Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera has West Coast debut


Big gallery of pics from the party available by clicking the images.

Lamborghini of Orange County (LOC), which accounted for 15% of Lamborghini sales in the U.S. last year, has a little clout. While the rest of the automotive world was looking to Geneva and New York to see the new Superleggera, LOC had one of its own to display. Well, for one night at least. It was unveiled during a VIP reception so that the dealership's customers could see it for themselves. While it looked pretty hot in its searing Aranco Borealis finish, the new Lambo seemed to be missing something. When one customer asked where the window sticker was, another said, "It doesn't really matter anymore, they're all gone. The lucky bastards." This limited edition, track-friendly Gallardo is limited to 350 units for 2007, all of which are already spoken for.

Weighing about 200 pounds less than the regular Gallardo, the carbon fiber diet is readily apparent. Just like Ferrari did with the CS version of their 360, the carbon fiber mirrors are the easiest tipoff that this is the sportiest variant. Lamborghini goes one better with an unpainted carbon fiber rear decklid as well, though, and carries that theme through with an oddly proportioned, but functional, optional rear spoiler. We might pass on that bit if we were doing the buying. The black side strip is a bit odd-looking, too, but we have no complaints about the Alcantara interior with racing seats and harnesses.

With a slight bump in power and a modest reduction in weight for a whole lot more cash, some might see this as much ado about nothing. But the devil is in the details, as they say. A not-insignificant 12 pounds has been shaved from each corner resulting in less unsprung weight and sharper reflexes for this somewhat hefty awd machine. That, coupled with a switch to Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber, means sharper turn-in and overall quicker responses to inputs. The powerband is said to have been remapped for more immediate reaction to stabs at the loud pedal. We begged and pleaded to get one for our garage, but this Superleggera was headed out for another stop the next morning.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.








Autoblog Podcast #154: Gobbling up the News

Chris, Sam, and Dan kick out a podcast just in time for the long holiday drive.

 
 

Featured Galleries

  • 2011 BMW 5 Series sedan
  • Texas unveils new Vanity Plates
  • Spy Shots: Next-gen Buick Excelle for China
  • 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe
  • Hyundai 2.4L Theta-II GDI
  • Ginetta G50EV and John Surtees at the Channel Tunnel
  • 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser
  • Review: 2009 Infiniti G37x S Sedan
  • Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII-R
  • 2011 Buick Regal Live Unveiling
  • BMW Concept 6
  • Zenvo ST1 Details

AOL Autos

Find Your Next Car

Autoblog Video


Autoblog Green

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum