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Lamborghini Gallardo - THIS is the Next NSX

Joined
24 May 2002
Messages
189
I had my first experience with the smaller Lambo today, and I was very impressed, particularly with its powerband. Very linear, torque available extremely low in the rpm range, and looooong legs to stretch up top. Outside visibility was pretty good, and the car seems to shrink around you once you get in. It's not as much of a greenhouse experience as our NSXs, the A-pillars are thick, but it's as good as say a 360.

I think the most impressive part of the Gallardo to me beyond its flawless engine is the suspension. I've never been in a car that has near-zero body roll, squat, and dive, while still being that soft around town. It's actually firmer than our car's (I own a 3.2L NSX-T for comparison) while still being as soft. It's amazing that we can now demand, and recieve, suspensions that offer a luxury cruising ability combined with a true 1.0g track capability. And the soft feel is present even with the 35/30 series tires that the G comes with stock, which usually transmit every little f-ing pebble of the surface right to your a$$.

Lambo has an optional "sport suspension" for the Gallardo, I can't imagine how it could be any better than what's on the car already. For comparison, the Stradale I rode in last month was much more firm without any tangible improvement in handling. It was just more punishing in general.

The electronic gearbox on the Gallardo is crisp, and fast, even in the non-sport mode. It matches revs on all downshifts like a pro, and it auto-changes to neutral once coming to a complete stop. It's less involving or fun to me than the satisfaction that comes when I sucessfully heel/toe from fifth or sixth to first in my NSX, but the ever growing population of So Cal has forced it for me. The fear of getting caught in traffic jams has lead to the early retirement of all manual clutches from my garage, save for a dedicated track-only car sometime in the future.

Legroom is great in the G, for a car that has its front axle so close to the cabin I'm amazed at how little wheel well intrusion there is. The cabin is about the same size as the NSX, possibly a tad smaller in all dimensions. Not sure how tall guys would do in this car. The much-maligned seats were fine for me (5'10" 170lbs, athletic) with good bolstering and no lower back problems that I could discern. The charcoal leather treatment on the dash and seats, combined with optional red piping lent a rich feel to the interior.

The howl of the V-10 as it approaches redline is intoxicating. This is another area where Lambo got it right as Honda did in our cars, meaning that at low rpms around town it's quiet enough to be able to converse or listen to music just as in any current Accord or other mid-range sedan. But hold the gas pedal down as the tach swings past 4,000 and the aural symphony from behind your head ratchets up at a seemingly exponential rate, drowning everything in a wave of pure mechanical fury. It's a TON louder than the stock 3.2L NSX. It's loud as hell outside the car too, like a 1000cc sport bike really, no one could possibly want an aftermarket exhaust for it save for the reason of tracking it via straight pipes. I have a Comptech exhaust on my NSX, and it sounds good to my ear. But the Gallardo was louder up high, and as quiet down low. The quality of the sound was far superior, as is to be expected considering the source (V-10).

It's funny, but going from the Gallardo back to my NSX produced fewer differances than you'd think, and that's actually a complement to the Gallardo. Usually going from a supercar back to the NSX is a relief for me, as in "now I can see again, now I can hear again, now I can shift again" sort of thing. Supercars are great fun for 30 minutes, but after that the heavy clutch, recalcitrant gear box, and spleen-punishing suspension have me longing for a dose of civility and luxury that the NSX provides.

This time was different though, I was shocked to find that the Gallardo was as daily-drivable as the NSX for sure, moreso really because of the F1 gearbox (a boon in Cali traffic). The visibility penalties that were so common in other cars when the NSX was introduced are gone now, the Gallardo offers a fine view out in all directions. You don't have to swing a door up and look behind you due to sweating reverse in this car as with a Diablo, it's a total non event. The soft feeling suspension combined with the supportive seats and quiet (below 4,000rpm) engine bay are as relaxing as my car is, you never feel fatigued by the Gallardo. In short, the reasons why the NSX was so fawned over by the media years ago are pretty much gone now, cars like the 911TT and Gallardo have made the burdens of driving a supercar obsolete.

For me personally I've gone away from my first choice to replace the NSX, the Ferrari 360 Stradale, and am now pretty firmly in the Gallardo camp. I feel confident that Honda isn't willing to market a future version of the NSX that will equal or exceed what the Gallardo is capable of due to price concerns. I feel they're going to go after the base 911 with the HSC/NSX, and attempt to dominate that price/performance cateogory (say 350HP, 3.5L V-6, 3,100lbs, $65k.) That will be a great car in that demographic if that's what they end up doing, a true value. Plus it gives current NSX drivers a car to upgrade too without breaking the bank.

I'm going to let a few things happen business-wise before I pull the trigger on the G, I want to make sure I can enjoy the car guilt free which means no financing. So it's going to be around July/August before I can make that happen, this is going to be a long five months!

