Lamborghini Gallardo
The Lamborghini Gallardo is the Italian supercar maker Lamborghini's lesser model of car, sitting beneath the Murciélago.
It was designed as a competitor to Ferrari's 360 Modena. The car is named after a famous breed of fighting bull and is pronounced roughly "gah-yard-o". Although performance is lower than the Murcielago, it is still very high, and the Gallardo has much better rearward visibility and, according to reviewers, is more maneuverable as well as more tractable in low-speed traffic, making the Gallardo a much more practical car to drive. However, to the disappointment of many enthusiasts, Lamborghini did not fit Butterfly doors as on the Murcielago, and many owners have fit their own, vertical-opening doors.
At current U.S. prices, a Gallardo costs about $165,000.
The Gallardo uses a V10 engine based on Audi's old straight-5 design. This engine was split again to become the straight-5 engine found in the new Volkswagen Jetta.
Lamborghini owner, Audi, plans to offer its own sports car based on the Gallardo architecture, the Audi Le Mans. It would use a V8 in place of the Gallardo's V10 to avoid competing directly with the sister car.
Specifications
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Top speed : | 309 km/h (192 mph) |
| 0 to 100 km/h : | 4.2 s |
| 0 to 200 km/h : | 14.5 s |
| Standing km : | 22.5 s |
| 1/4 mile : | 12.2 s at 122 mph |
| Engine | |
| Type : | V10 |
| Displacement : | 5.0 litres |
| Power : | 367 kW (500 bhp) |
| Torque : | 510 Nm |
The Police car
In December, 2004, one of the Gallardo supercars was donated by Lamborghini itself to the Italian police. The Gallardo Police Car will be used by the traffic police (Polizia Stradale) during emergencies and alarm situations on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway, also under the powers of the special safety operative which is already being employed along this tract of highway.