Quick Lamborghini Gallardo Review

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Dec 5, 2003
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5,066
Location
New England, USA
Early Gallardo, ~30K miles and a pretty, excellent, very well cared for example. Mid-engine AWD, ~490 hp V10, 6 sp manual.

I am not a Lamborghini fan, I admire and respect them, but I always thought most of their styling is somewhat grotesque and my (all second hand) experience around early models had me seeing them as rather needy and fragile. I only ever briefly drove an early Countach that was a poor, neglected example that drove like it.

Small local exotic and classic dealer has this for sale, great folks BTW. I was there for something else and we started talking, I mentioned how I admire Lamborghinis, but they are not my taste. Plus, not having an overabundance of chest hair, a raging coke habit or dated a stripper, I don't feel I've earned the right to own one.....come on, that's funny.

"Keys are in it.."
"What?"
"Take it down the street"
(sound of door slamming open and me running to the car while my inner 16y/o pumped his fist in the air...."we're professionals";))

I was really pleasantly surprised. They are big cars, for sports cars and you sit very far forward in a perfect reclined driving position, for me who is probably close in height to the designers in St' Agata. Bolognese. "Perfect" for driving, visibility to the quarters and rear, not so much. The car felt small, which is a great compliment. Great steering feel, easy and fairly light clutch and the brakes were not too touchy, very Porsche like. Shifter had longish throws (relatively) and the gated shift wasn't a problem but I initially resorted to my valet days trick of grabbing the lever low and feeling the gate with the lower part of my hand. Worth it for the clack clack of the gate. No squeaks, rattles etc., and the interior, seats and knobs had worn very well. Quality materials.

Visibility is just not great with a high sloping waistline, high rear deck and minimal rear window. Also, this car was temporarily missing its rear-view mirror and, of course I turned into a lot where I had to back up which I did by scoping the area and S turning in reverse. All good. Got a thumbs up from a Tesla driver while I was doing this.

In the 15-20 mins I drove the car, I noticed a few folks taking pictures, and someone paced me at a merge for a bit holding their 'phone. Disconcerting in someone else's $100K car.

Not my taste, no interest in ever owning one, but I can't see myself ever turning down seat time when offered.
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I knew someone in Eastern Europe 20ish years ago who was for a while the only independent mechanic in the country able to service these the right way.
I still remember him and his wife at a dinner in a sea resort - his phone rang, he picked up, hummed a few times, then said "ok, bring it in the shop as soon as you can, we'll fix it".
His wife looked at him and asked "XYZ's Gallardo's clutch ?". He went "Yep".
His wife lit a huge smile and went "Good. This vacation is paid off then".
 
A guy at work has one similar to what is pictured above. I have no idea on the year or model but he drives it in fairly regular. He’s either an executive or car poor because yes ownership is expensive.
 
Not sure how that would play out unless you DIY. Audi’s have a lot of VW crossover parts but are far more expensive to own. Which is intentional. 😮

Same as a lot of upscale brands with cheaper cousins.
 
Not sure how that would play out unless you DIY. Audi’s have a lot of VW crossover parts but are far more expensive to own. Which is intentional. 😮

Same as a lot of upscale brands with cheaper cousins.
Oil changes are DIY, and having the [pricey] oil filter wrench makes it easier. Clutches and windshields are pricey, AF though.

As far as crossover parts, one part that isn’t a crossover part is the gas cap. Lamborghini’s is a nice billet aluminum piece that cost around $450 back in 2012. The gas cap isn’t tethered and there’s no gas cap holder, so don’t ever put it on the gas pump, LOL.

Was a fun car and it was a car show everywhere I went. Hearing the starter motor turn for a seconds before the engine roars to life is the epitome of raging bull. I’m glad I crossed ownership off the bucket list.

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Nice ride!
I've driven a Huracan four times at Xtreme Xperience events in Pittsburgh. What a hoot! But I wouldn't want to own one either.
 
Early Gallardo, ~30K miles and a pretty, excellent, very well cared for example. Mid-engine AWD, ~490 hp V10, 6 sp manual.

I am not a Lamborghini fan, I admire and respect them, but I always thought most of their styling is somewhat grotesque and my (all second hand) experience around early models had me seeing them as rather needy and fragile. I only ever briefly drove an early Countach that was a poor, neglected example that drove like it.

Small local exotic and classic dealer has this for sale, great folks BTW. I was there for something else and we started talking, I mentioned how I admire Lamborghinis, but they are not my taste. Plus, not having an overabundance of chest hair, a raging coke habit or dated a stripper, I don't feel I've earned the right to own one.....come on, that's funny.

"Keys are in it.."
"What?"
"Take it down the street"
(sound of door slamming open and me running to the car while my inner 16y/o pumped his fist in the air...."we're professionals";))

I was really pleasantly surprised. They are big cars, for sports cars and you sit very far forward in a perfect reclined driving position, for me who is probably close in height to the designers in St' Agata. Bolognese. "Perfect" for driving, visibility to the quarters and rear, not so much. The car felt small, which is a great compliment. Great steering feel, easy and fairly light clutch and the brakes were not too touchy, very Porsche like. Shifter had longish throws (relatively) and the gated shift wasn't a problem but I initially resorted to my valet days trick of grabbing the lever low and feeling the gate with the lower part of my hand. Worth it for the clack clack of the gate. No squeaks, rattles etc., and the interior, seats and knobs had worn very well. Quality materials.

Visibility is just not great with a high sloping waistline, high rear deck and minimal rear window. Also, this car was temporarily missing its rear-view mirror and, of course I turned into a lot where I had to back up which I did by scoping the area and S turning in reverse. All good. Got a thumbs up from a Tesla driver while I was doing this.

In the 15-20 mins I drove the car, I noticed a few folks taking pictures, and someone paced me at a merge for a bit holding their 'phone. Disconcerting in someone else's $100K car.

Not my taste, no interest in ever owning one, but I can't see myself ever turning down seat time when offered.
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Right now these are at bottomed out prices. Especially the gated manual variants. When VAG took over Lamborghini their fit and finish and notably their reliability really jumped up. I'd love to have a Gallardo Especially the Superleggera ( super lightweight) variant.
 
My neighbor, Tony, yes he's Italian, yes he owns an Italian restaurant, has the same car in red. He loves his Lambo. I think it's a great car too. On nice sunny days we'll sometimes take our V10's out just to hear their engine notes intertwine as we drive through the mountain roads.
 
The cylinder head on the VW Jetta 2.5 is used on the Gallardo


 
The cylinder head on the VW Jetta 2.5 is used on the Gallardo



Sounds like it’s the other way around- the Jetta uses the Gallardo head. 😉

And on that note, the 5.0L heads and block were built at Cosworth. Don’t know about the 5.2L, though.
 
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