LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO IN-DEPTH REVIEW AND VERDICT : From £135,6008 , RIDE THE HEAVEN ON EARTH

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   Original Gallardo was launched in ’03 and revised in ’06

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   Huge front air vents echo the styling theme pioneered on the mega-expensive Reventon; they look great

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   Test car wore Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres, which probably improve the ride. As standard you get regular P-Zeros

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   Rear lights represent the biggest visual change; they are much smaller than before

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   All-new 5.2-litre V10 engine has 552bhp and a different firing order from before; this makes it sound different.

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   This may be a Lambo but the ergonomics are vastly better than they have been and, shock horror, the air-con system works

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   Supercars are rarely comfortable things, yet the LP560-4 is just that and more

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   Switches are appealingly quirky and bespoke to Lamborghini

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   Buttons that control the gearbox settings are clear and make up a focal point of the cabin

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   Speedometer reads to 220mph; in reality the LP560-4 is good for ‘at least’ 202mph.

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   Front boot is deep enough to take a bag, while the cabin has various cubbyholes

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   Rear suspension geometry has been completely redesigned, as has much of the 4WD system.

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   Direct injection helps cut CO2 to 327g/km from 400g

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   LP560’s all-wheel drive traction is truly mighty on track

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   Friction has been reduced in AWD system

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   Unlike one or two previous Lamborghinis, the 560-4 has no nasty traits with which to catch you out.

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   Rear suspension geometry has been completely redesigned, as has much of the 4WD system.

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   Love the way the engine note changes, even on a light throttle, when you press the Sport button

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   No clubsport special, but still the fastest, most exciting Gallardo yet

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The Gallardo's a landmark Lamborghini: the first genuinely all-new car to be made by Sant'Agata under Audi ownership. It also marked a return for the firm to making a more affordable, usable super sports car than its legendary dynasty of V12s - something it hadn't done since the Jalpa went out of production in 1988. This was Sant’Agata’s first serious crack at the bottom end of the traditional supercar market and was conceived as a direct competitor for the 360 Modena and Porsche 911 Turbo. It went on sale to critical acclaim in 2003.

And the current Gallardo LP560-4 is the living, screaming proof that Lamborghini is taking its future very seriously indeed. Because although it is a faster, lighter, more powerful version of the Gallardo, it is also the cleanest, most economical and ecologically efficient car that Lamborghini has ever produced.

The Gallardo is just so usable. You can thread it down narrow streets with more ease than you’d expect.

Although the LP560-4 shares its basic underpinnings with the previous Gallardo, most of its parts have been either redesigned or heavily tweaked

In a nutshell, the 560-4 (560ps, four-wheel drive) represents a more modern way of thinking at Lamborghini, and although it may have been launched in 2008, at a time when £152,280, 202mph supercars weren't exactly flying out of showrooms, it proves how serious the company is about staying relevant and, more to the point, staying in business.

Tough job, but the LP560-4 – 18 per cent cleaner than its predecessor and faster and more powerful to boot – looks like a pretty good start.

At the heart of the Gallardo is a V10 engine that thumps out 552bhp and 398lb ft of torque, but the other key factor is its relative lack of weight. At 1410kg (or 1580kg in test trim measured on our scales) this car is impressively light for a 4WD supercar. When you then align this with the new V10 engine’s delicious soundtrack, the 560 really does have all the ingredients with which to blow your mind. Against our clock it did 60mph in 3.7sec, almost exactly as Lamborghini says it should, and then 100mph in 7.7sec, and 150mph in a very serious 17.3sec.

One contributing factor to its speed is its new gearbox. The shifts themselves may not be the smoothest, because Lamborghini has tuned the software to deliver a deliberate thump on the way up, a quality that we find less than desirable. But you can’t argue with the actual speed of the shifts or the strength of the acceleration at full chat. The engine tears towards its rev limiter in first and you then need to be on high alert not to run it against that limiter by mistake.

WE ARE RANKING IT IN TOP 5 CARS OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

We tried the Gallardo with optional carbon-ceramic brakes, and although these work well once warmed, they do feel a bit dead on the road.

The best bit of all about the LP560-4 Spyder is that you can now listen to that 5.2-litre V10 with the hood down. Somehow, being able to hear it so much more clearly actually intensifies the thrill. The raw numbers say the Spyder is fractionally slower than the coupé at 4.0sec to 62mph and 201mph flat out, and that’s purely because it weighs a wee bit more.

The LP570-4 Superleggera, by contrast - with its 562bhp and lesser kerbweight - is alleged to crack 62mph in just 3.4sec

Good

Bombastic looks

Wicked performance

Unusually civilised

Bad

Brake pedal feel with optional ceramic discs

Thirst

Clunky semi-auto gearbox

• 

   Original Gallardo was launched in ’03 and revised in ’06

• 

   Huge front air vents echo the styling theme pioneered on the mega-expensive Reventon; they look great

• 

   Test car wore Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres, which probably improve the ride. As standard you get regular P-Zeros

• 

   Rear lights represent the biggest visual change; they are much smaller than before

• 

   All-new 5.2-litre V10 engine has 552bhp and a different firing order from before; this makes it sound different.

• 

   This may be a Lambo but the ergonomics are vastly better than they have been and, shock horror, the air-con system works

• 

   Supercars are rarely comfortable things, yet the LP560-4 is just that and more

• 

   Switches are appealingly quirky and bespoke to Lamborghini

• 

   Buttons that control the gearbox settings are clear and make up a focal point of the cabin

• 

   Speedometer reads to 220mph; in reality the LP560-4 is good for ‘at least’ 202mph.

• 

   Front boot is deep enough to take a bag, while the cabin has various cubbyholes

• 

   Rear suspension geometry has been completely redesigned, as has much of the 4WD system.

• 

   Direct injection helps cut CO2 to 327g/km from 400g

• 

   LP560’s all-wheel drive traction is truly mighty on track

• 

   Friction has been reduced in AWD system

• 

   Unlike one or two previous Lamborghinis, the 560-4 has no nasty traits with which to catch you out.

• 

   Rear suspension geometry has been completely redesigned, as has much of the 4WD system.

• 

   Love the way the engine note changes, even on a light throttle, when you press the Sport button

• 

   No clubsport special, but still the fastest, most exciting Gallardo yet

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

This may be the cheapest way to own a new Lamborghini, but there’s nothing at all junior about it. The Gallardo LP560-4 is easily Lamborghini’s most complete supercar to date. It features a level of quality and usability not normally associated with any car of this kind, let alone one from Lamborghini. It also feels durable, as if it will retain not just its sense of occasion but also its basic integrity for a long time. Not all Lambos have felt this way over the years.

But what truly distinguishes the LP560-4 is shattering performance allied to an almost freakishly civilised demeanour. This is a car that can nearly live with a Ferrari 458 Italia dynamically yet also be perfectly acceptable as everyday transport for two people. In the end, it’s not quite as brilliant as the Ferrari or as advanced as McLaren's MP4-12C, but that doesn’t prevent it from being one of the most evocative supercars we’ve ever tested.