DHA Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 First I shall begin with some figures: £140,000 5.0 Litres 10 cylinders 513bhp 0-100 in 9 seconds The reason I had the Lamborghini Gallardo Spider was pure and simple; I wanted a car that would make the Le Mans 2007 trip even more memorable. In fact taking a super car to Le Mans this year was the main reason I joined écurie 25 It is difficult to know where to start when describing this car, it is the first true supercar that I have ever driven. So I shall start as I did with the looks. When I first saw the car I was amazed. It is in fact a short car and the dark grey metallic paint does emphasise this lack of length. The bodywork is a mass of sharp edges and cut lines in the panels. Small little details all over the bodywork show that a lot of thought and effort has gone into producing a beautiful car in keeping with the roots of Lamborghini even if they are now owned by Audi. From every angle the car looks stunning, tight and muscular with a real road presence. In grey it might not shout “LAMBO” at the top of its voice compared to say a bright green example but people do still look and then they see the badge and their gaze remains on the car for many seconds more. Whilst driving through France the number of photos people took from their cars, not only Brits but many French people, was amazing however it must be added that both myself and Winton being in the car may have boosted the photo count somewhat. Many waves and smiles came from drivers and pedestrians alike as we made our way down to La Sarthe. One thing that dominates the car, both in mass and aural presence, is the engine. The 5 litre V10 produces two things – 513bhp and a glorious noise. At 3,500rpm a flap in the exhaust opens and then the fun really begins. It is difficult to put into words but I shall try, at low revs there is a deep muscular burble and then this just builds and builds to an almighty roar. To quote my co-pilot “it sounds like you are in a race car”. We went through some tunnels on the trip and inside these when the engine was pulling is sounded amazing, a dip of the clutch then a press on the accelerator produce more pleasure. I would describe the noise as verging on erotic. The pull from the engine is un-ending up to the rev limiter. The car just keeps going and going. One thing that I could feel was how heavy the car was, not as bad as the DB9 as this had a far better suspension setup but it was not a car that could be thrown into the bends and you needed a slow in fast(ish) out approach in the twistier bits. The interior was beautifully finished. Black leather with grey stitching, an open metal gear gate, nice Audi switchgear all added up to an interior worthy of a car in this price bracket – something that a previous hire (DB9) sadly did not do. One nice touch is that even with the roof up the rear window can be lowered so you can hear more of the noise. So are there any downsides? Well the luggage space is very small, but then again I wouldn’t expect a cavernous boot in a supercar but a weekend bag does fit in the front boot. The 90 litre fuel tank was costly to fill, couple that with our 16.2mpg for the trip means you need a lot of money to run this car but if you have paid £140,000 then I suspect you wouldn’t really mind. And to be honest I don’t think you can let money get in the way of that noise! The Gallardo was incredibly easy to drive, a light clutch and relatively easy gear change (expect moving across the gate from 2nd to 3rd and 4th to 5th which was difficult to get right) made it easy to move around in traffic. Visibility was a little poor out the back but can you expect anything different from a mid-engined sports car? The performance this car has is astounding, it doesn’t feel extremely fast when you drive it – perhaps I was numbed by the sensation of speed after a few days – but looking down at the speedo and 3 figures are very rapidly seen on the dial. So did I like it? To put it simply yes. In fact I loved it. Here is the rub, this is better than any Porsche (997 GT3 included) I have driven. It bowled me over far more than the GT3 did and couple that with how easy it was to drive you could use this far more on an everyday basis that you could the GT3. If I had the funds to own one then it would be on the drive, no question about it. Some lasting memories of this car are the clack clack as you raced up through the gears, the baaarrrrrr the engine makes in the upper rev range, making a small child jump back at the side of the road after he asked me to rev it for him, the attention that the car got which was all positive (try that in a Ferrari!). Quite simply a stunning car which I fell in love with over the few days I had it. There are two words to sum this car up automobile bello So the écurie league table as it stands….. 1- Lamborghini Gallardo Spider 2- Porsche 997 GT3 3- BMW M5 4- Aston Martin DB9 The Gallardo was for me a more fun car overall than the GT3, you couldn’t drive as fast in the bends with the Gallardo as it did feel heavy at times but the pace and noise added up to what I felt was an overall better car. Not by a long margin, but enough to get me to place it above the GT3. Now where is my lottery ticket………….