Id rather lay the cash down on a Gallardo or a Murcielago.

[2000Hawk]

Lambo Reventon > Every Ferrari Ever Made

-Joel

[SSNISTR]

Originally Posted by StoleIt

You really believe that?



Lets see...the Ferrari 360 was a dawg. The F430 loses to a standard Gallardo. Finally Ferrari had to make the Scud to get anything decent for under 1/2 a million.


The Lp640 beats any of the V12 Ferrari's in production.







Lamborghini doesn't have as celebrated of a racing pedigree as Ferrari, but that doesn't mean its not there.

The LP640 is not any quicker then the 599. And guess what one is much more usable? And you say the 360 was a dog? It was probably one of the most celebrated F cars of the past decade. I hope your not magazine racing and going by just straight line crap.

Lambo has no racing heritage for a reason, they suck. They tried F1 and bombed out. The same thing goes for sports car racing. That Murc you show above was a total, complete flop.

Nothing Lambo makes handles to satify a good driver, until they make a RWD car again.

When buying these cars it's not just about going straight. These cars are built for the turns. And the F cars always beat up on the L cars. There is a reason you see F cars, not lLcars at track days. L cars are for posers.

[SSNISTR]

Originally Posted by 2000Hawk

Lambo Reventon > Every Ferrari Ever Made

-Joel

I think that thing is ugly as sin, and I saw one in person. Horrid looking. I'd rather a regular LP640.

[SSNISTR]

Originally Posted by geetee500

Lambo is for rockstars, Ferrari is for racecar drivers!

+1 man. Where are the winning Lambo F1 and sports cars? Oh yeah, they don't have any.


Lambo just isn't the same since Audi controls them. I miss the Countach and Diablo!

[StoleIt]

Originally Posted by SSNISTR

The LP640 is not any quicker then the 599. And guess what one is much more usable? And you say the 360 was a dog? It was probably one of the most celebrated F cars of the past decade. I hope your not magazine racing and going by just straight line crap.

I raced a 360 in our old 03 C5 Vert auto, and it had 1 car on me by 80. Stock vs stock. So how is it not a dog? Every F-Car is celebrated. There are so many damn Ferrari fan boys out there they can slap their logo on a laptop and sell a million of them.


Oh wait...

Originally Posted by SSNISTR

Lambo has no racing heritage for a reason, they suck. They tried F1 and bombed out. The same thing goes for sports car racing. That Murc you show above was a total, complete flop.

Lamborghini developed the Murciélago R-GT as a production racing car to compete in the FIA GT Championship, the Super GT Championship and the American Le Mans Series in 2004. Their highest placing in any race that year was the opening round of the FIA GT Championship at Valencia, where the car entered by Reiter Engineering finished third from a fifth-place start.[16] [17] In 2006 during the opening round of the Super GT championship at Suzuka, a car run by the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club garnered the first victory (in class) by an R-GT.

And

A Murciélago R-GT entered by All-Inkl.com racing, driven by Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke, won the opening round of the FIA GT Championship held at Zhuhai International Circuit, achieving the first major international race victory for Lamborghini.

So a Championship win...doesn't sound like a flop to me.

Originally Posted by SSNISTR

Nothing Lambo makes handles to satify a good driver, until they make a RWD car again.

When buying these cars it's not just about going straight. These cars are built for the turns. And the F cars always beat up on the L cars. There is a reason you see F cars, not lLcars at track days. L cars are for posers.

As much as I hate to "magazine race" since I have no first hand experience driving around in these cars here is some proof:

Around the Nurburgring:
7:40 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
7:47 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

Around the Top Gear test track:
1:19.8 – Lamborghini Murciélago LP640
1:21.2 – Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

1:22.9 – Ferrari F430 F1
1:25.8 – Lamborghini Gallardo (wet, subtract 4 seconds for dry time)


But when you get down to it, if your stuck between the decision of buying a Lambo or a Ferrari...then your still a lucky SOB. It will always be down to personal preferance. Ford vs Chevy. Domestic vs Import. Lamborghin vs Ferrari.

[Spoolin]

Originally Posted by 2000Hawk

Lambo Reventon > Every Ferrari Ever Made

-Joel

It's about time we agree on something!

