The Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder will be launched in South Africa shortly. European buyers are already enjoying the upper echelons of top-down motoring. With this in mind, it’s only fitting that we hear what they have to say and get our own pulses racing with anticipation:

The road up the side of Tenerife’s Pico de Teide is about as diabolical as any I’ve driven. Countless blind corners, switchbacks, a marked absence of guardrails, and a fairly rapid elevation ascent all require focused attention. Teide happens to be the highest mountain in Spain, and is also an active volcano that seems to harbor its own weather system. Ensconced within our Lambo Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder, we cut back and forth with alacrity, in and out of drifting banks of cloud, first brilliant sunshine, then gloom, streaming pennants of mist, rain, and without warning back into blinding sunshine. Add in the unholy wail a couple of feet behind your head, growing ever more vehement with every centimeter of throttle travel, and you’ve got a formula for utter sensory overload.

Last year Lamborghini unveiled the new Gallardo Coupe, designated LP 560-4 because of its longitudinale posteriore (longways rear-mount) V10, which with technical innovations like direct fuel injection pushed power to 560 cavallo vapore–more or less 560 metric horsepower, 552 hp according to SAE, or 412kW. It also carried revised aerodynamics like a more aggressive set of air scoops in the lower front bumper, new LED arrays in the head and taillights, as well as improved fuel economy and reduced carbon emissions, even with the bump in power.

The LP 560-4 Spyder takes all of that and adds a power folding soft top. Available in four colors–black, blue, gray, and beige–that top incorporates one hydraulic pump, six hydraulic cylinders, one electric motor and two electric actuators to fold up or down automatically in about 20 seconds.

Because of the extra equipment and chassis reinforcement, the Spyder weighs more than the coupe. This increases the zero to 100km/h run by about four-tenths of a second compared to the hardtop, total elapsed time being pinned at more or less four seconds flat.

Still, at the original LP 560-4 Coupe launch last spring, there were some who felt the estimate was somewhat conservative. Whatever number you’re inclined to use, this latest Lambo drop-top will make the American-standard zero-to-60 in under four seconds. That’s still pretty dang fast.

A deployable rear windscreen behind the seats functions as a wind deflector and makes a good bit of difference in reducing turbulence inside the cockpit at higher speeds. And whether the top’s up or down, the Gallardo Spyder is designed for unrestricted high speeds, all the way up to a claimed top speed of 325km/h. So in case you accidentally find yourself having too much fun, spring-loaded roll bars behind the seats can actuate in 250 milliseconds if a potential rollover situation becomes imminent.

What could be most incredible is its prodigious grip. Any sort of body flex is undetectable; the Gallardo Spyder may as well be carved from a solid piece of billet. The absence of roll or flex, the all-wheel drive system’s incredible road-holding ability whether you’re accelerating sideways or braking hard enough to fling tooth fillings at the windscreen–and let’s not mention the slingshot nature of 550-odd Italian stallions stampeding behind your head–make for a fairly singular experience. At no point did I ever feel as though I even brushed up against the car’s limits. But you’d expect that for 200 grand.

I’ve never been a huge fan of the convertible mystique, but on certain days, on certain roads and with certain cars, it all seems to click. And a big selling point for a car like the Gallardo Spyder is that you’re that much closer to the demonic symphony swelling behind your shoulders. To be honest, the Gallardo’s exhaust note really is, come on, just the slightest bit ridiculous. It sounds like something halfway between a free-revving race engine and the fanfare from a hell-spawned brass section. There’s little doubt it screams “Look at me, little people! Look at me!”

Adapted from EuropeanCarWeb

There’s a choice of a normally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 or this supercharged version. It’s badged the Bathurst S, and is modified by race specialist Tom Walkinshaw to produce 420kW and 742Nm of torque – so it’s as powerful as a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, but nearly £100 000 cheaper.

Predictably, it’s fast, with zero to 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds and a 250km/h. The manual box gets an uprated clutch and the suspension is stiffer, with adjustable springs and fresh dampers. Revised brakes with six-cylinder front and four-cylinder rear calipers are standard.

The supercharger provides amazing pull from low revs, and you’re pinned to the seat as the engine thrusts to the red line. But the best bit is the noise – a mix of supercharger whine and V8 rumble. The car’s optional two-stage exhaust had a special ‘loud’ setting for track use too.

The steering is meaty, if not full of feel, and the VXR8 handles sharply given its size. It rides well, too. In the wet – and even in the dry – all that torque will easily spin the rear wheels. But if you’re careful with the throttle, you can corner at great speed.
Not surprisingly, economy is poor (expect 19l/100km), and the Bathurst S’s black stripes aren’t subtle. But if you want a large four-door Lamborghini beater, this is it.