PS - This car is literally a neck breaking event in traffic. People roll down their windows and look back at you while at speed on the FREEWAY. It's comedy, but you better be ready for it. Not a car for those looking to anonymously sneak around town.
 
MarkB said:
Your reasoning for goimg with the G begs the question: "what if Honda does come out with real competition for the G?"

Then it will cost $100k+ and it will fail because Honda will never have the bull$hit "country club status" that a P-car or F-car does in the US, and that's all that matters.

I think it's horrible, as my ownership of an NSX proves, but in America it's all about labels at that price range.

The good part though is that if it happens then I'll buy it at -45% off MSRP list two years used, as I did with my 3.2L. :)
 
great review....

It sounds as if the Audi/Lambo marriage is going to be a winner:D
 
Whatever car you get, I hope you enjoy it. I personally would just like for Honda to get off of their butts and do SOMETHING!! Even being a die-hard NSX fan, waiting for the replacement is getting pretty freaking old. :( :mad:
 
Mako, great choice! I think the G is much more car then the 360CS(hell any current lineup other then the Enzo) and Ferrari needs to get on the ball again just like the NSX did to Ferrari not to many years ago. Hope you post your review on ferrarichat.
 
They have a 6-speed that's been deemed to be OK by the press, but I'm sure it's a step down from the NSX 6-speed in terms of that buttery light weight feel we're spoiled by.

Audi says they're shipping about 80% of the cars with the e-Gear, and 20% with the manuals.
 
Akira,
The Gallardo is also available in a 6 speed. I actually drove my first one Thursday and I strongly agree with MAKO's review of the car. I was blown away at how quiet it is under 4kRPM... sounds like a stock accord. Above that is a great and powerfull OZ sound ;) <br>
The one thing I also thought is I dont know about the looks of the car yet, in person it is MUCH better looking a car than in pics, but the front end seems too short and contrasts greatly with the long low body and large wheels. Maybe it will grow on me.
This car has put a crimp in my plans, as I was strongly looking at a F-car, but I am leaning away from them and the headaches that come along with the Ferrari ownership experience. The Lambo I looked at was 180k, but in a few years I am sure they will be in my comfort range dollar wise... and they are a great car!:D
 
6-sp is standard. E-gear is a $10k option. I would usually prefer a 6 spd, but I find the gearing ratios on the Lambo are odd. The first gear goes up to 70 mph. This is great for 0-60 runs but no so great for the track.

btw, I would take a Gallardo over the 360 ANYTIME. Better build quality, 100+hp, low end TQ, AWD and IMHO better looks.
 
NSXLuvr said:
6-sp is standard. E-gear is a $10k option. I would usually prefer a 6 spd, but I find the gearing ratios on the Lambo are odd. The first gear goes up to 70 mph. This is great for 0-60 runs but no so great for the track.

That got me thinking about the max speed in all gears for the Gallardo, and strangely C&D and R&T have widely differing numbers:

C&D

1st: 68MPH, 8100rpm
2nd: 94MPH, 8100rpm
3rd: 123MPH, 8100rpm
4th: 154MPH, 8100rpm
5th: 186MPH, 8100rpm
6th: 191MPH, 7150rpm (tested by C&D = drag limited)


R&T

1st: 64MPH, 8100rpm
2nd: 87MPH, 8100rpm
3rd: 113MPH, 8100rpm
4th: 141MPH, 8100rpm
5th: 171MPH, 8100rpm
6th: 192MPH, 8100rpm* (estimated by R&T)

Both magazines tested the e-Gear version of the car, and both listed the same gear ratios, redline, and final drive ratio (3.08:1).

Check out the differance at the end of 4th and 5th gears between the two, that's a pretty big disparity.

Who's right?
 
MAKO,

Is that your silver NSX? When are you going to get the SC?

Sounds like the Lambo is awesome. I read one magazine that compared it to the NSX saying it is as revolutionary now as the NSX was 10 years ago. I thought that was pretty high praise.

Maybe next time I am in Dallas I will have to check one out.
 
I'm with you MAKO, the Gallardo or the Ford GT will be my next sports car, stock market permitting. It looks like it'll be a few years before we see anything under MSRP, even for used ones. The first used Gallardo in the US changed hands for 25k over MSRP, and Ford GTs will be even more. The waiting list is 2 years, so if you're planning on getting one in 5 months, expect to pay about 200k OTD.
 
NetViper said:
MAKO,

Is that your silver NSX? When are you going to get the SC?

Sounds like the Lambo is awesome. I read one magazine that compared it to the NSX saying it is as revolutionary now as the NSX was 10 years ago. I thought that was pretty high praise.

Maybe next time I am in Dallas I will have to check one out.

The Lambo really is everything that it's cracked up to be, I was as impressed with today's drive as I was over a decade ago when I first drove the NSX.

