2009 Lamborghini Gallardo

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 – Click above for high-res image gallery A 5.2-liter V10 with 560 horsepower, 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, a top speed of over 200 mph and one of the most beautiful modern designs to ever come out of Italy. It's the new Gallardo LP560-4, and Lamborghini wants us to drive it. There are certainly more lucrative ways to make a living than being an automotive journalist, but it's moments like this that we know we made the right career choice. The best news is that we got to drive the new LP560-4 with about two dozen Lamborghini owners. Lamborghini of Orange County recently opened up a new dealership in Newport Beach, and they invited all of their customers down to see the new showroom and go for a Sunday drive. We tackled some of California's best back roads in the LP560-4 with other Gallardos, Murcielagos, and even a few Diablos. Follow the jump to read on. %Gallery-30433% All photos Copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc. We arrived at the dealership early in the morning with many of the Lamborghini owners having proven their superior punctuality. The parking lot quickly filled up even more with brightly colored Italian machinery, and we had to pull ourselves away from looking at each one to go track down the keys to the LP560-4 that we'd be driving. Compared to the lime green, orange, and yellow Lambos surrounding it, our car actually looked somewhat subtle, but beautiful nonetheless. The other cars actually provided a good chance to compare the differences between the original Gallardo and the latest design. Starting with the exterior, the LP560-4 has a more aggressive yet cleaner design. Larger cooling intakes up front allow better air circulation and combine with a newly designed rear diffuser and smooth underbody to improve aerodynamic efficiency by 31%. The new Bi-Xenon headlights are slightly wider than before and feature LED lights in a Y structure, which is also found in the redesigned taillights. Those taillights are part of a cleaner rear end design that features a seamless engine vent and new quad exhaust tips. The changes might seem small, but Lamborghini did an excellent job in updating a design that didn't need much fixing in the first place. Having given the exterior a once over, it was time to take a look at the interior. Not much has been changed from the original Gallardo, but it's still easy to appreciate Audi's influence in the design and quality of materials. The leather seats are extremely comfortable and the alcantara-covered steering wheel is perfectly positioned and easy to grip. The monotone colors might seem lacking in the usual flair of an Italian supercar, but Lamborghini's "Ad Personam" program ensure that customers can create any combination of color and trim. If a customer wants yellow seats and lime green trim they can get it. We'll stick with gray. We barely had time to get adjusted in the seats when the other Lamborghinis started lining …
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