[SSNISTR]

Originally Posted by StoleIt

I raced a 360 in our old 03 C5 Vert auto, and it had 1 car on me by 80. Stock vs stock. So how is it not a dog? Every F-Car is celebrated. There are so many damn Ferrari fan boys out there they can slap their logo on a laptop and sell a million of them.

Here we go again, so you raced a 360 and it had a car on you by 80. So once again, we are talking about straight line racing. It still beat a C5, and it wasn't it's strong suit. How is that a "dog"? I guess a C5 is a real dog then? And what you did, as I said, is not a F cars strong suit now is it? So that arguement means nothing really. It's like saying my car can beat a Porsche. So what? I'll take the 911!

Originally Posted by StoleIt

Lamborghini developed the Murciélago R-GT as a production racing car to compete in the FIA GT Championship, the Super GT Championship and the American Le Mans Series in 2004. Their highest placing in any race that year was the opening round of the FIA GT Championship at Valencia, where the car entered by Reiter Engineering finished third from a fifth-place start.[16] [17] In 2006 during the opening round of the Super GT championship at Suzuka, a car run by the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club garnered the first victory (in class) by an R-GT.

Exactly, a flop.

Originally Posted by StoleIt

And

A Murciélago R-GT entered by All-Inkl.com racing, driven by Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mücke, won the opening round of the FIA GT Championship held at Zhuhai International Circuit, achieving the first major international race victory for Lamborghini.

So a Championship win...doesn't sound like a flop to me.

It one the OPENING round, one race, not the championship. So they won, one race with it. A flop....

Originally Posted by StoleIt

As much as I hate to "magazine race" since I have no first hand experience driving around in these cars here is some proof:



But when you get down to it, if your stuck between the decision of buying a Lambo or a Ferrari...then your still a lucky SOB. It will always be down to personal preferance. Ford vs Chevy. Domestic vs Import. Lamborghini vs Ferrari.

How is that proof? Your comparing a front engined GT car to a mid engined sports car? How about we compare the Enzo if you wanna go that route? The fact that a front engined GT car, that can carry a full trunks worth of stuff and two people in comfort is barely beat on a track by that is impressive if you ask me. And I have seen other tests where the 599 beat it, like at the Laguna Seca MT test and Evo's at Silverstone. Even with it's disadvantages.

But since you like magazine stats here ya go:

From Road & Track.

599:
0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds
0-100 in 7.0 seconds
quarter-mile of 11.2 seconds at 129.3 mph
0.97g on the skidpad.

LP640:
0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds
0-100 in 7.8
quarter-mile of 11.6 seconds at 125.4 mph
0.96g on the skidpad.

I agree it's Ford vs Chevy, but on a higher level.

But to say Lamborghini has any racing heritage is kinda a joke. And IMO Audi has KILLED them. I loved the Countach and Diablo. These new ones just aren't the same....AWD and a sports car just doesn't go.

Anyway, no harm done here. Just having some fun! I guess I'm the Chevy guy and your the Ford guy in this one though lol.

[2000_SS]

Lamborghini > all

the Diablo 6.0 is the reason i got into cars, Murcielago is the reason i'm still here my goal in life is to be a destitute, homeless, single, self-loathing hermit...that has a paid-for Murcielago....worst case scenario that is...

[SSNISTR]

Originally Posted by 2000_SS

Lamborghini > all

the Diablo 6.0 is the reason i got into cars, Murcielago is the reason i'm still here my goal in life is to be a destitute, homeless, single, self-loathing hermit...that has a paid-for Murcielago....worst case scenario that is...

Diablo 6.0 is hot, no doubt! But the Murcielago is just a fancy Audi. All the switch gear is from a older A6.

[boosted4life]

Originally Posted by StoleIt

The Lp640 beats any of the V12 Ferrari's in production.

maybe so, but the greenbeast supra beats an Lp640.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/S...-in_146327.htm

still, im down for owning any lambo, where do I sign up?

[Spoolin]

Originally Posted by boosted4life

maybe so, but the greenbeast supra beats an Lp640.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/S...-in_146327.htm

still, im down for owning any lambo, where do I sign up?

I had not seen that one before...that is siiicckkk!!! Talk about f'ing turbo lag though!!

[The Alchemist]

If I'm going to drop $200k on a car for racing, I'm going to do it right,



Ok Ok, so I can't buy a c6r, how about a c6rs....???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su8F4...eature=related