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Great Machines: Automobiles: High Carbon-Fiber Diet

Larry Edsall

June 1, 2007

At $217,300, the latest Lamborghini—the Gallardo Superleggera—costs 20 percent more than the standard non-super-light Gallardo. For that bump in price, the Superleggera is nearly 5 percent lighter and provides nearly 2 percent more horsepower compared to the Gallardo. To put those percentages into real-world numbers, the Superleggera can sprint to 62 mph in a mere 3.8 seconds, or two-tenths of a second quicker; it reaches the kilometer mark (.62 miles) in 21.12 seconds, better by three-tenths of a second; and it stops from 62 mph in a mere 108.9 feet, a nose-preserving cushion of 2.3 feet.

All of these numbers appear to add up; the Superleggera was unveiled in early March at the Geneva Motor Show and just days later the entire 2007 production run was oversold. The factory at Sant’Agata will build only 350 Superleggeras in a 12-month period, and less than a fortnight after Geneva, Lamborghini had orders for 420 cars. The 30 U.S. Lamborghini dealers will divvy up 100 to 110 Superleggeras this year, the first arriving in June. If you are not already on the waiting list, you may place your order now, but plan to be patient; your car will not arrive until spring or summer, 2008. (Click image to enlarge)

Even while retaining its standard four-wheel drive powertrain, the Superleggera weighs in at less than 3,000 pounds. To trim 154 pounds and give the Gallardo its super-light status, Lamborghini makes liberal use of carbon fiber (the engine cover frame, fixed rear wing, rear diffuser, exterior mirror housings, center console, and interior door panels are all composed of the lightweight material); replaces the glass panel over the engine with transparent polycarbonate; uses lighter prop and front driveshafts, bearings and wheel carriers; bolts on a set of lighter, forged Skorpius-style wheels as well as a less weighty exhaust system. (Click image to enlarge)

The exhaust is also less restrictive. That, plus a change in engine management software, extracts 10 more horsepower from the 5.0-liter, 40-valve V-10 engine.

The Superleggera may be, as Lamborghini says, the "purist" and most "extreme" form of the Gallardo, but it remains an incredibly well-balanced and well-behaved vehicle, albeit one capable of incredible performance. The car is stunningly composed while puttering in city traffic. There’s nothing finicky about its manners. It would likely serve comfortably as a daily driver, something you can’t say about many high-end thoroughbred sports cars that tend toward exotic, high-maintenance personalities.

Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggeras race around the track at Phoenix International Raceway. Below: A carbon fiber rear spoiler sets the mood. (Click images to enlarge)

One reason for the car’s comfortable character is its standard "robotized mechanical e-gear" transmission. (A 6-speed manual is available, but adds a $600 gas-guzzler tax on top of the $3,000 federal fee that accompanies e-gear.) Press the "A" button on the center console and e-gear shifts automatically, but the car is smoother when you use the steering column-mounted paddles to upshift through the box, all the way to sixth gear. You can also downshift with the paddles—the system blipping the throttle as though you were expert at heel-and-toe shifting—or simply let e-gear do its job.

In addition to miles on city streets, urban and suburban highways and winding and hilly two-lanes out near the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, we ventured west of the city to Phoenix International Raceway, for a series of laps around a road course that incorporates fast, but twisting, infield pavement as well as much of the mile-long oval track. Focus on the track and the tach, and speeds on the straightaway can quickly reach triple digits. The mid-engine architecture, four-wheel drive, nicely weighted steering, 19-inch Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires and big brakes kept things calm, even when some rain spit down on the track.

Turns out, the Superleggera adds up very nicely.

Lamborghini, www.lamborghini.com

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