- Ten years of an Italian Icon
- The ‘most sold’ Lamborghini super sports car
- Still best in class with record lap times
Sant’Agata Bolognese, 25.11.2013 — 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 the
Lamborghini 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.