2008 Geneva Auto Show: 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Alaska

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What it Is

2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Preview - 2008 Geneva Auto Show: The Gallardo is the "baby" Lamborghini. The budget model, if you will. However, even with the ground-thumping Murcielago pounding away in the background, and the ultra-expensive (and fast) Reventon now in the stable, the Gallardo still gets a lot of love from its manufacturer. Case in point: The Gallardo LP560-4. This cumbersome name is applied to a thoroughly updated car, with a new engine, revised styling and 44 fewer pounds to move around.

Why it Matters

For the vast majority of us, a Lamborghini will be something we have on a poster in our bedroom (if you're a teenager) or our garages (if our spouses will let us). A few lucky people actually get to buy them though, and even in this rarefied air, the five-year-old Gallardo is starting to look like yesterday's news. With more power from its V-10 engine and some styling tweaks, the Gallardo will stay fresh for a few more years.

Almost sounds like we're talking about a Civic, doesn't it?

What's Under the Hood

Official information from Lamborghini is sparse, but what we do know is that the V-10 engine displaces 5.2-liters, has direct-injection, and puts out 552 horsepower. This is all driven through a four-wheel drive system. Just to update you on vehicular genealogy here, Lamborghini is owned by the Volkswagen group, which also owns Audi, which as a very powerful V-10 engine in its RS6 Avant wagon. It also has a very similarly laid out car in the R8. Parts bin sharing has never been so sweet.

What it Looks Like

We hardly thought the Gallardo was getting stale, but someone clearly did, as there is some extensive work going on here. The nose has been revised to give it a little more flavor of the Reventon ultra car Lamborghini recently unveiled. The front spoiler juts out more, there is an additional air intake that routs air under the car, and the headlights have been revised. The wheels are new as well, and the entire rear end has been updated, with shorter, wider taillights, a new grille between them, and an underbody diffuser to aid high-speed aerodynamics.

What We Think

Extravagant doesn't begin to describe the cars Lamborghini makes. However, the Gallardo is an actual usable vehicle, even if it looks like it's straight off a science fiction movie set. The changes made will likely be made standard in the near future across the board, a move that will surely increase the number of Gallardos at bargain prices on used car lots as owners trade up.

Well, maybe not.

By Keith Buglewicz
Photo credit: Lamborghini