Adpated from AutoExpress

Lamborghini has announced its new Lamborghini Academy dates for 2009. With courses open to all sports car enthusiasts as well as Lamborghini owners, the track driving schools provide an extraordinary opportunity to experience the full potential of Lamborghini cars, alongside the Italian super sports car manufacturer’s professional instructors.

The Track Academy course provides an entry into the Lamborghini Academy world. Held at various European race tracks from Spring 2009 onwards, participants’ driving skills are improved alongside a professional driver instructor, while exploring the full potential of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4.
The Advanced Academy is the top level programme, and concentrates on optimum control and performance on the race track, fully supported by a professional in-vehicle telemetry system. Driving is undertaken in the Gallardo LP 560-4 and the Murciélago LP 640: the fastest and most extreme super sports car in its class.

All classes include technical and safety briefings, followed by handling and performance exercises, with instruction on how to get the ‘ultimate kick’ from race track driving! Participants improve their handling and feel of Lamborghini’s permanent four-wheel drive cars, learn to manage understeer and oversteer; practice manoeuvres with and without ABS and ESP; master ‘controlled drifting’ and, of course, find the ideal ‘racing line’ on track.

As a reminiscence of this experience each individual participant gets his own in-car-video with footage of the whole driving day as well as a photo CD of all the action of the day on the race track.

Lamborghini Academy courses start from 3,900.00 euro, including accommodation, cars at the race track and all driving instruction, but excluding travel. For full details, go to www.lamborghiniacademy.com.

Source: Lamborghini Press Release

What’s the difference in the V-10 engines that power the top Audi and Lamborghini’s crown prince? As it turns out, not much. Both share the same basic components and architecture: a 90-degree V-angle, DOHC 4-valves per cylinder top end, mostly aluminum construction. The forged-steel crankshaft and connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons providing a 12.5:1 compression ratio are also shared by both sports cars.

According to Volkswagen AG’s powertrain head Wolfgang Hatz, and Audi’s V-8 and V-10 chief Jurgen Jablonski, the differences are subtle and restricted to intake and exhaust details. Engine mapping differences such as ignition timing, fuel delivery, valve timing and operation of the muffler bypass valves, give the Lamborghini engine a more urgent and aggressive personality versus the Audi’s slightly steadier, more sedate characteristics. Minor differences in the shape of the intake ports and the configuration of the twin intake plenums topping each engine are also present. While exhaust headers are basically the same, the layout of the mufflers differs significantly according to the space available under each car and the auditory flavor desired by each brand.

Lamborghini chose an untamed in-your-face howl that starts early and lasts until the revs run out at 8700 rpm. Audi R8 engineers selected a deeper, less frenetic voice. Stand on the gas in the Gallardo and the V-10 overwhelms the cockpit with an Italian serenade. In the Audi, triggering the throttle rushes you away from a wake clouded in dust and commotion.

In the power stakes the Lamborghini engine trumps the Audi with its 412kW versus the R8’s 390kW at 8000 rpm. The more expensive Gallardo also tops Audi’s torque with 540Nm versus the R8’s 530Nm at 6500 rpm.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4                                                                              Audi R8 V10
0 to 100km/h: 3.7 secs                                                                                              0 to 100km/h: 3.8 secs
0 to 200km/h: 11.8 secs                                                                                            0 to 200km/h: 12.1 secs
Top speed: 325km/h                                                                                                    Top speed: 315km/h
Power: 412kW                                                                                                                 Power: 390kW
Torque: 540Nm @ 6500rpm                                                                                   Torque: 530Nm @ 6500rpm
Weight: 1500kg (dry)                                                                                                  Weight: 1620kg (dry)

A quick look at the figures on paper suggest that the Lamborghini has the edge with slightly more power and less weight, however it’d be mighty close in a real world straight-line test.

See a roadtest video of the R8 V10 here.

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder was unveiled at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show and will be the star at this month’s Melbourne International Motor Show.

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, of which its hardtop variant has just won UK Car magazine’s performance Car of The Year, is the latest rendition of the Gallardo. The Gallardo model is the best selling Lamborghini of all time and this latest spyder variant offers the performance and handling of the coupe, with the open air exhilaration that only a soft-top sports car can provide.

At the heart of the Gallardo LP560-4 is a fire-breathing 5.2-litre V10 engine developing 412 kW (at 8,000 rpm) for a superb power-to-weight ratio of just 2.77kg/hp. Coupled with a new suspension and a revised permanent all-wheel-drive system, the LP560-4 Spyder goes from zero to 100km/h in just 4.0 seconds and onto a top speed of 324 km/h.

Changes on the Spyder are in line with its hard-top brother and include a redesigned front and rear-end with characteristic LED daytime running lights. The Spyder also features a new folding top that runs via a hydraulic pump, six hydraulic cylinders, one electric motor and two electric actuators to open or close the roof in 20 seconds.

Adapted from ZCars