First Test: 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo
Vicious coupling: Italy and Germany join forces to produce a significant new exotic
By Chris Walton
Photography by Winston Goodfellow
Motor Trend, November 2003

Lamborghini's heritage is one of producing powerful V-12 engines wrapped in fantastic, often outrageous sheetmetal that makes the car look as potent as it is. Audi's current reputation is based on sleek, serious, all-wheel-drive sedans with interior designs as handsome as they are functional. If Audi or Lamborghini alone were to produce a new, compact exotic, either car would be newsworthy. When the two come together (Lamborghini is owned by Volkswagen under the auspices of Audi) to produce a single car combining each company's strengths, the result is a new-era supercar with the ferocity of a Lamborghini and the polish of an Audi: The 2004 Gallardo with 495 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and a body that'll trip even the most jaded Beverly hillbilly right out of his Ermenegildo Zegnas.


In October, Executive Editor Matt Stone wrote a comprehensive "First Drive" of the Gallardo after having put the spurs to the (4961cc) V-10-powered "baby Lambo" on a racetrack. (For his impressions, as well as all the background and details of the car's design elements and manufacture, please read that story.) Now, we'll tell you a little more about the Gallardo's objective abilities--but only a little. Why the disclaimer? We had a quick, surreptitious chance to strap our test gear to a Gallardo, but the conditions were less than ideal, and the data only hint at what a proper test will yield.


Perhaps the most striking thing about the Gallardo is the car's ultra-cab-forward silhouette and its relative scale. It's difficult to gauge from these pretty photos, but the Gallardo's wheelbase, at just 100.8 inches, is exactly the same as a Mercedes-Benz SL500's. The SL, however, is more than nine inches longer from stem to stern, five inches taller, and three inches narrower overall. Also, the Mercedes-Benz weighs an additional 500-plus pounds. The Gallardo isn't a big car, despite its sexy shape and deceptive family resemblance to the larger Murcielago.

Being the little brother in the Lamborghini lineup doesn't make the Gallardo any less a performer. You might be surprised that the capabilities of the two Lambos are, at least on paper, strikingly similar. In terms of specific output (horsepower produced per liter of engine displacement), the Gallardo edges out the Murcielago with its 99.8 horsepower/liter versus 92.2. Better yet, the Gallardo's power-to-weight ratio (how many pounds of car each horsepower propels) is effectively identical to the Murc's at 6.4 pounds/horsepower. Still, none of this tells you what great road manners the Gallardo has, how nice it is to drive, and how easily it gobbles miles.

Our recently recorded acceleration and braking figures are those of a high-mileage, preproduction Gallardo, with two people and their luggage aboard on a hot day. This well-worn test car was equipped with Lamborghini e-gear, the company's own version of a Magneti Marelli electro-hydraulically shifted six-speed manual transmission. Past experience has shown these systems less than perfect in delivering an optimal launch; however, their redline upshifts never miss a beat and might make up for the soft launch (if you could call it that with nearly 500 horsepower onboard).

The eye in the sky doesn't lie, and with our Racepak GPS test equipment, we recorded a 0-60-mph blast of 4.7 seconds and 100 mph arrived at 11.0. Lamborghini's factory estimate is 4.2 seconds to 60. By way of sibling comparison, our best Murcielago runs to 60 and 100 mph have been 3.5 and 8.4 seconds, respectively. Standing on the brake pedal from 60 mph brought the Gallardo to a halt in 114 feet--three feet longer than the Murcielago's 111-foot best. We can safely say these numbers will improve with a production car under our usual testing regimen at our normal test track.
Does all this mean the $165,900 Lamborghini is a better car than the company's $280,000 beloved flagship? Not necessarily, but it does mean that there's a new, more reasonably priced, impeccably built competitor prepared to get in the face of a $172,000 Ferrari 360 Modena, Porsche's $180,000 911 GT2, and the all-American Ford GT (set to land in the high $140s). Full test numbers--and major exotic group road trip--to follow.

2004 Lamborghini Gallardo
Vehicle layout Mid-engine, awd, 2-door, 2-pass, coupe
Engine type 5.0L 90° V-10
Max horsepower @ rpm 495 @ 7800
Max torque @ rpm 376 @ 4500
Specific output, hp/liter 99.8
Power-to-weight, lb/hp 6.4
0-60 mph, sec 4.7
0-100 mph, sec 11.0
1/4 mile, sec @ mph 13.08 @ 109.89
Top speed, mph 192 (est)
Braking, 60-0 mph, ft 114
Base price $165,900
Price as tested $172,000 (est)
On sale in U.S. Currently