Autoblog

Click above to view the Gallardo LP560-4 in hi-res

Take it from your friendly neighborhood Autoblog, writing about cars is great. But building a car is something else entirely, especially when the car in question is an Italian exotic. That's what Automobile magazine's West Coast editor Jason Cammisa found out when he was invited to Sant'Agata to lend a hand with the assembly of the first production example of the new Gallardo LP560-4, which Lamborghini unveiled at this year's Geneva Motor Show.

The story is featured in the magazine's May issue, and its website is featuring a four-part video series documenting Cammisa's experience. View part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 by clicking on the links, and check out our high-resolution gallery of LP560-4 images by clicking on the thumbnails below.

[Source: Automobile via The Car Connection]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Lamborghini LP560-4

We just detailed the changes made to the Lamborghini Gallardo as it evolves into the spectacular LP560-4. And while the name might not be exciting, the car sure is. New front and rear fascias, as detailed here, give the "baby" Lambo a menacing new look that's backed up by an upgraded 5.2L V10 that reportedly dishes out 560 PS/ 552 HP while tipping the scales at 44 lbs. less than the Gallardo. That's what fast is made of.

UPDATE: For those of you who want to compare the LP560-4 to the the pre-facelift bodystyle, here's a gallery of the current Gallardo Superleggera.


[Source: Lamborghini]

Reports circulating the automotive webdom suggest that the new version of the Gallardo which Lamborghini will be unveiling next week in Geneva will be called the LP560-4. Whereas previous reports indicated a LP550 nameplate, the LP560-4 designation draws on the new car's reported metric power rating of 560 PS – equivalent to 552hp – with the 4 designating the four-wheel-drive system. This latter addition is not present on previous Lamborghini model nomenclature, including the Murcielago, whose second iteration was similarly named LP640, without the additional 4 despite the traction at all wheels. (We wonder if Lamborghini decided to forgo the 550 numerology because arch-rival Ferrari used it on a contemporary model.) Meanwhile, AutoWeek reports that the new Gallardo's engine is more closely related to that of the Audi RS6: a more durable 5.2-liter V10 with FSI direct-injection, replacing the outgoing Gallardo's 5-liter unit.

The revised nomenclature comes from quotes attributed to Lambo chief Stephan Winkelmann, and accompanies the conceptual rendering you see above, although neither appears on the company's press site. Whatever the banner under which the new Gallardo will drive, it not only itself helps Lamborghini directly live up to its promise of a new model at each major auto show, but opens to the door to new future variants, which are likely to include a new Spyder and possibly a new Superleggera. We'll continue to keep our eyes and ears open.

[Source: tuningsnews.net via World Car Fans]