Audi pouring over $1B into the Lambo plant over the past three years, as well as manufacturing everything under a watchful eye in Germany (the Italians only do final assembly of pre-shipped parts) has given Lamborghini the best of both worlds: 911 quality with Italian looks/emotion.

That is my car in the background, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it now. I thought about having it possibly be a track only car, convert it and maybe and add a GJ turbo for that purpose, but that seems foolish. I don't want another $100k+ "Flamemobile" that gets outlapped by a $35k used Z06.

No diss meant towards Doug there, but his site should be a warning about getting serious with an NSX on the track - don't. Save your money and get a precision weapon like a Radical, an Elise, a Z06, or something like that. A modded Lingenfelter Z06 would eat a 911 GT3R cup car for breakfast, and nearly match a Viper ACR competition coupe, and that's saying something. So I'm not sure, I may sell my NSX.

It would be fun to take a US Elise, mod it with an s/c which TRD is already prepping for the Celica GT-S (same engine) and then use THAT as a track only car. I think that would be a blast, so that might be the way I go.
 
chumch said:
Looks like the belt line on the G is really high. Is it tough to put an arm out the window (or an elbow on the sill with the window down)?

It's impossible.

The Audi TT and Honda S2000 were the warning shots, and now it seems like fact: No sportscars will be made anytime soon with low cowls and beltlines like our NSXs. The days of having the window start at your armpit are over, lol.

Hell you can barely lean your EAR out of the Gallardo's window, let alone your arm. Whenever I bitch about rising cowls and beltlines to a buddy of mine that owns an S2000, he always jokes "All the better to concentrate on the job at hand, the one in FRONT of you."

It's not the end of the world though, I didn't feel like I was in a bathtub per se in the Gallardo. Here's a pic of someone else in a black one to give you an idea:
 
sabashioyaki said:
I'm with you MAKO, the Gallardo or the Ford GT will be my next sports car, stock market permitting. It looks like it'll be a few years before we see anything under MSRP, even for used ones. The first used Gallardo in the US changed hands for 25k over MSRP, and Ford GTs will be even more. The waiting list is 2 years, so if you're planning on getting one in 5 months, expect to pay about 200k OTD.

Demand is always high the first model year, and then things tend to settle down. The market can only absorb so many $175k cars, and Lamborghini has already shipped 1,000 Gallardos to date. All of last year Ferrari only shipped 2,000 360s, so it tells you how close we are to oversaturation.

Audi has recently cut back allocation on the Gallardo because US dealers were a bit overwhelmed late last year (plenty of these cars have been, and still are, available for MSRP, the owner of the one I'm talking about bought his last week for that.)

That goes for the Ford as well, they've committed to a run of up to 1,500 GTs a year if the demand is there, so I'm sure things will come back down to reality a bit as the year progresses.

Hell, you can get a used 360 right now all day long for $110k - $120k private party, and that's a good indicator that depreciation is beginning to accelerate in this segment. My buddy just sold his 97' F355 for $80k, and it only had 16k miles on it. That same car a year ago would have gone for $100k.
 
I heard that the Gallardo wasn’t much fun on the track. Would you consider testing it on a track before buying it, and giving us you opinion?

And one more thing how did you like the interior. I know that they raided the AUDI parts bin for the Gallardo interior, so what did it look like in the flesh? Did it have a sense of occasion like an Italian exotic would? Or did it look a little on the German side of interior styling.

Final question. What are your expectations in terms of reliability and how sensitive are you to that issue?
 
Damn I forgot one more question. Why would you prefer the Gallardo to the 911 TURBO
 
MAKO said:
That got me thinking about the max speed in all gears for the Gallardo, and strangely C&D and R&T have widely differing numbers:

C&D

1st: 68MPH, 8100rpm
2nd: 94MPH, 8100rpm
3rd: 123MPH, 8100rpm
4th: 154MPH, 8100rpm
5th: 186MPH, 8100rpm
6th: 191MPH, 7150rpm (tested by C&D = drag limited)


R&T

1st: 64MPH, 8100rpm
2nd: 87MPH, 8100rpm
3rd: 113MPH, 8100rpm
4th: 141MPH, 8100rpm
5th: 171MPH, 8100rpm
6th: 192MPH, 8100rpm* (estimated by R&T)

Both magazines tested the e-Gear version of the car, and both listed the same gear ratios, redline, and final drive ratio (3.08:1).

Check out the differance at the end of 4th and 5th gears between the two, that's a pretty big disparity.

Who's right?
I don't know. A mathematical calculation should be pretty cut and dried, and their are plenty of calculators on the 'net that will do the job (here's one, for example). The one difference I have seen in measurements arises in using the mathematically-calculated outer diameter of the tire (from the tire size), and whether or not you reduce that to adjust for tire deflection.
 
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