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Another cracking review of a stunning car. The noise it makes is spine tingling, if you win with that lottery ticket I think its only fair you do a tour of the UK to take us all for a drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Sounds magic Dave. A mate of mine up the road has a yellow gallardo (tin top) and the noise, as you rightly point out, is nothing short of amazing. The best way to describe it is Formula 1 like, but minus the decibels. I love the look of it.. it's almost the thinking man's ferrari. It's held in great esteem, and true petrol heads love it for what it is. At £140,000 it is way out of my reach, and maybe why you place it above a GT3, but even so.. for those that can stretch that far, they must have a grin from ear to ear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 DHA. Nice reveiw and keep on dreaming you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winton Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Top review mate and a truly top motor All the way home were French kids encouraging Dave to gun it but on one occasion they got more than they bargained for - a little chap was only stood about six feet away when Dave dipped the clutch and gave it some beans. He jumped back across the pavement with a look of total fear on his face. How we laughed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastair_A3 Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Sounds magic Dave. A mate of mine up the road has a yellow gallardo (tin top) and the noise, as you rightly point out, is nothing short of amazing. The best way to describe it is Formula 1 like, but minus the decibels. I love the look of it.. it's almost the thinking man's ferrari. It's held in great esteem, and true petrol heads love it for what it is. At £140,000 it is way out of my reach, and maybe why you place it above a GT3, but even so.. for those that can stretch that far, they must have a grin from ear to ear. [/ QUOTE ] The older Gallardo hardtops are comming down in price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallachie Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Good wee write up there DHA, interesting to read these reviews you do! My mate had a yellow E-Gear for a couple of weeks on loan from Lambo Manchester, I had a few runs in the car and I fell for it instantly.....the noise is something else, it made his V10 M5 sound like a sewing machine! Unfortunately the attention we got in it wasn't always good, we heard numerous derogatory terms used to describe us when driving past! I suppose you have to expect that sort of thing in a bright yellow supercar though! You must have had one of the best weekends of your life, a weekend in France at Le Mans in a Gallardo Spider......AWESOME!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizzy Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Great review and a memorable way to do Le Mans!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 top review mate and its a car-and-a-half After a passenger ride with DHA that was enough to confirm its an amazing car - it goes and handles like stink, in fact the only downside was that the passenger leg room felt seriously limited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Unfortunately the attention we got in it wasn't always good [/ QUOTE ] Yeah driving in the UK is a very different experience to driving it in France. Shame really but then its does reflect the British public quite well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Why has no one pointed out that this is a hairdressers' car yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayerbloke Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Good wee write up there DHA, interesting to read these reviews you do! [/ QUOTE ] Agreed; top stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Why has no one pointed out that this is a hairdressers' car yet? [/ QUOTE ] But I did like your comedy shoulder shrug/not fussed expression at the services on Thursday morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollox Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Did I do that? Sorry - I was assuming we'd all be driving down together but then you all fecked off! Couldn't escape though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Did I do that? Sorry - I was assuming we'd all be driving down together but then you all fecked off! Couldn't escape though [/ QUOTE ] I will be in the BM convoy next year. Do you think VIP taxi or exotic special? I can't decided but am leaning towrards a luxury cruise next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Do you think VIP taxi or exotic special? I can't decided but am leaning towrards a luxury cruise next year. [/ QUOTE ] Bentley Azure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Either RR Sport, quattroporte or something else if they get it in the coming months.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Oh. My. Days. Does nobody else recognise the plate? I honestly believed him too! Oh dear. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamD Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Post deleted by Sam_D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted June 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Ian is correct about the plate being the same as the car Will22 got for his birthday at the start of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamD Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Ian is correct about the plate being the same as the car Will22 got for his birthday at the start of the year. [/ QUOTE ] classic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Oh. My. Days. Does nobody else recognise the plate? I honestly believed him too! Oh dear. Ian [/ QUOTE ] Ian, your brain is a marvel of modern technology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppetboy Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Awesome car, awesome pictures! Ian C - what a feckin' memory you have, I was so busy looking at the car I hadn't even noticed there was a plate on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pincher Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 A wonderful car indeed - was the lucky recipient of a ride in it on the homeward journey yesterday, which included the Rouen tunnel. Pron on wheels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabGirl Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 Nice car - just checked the écuire25 web site and it's 10k a year membership! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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