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The Lamborghini Gallardo is the Italian supercar maker Lamborghini's "entry-level" car, sitting beneath the
Murciélago. It is also the first car to feature the new Lamborghini V10 engine - only the third engine made by the firm. 5,000 Gallardos were built in just three years, making it the company's most-produced model to date.[3] The second-place Diablo took a decade to sell 2,903 units.
The car is named after a famous breed of fighting bull. Gallardo is also Spanish for the word gallant.
The Gallardo was designed as a competitor to the Ferrari 360, and now competes with its replacement, the Ferrari F430. Although performance is lower than that of the
Murcielago, it is still very high, and the Gallardo has much better rearward visibility and, according to reviewers, is more maneuverable and tractable in low-speed traffic, making the Gallardo a more practical car to drive. It is also much more practical to use in bad weather than many other
supercars, thanks to rear-biased all-wheel drive. Although corporate owner Audi[4] is renowned for its Quattro AWD system, Lamborghini uses a system of its own.
To the disappointment of some Lamborghini fans, the Gallardo does not have "Jack Knife Doors," aka "Scissor doors" as found on the
Countach, Diablo, and Murcielago models.
The Gallardo was designed by Belgian Luc Donckerwolke.
At current U.S. prices, a base Gallardo costs about US$175,000 to $200,000
The Gallardo uses a V10 engine based on Audi's old straight-5 design. The engine was split again to become the straight-5 engine found in the new Volkswagen
Jetta. The 5.0 L engine (basically the same engine featured in Audi's S6 and S8 models) is a current Audi 4.2 L V8 (featured in Audi's S4, A6, A8, and Q7 models) with two extra cylinders added and a slightly smaller bore diameter.
The Gallardo offers two choices of transmissions, a conventional six-speed manual transmission, and an advanced six-speed electro-hydraulically controlled auto-clutch manual, or, as Lamborghini abbreviates it to, "E-gear". The latter allows the driver to make shifts much faster than an automatic transmission would, with the control that a manual offers. The driver shifts up and down via paddles behind the steering wheel, and does not need to manually actuate the clutch.
The Audi R8 sports car, launched in early 2007, is based heavily on the
Gallardo, but uses a V8 in place of the Gallardo's V10 to avoid competing directly with the
Gallardo.
For the 2008 model year, the Gallardo will receive a slight facelift with a new front air dam, larger air intakes, dual squared of exhausts (similar to the Murciélago LP640) and new vents behind the front wheel. The Gallardo will also receive new rear suspension as well as a few other, unspecified components from the Audi
R8.
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