Leaner Gallardo lobs

JUST as Lamborghini’s flagship Murcielago coupe evolved into the even wilder LP640 version, available here since May 2007, so too has the Italian supercar maker’s entry-level Gallardo coupe become the facelifted LP560-4 in Australia.

Revealed at the Geneva motor show in March and on sale here now, the Gallardo LP560-4 is priced $60,007 higher than its predecessor at $475,000.

That’s still a cute $200,678 less than the LP640, but about $15,000 pricier than the Gallardo Roadster. Opt for the E-gear automated manual transmission for a further $27,204, and Lamborghini’s most popular model now carries a pricetag of more than half a million dollars – before options and on-road costs.

Of course, the extra money buys even more of the thrills that made the Gallardo Lamborghini’s most successful model of all time, with about 7100 examples produced at the Sant Agata Bolognese plant since 2003 and more than 100 being sold since February 2004 in Australia, where a rejuvenated Lamborghini has experienced six years of record sales.

Indeed, while the more muscular Murcielago delivers even more performance from its bigger new V12, plus upgraded gearbox and suspension systems to go with its mild cosmetic makeover, the LP560-4 goes further by shedding 20kg of weight to go with its drivetrain and chassis upgrades.

As previously reported, the LP 560-4 wears a subtly new front bumper and headlights with daytime running lights, plus a new rear fascia with LED tail-lights and revised rear air-diffuser, which contributes to a claimed 31 per cent better aerodynamic efficiency.

The real changes lie underneath, however, headlined by a new direct-injection 5.2-litre V10 engine from its Volkswagen Group parent company, similar to that found in the Audi S6 and S8, which share the latest Gallardo’s 540Nm peak torque output.

Naturally, the two-seater Gallardo’s new V10 eclipses both German sedans for outright power, with 412kW (or 560 horsepower, hence the new model nomenclature that breaks Lamborghini naming tradition, which previously represented engine capacity) on tap at a sky-high 8000rpm – 29kW and 30Nm up on the outgoing Gallardo’s 368kW/510Nm 5.0-litre V10.

The LP640’s new 471kW/660Nm 6.5-litre V12 may still represent Lamborghini’s heaviest artillery, by just 59kW and 120Nm, but the Gallardo LP560 is quicker than the old Murcielago and now takes just 0.3 seconds longer to reach 100km/h – in 3.7 seconds versus 3.4. Its top speed is just 15km/h down on the 640 too, at 325km/h.

Despite the extra performance, thanks in part to a lighter 1410kg kerb weight, Lamborghini says fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for the E-gear version, which is also claimed to offer 40 per cent faster gearchanges, have been reduced by no less than 18 per cent, to 13.7L/100km - 1.0L/100km less than the conventional manual version.

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