2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 First Drive Review
We first brought you news of the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 back in February last year but now, finally, TMR gets some seat-time in the car to see what the fuss is all about.
Lamborghini's faster and more powerful updated Gallardo, the LP560-4, was announced at the Geneva Show 2008 as an answer to Ferrari's F430. The F430 was stealing sales in this market segment and Lamborghini knew it.
But what's with the designation LP560-4? Well, LP for 'Longitudinale Posteriore' meaning the engine is mounted length-ways in the car, gearbox pointing backwards, and 560 is its power output in PS.
The 4 at the end shows the Gallardo still uses the Lamborghini-designed torque split four-wheel drive system (a totally different design to parent company Audi's Quattro system).
Maybe this is used to differentiate it from rear-wheel drive rivals, the F430 and Porsche GT2, or maybe a hint towards a 2WD Gallardo in the future...?
The LP560-4 at first glance doesn’t appear to be a major update from the earlier model, but, peering deeper, it comes with a host of enhancements: one of its most talked about, the newly designed DFI (Direct Fuel Injection) 5.2 litre V10.
Technical enhancements
At the Geneva Motor Show launch, Lamborghini technical director Maurizio Reggiani explained that it doesn't just have a larger 5.2 litre capacity with direct-injection, but the entire engine was re-built from the previous Gallardo's 5.0 litre.
“The old engine was at the limit of its power and capacity, so we've used stratified direct injection to increase power, because it allows a higher compression ratio – up from 11.5 to 12.5 to one – and it improves efficiency, with CO2 reduced by 10 per cent. We also needed to increase the cylinder bore, which meant a new block with wider bore centres,” he said.
Rear: power vacuum, aluminium 4-cylinder alloy calipers. Ventilated discs 356x32mm. Rear: Aluminium alloy, 19x11-inch Rear: Pirelli PZero 295/30 ZR 19 Length: 4345mm Width: 1900mm Height: 1165mm 0-200km/h (124mph): 11.8 secondsEngine 10 cylinders V90°, DOHC 4 valves, common-pin crankshaft Capacity 5204cc Compression Ratio 12.5 : 1 Maximum Power 412kW (552hp) @ 8000 rpm Maximum Torque 540Nm (398lb-ft) @ 6500 rpm Brakes Front: power vacuum, aluminium 8-cylinder alloy calipers. Ventilated discs 365x34mm. Wheels Front: Aluminium alloy, 19x8.5-inch Tyres Front: Pirelli PZero 235/35 ZR 19 Dimensions Wheelbase: 2560mm Top Speed 325km/h Acceleration 0-100km/h (62mph): 3.7 seconds