The History of Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini (pic below) was born in Italy in 1916. He was fascinated with engines from an early age. During World War II he joined the army and was stationed on the island of Rhodes. Fortunately there was little going on there during the war.  The island was essentially isolated from the rest of the world. Any cars, trucks or motorcycles that broke down had to be repaired on the spot with reused parts.  Lamborghini became known as a wizard at mechanical improvisation and became very much in demand at fixing engines.
 

Lamborghini Gallardo

If one were to ask a kid growing up in the 70s - 90s regarding his/her favourite sports car, the answer would most likely be a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Previously, I had done a write-up on a Lamborghini Diablo which happens to be my favourite Lamborghini of all time. Well, here’s another Lamborghini but this time it’s the newer Gallardo. The Gallardo was basically the little sibling of the Murcielago. Built for about 10 years between 2003-2013, there were 14,000 units built. There were three generations of the Gallardo built during it’s lifetime of which I’m not going to get into details as there were too many ‘Special Editions’ that came along. With regards to the Gallardo name, it simply means 'Brave' in English.

As like other Lamborghinis, there were not many engines available. The Gallardo had a 5.0 litre V10 and later a 5.2 litre V10. The 5.2 litre V10 engines were made available to the second generation models which were launched in 2008. Basically, if you are not a Lamborghini Gallardo person, chances are you won’t know the differences between the models. Most models had basically the same engines but came with different customisations which included the interior and the exterior. There were also some other editions which had their engines tweaked to produce more power which increased the cars speed of course.

Being a person who’s not got too close to a Lamborghini or a Ferrari as in my earlier post Ferrari 360, I was recently given the chance to get up close with a super-rare limited edition Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Squadra Corse which was designed with track usage in mind. It was to be what they call the street version of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo. There were only 50 units of the Squadra Corse made around the world and according to records this is the only one in Malaysia. It is the final limited edition Gallardo that will be manufactured and it also signalled the end of production for the Gallardo. One look at it and you will know that this is not your ordinary Lamborghini Gallardo and it’s most distinctive addition that sets it apart from other is it’s matte black rear wing. Carbon composite material was used for it’s hood, and rear wing. And of course like most special edition cars of this nature, carbon ceramic brakes were used. A lot of carbon fibre was also used for the interior which included it’s door panel. This was all done to make the car lighter and faster. If you would compare between the standard Gallardo(above in yellow) and the Squadra Corse(below in white), you will be able to see the differences.

Well, that’s enough about the car at the moment and I’m sure if you want more details about the car you can always get onto a search engine and do so. Like I mentioned earlier, if I were to do a detailed write-up on this car, I’ll definitely end up writing a long essay. To keep things short, below are some of the shots of the gorgeous Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Squarda Corse and I’ll also leave you a short video with some description for you to understand the car better. I really hope I could drive one of these fast cars on the track someday and I’m sure It’ll be an unforgettable experience.

And the video

Lamborghini Diablo

Ok, now it’s time for me to talk about one of my favourite Lamborghinis ever produced, the Diablo. Just look at those sleek lines and I’m sure you will feel the same. The Diablo which translates to ‘devil’ in English was the replacement model for the ever famous Countach. Just to give you an idea on how rare this car is, there were less than 3,000 units built during it’s production years from 1990-2001 and being a fast car and the accidents some may have got into, there are definitely lesser of these cars on the road.

The Diablo came with two engine variants, a 5.7 litre and a 6.0 litre. Both the cars had V12 engines. I must say there seems to be an influx of V12 cars that I’m coming across, think it’s time for me to get one… haha…  There were a few variations of the Diablo made which include the Diablo SV which stands for Super Veloce and the Diablo VT among others.

Well, if you are planning to buy one in Malaysia, I think it’s almost impossible considering there are not many of these cars around here and even if there are any sellers, the price will literally cost an arm and a leg. Just to give you a ‘feel’ of the price of this car now, it ranges between £100,000 - £300,000. I’ve personally only seen one on the road compared to the Countach which I’ve seen at least two. Of course the higher prices are for special edition models. It is certainly too far-fetched for me at this point of time but I hope to at least drive one some time.