If you own a car company that is new, you will need lots of
time to get into that high class circle. It’s not just the money you need to
invest, but also the prestige that goes with owning a well known sports car, as
opposed to owning something new, regardless of the performances on the paper.
Also, for the amounts of money you need to give for those cars, peace of mind
and prestige need to go with the package. So every new manufacturer needs to go
that extra step further in order to get noticed and maybe even earn the cult
status for its cars.
Photo: www.fusionest.com/
On the other hand, Lamborghini has been in that high class
society for a long time. Every new machine they produce moves the boundaries
and sets another bar for the competitors to surpass. Their cars look great,
they are instantly recognizable, and they have amazing performance combined
with lightweight bodies for ultimate results and pleasure. This is what happens
when the engineers from Lamborghini go that extra step further. That
lightweight feature is exactly the focal point of the new Lamborghini Gallardo
LP 570-4 Spyder Performante. They have managed to reduce the weight of the car
by 143 lbs, compared to the Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder and it now comes to 3,274
lbs making the Spyder Performante the
lightest open top Lamborghini.
Exterior
Being a photographer on a task to do a photo shoot of this
car is the easiest job out there. Just point and click. The designers have made
sure that this car looks perfect from every angle. The already mentioned
Lamorghini’s recognizability is once again here to distinguish it from any
other model on the market. Ok, it does look a bit like one of the company’s
previous models, Gallardo Superleggera, but for the people who know their
Lambos, this car has enough distinguishing features. The front bumper is
remodeled, the underbody is completely different, there are new sill elements,
the diffuser is different and there is a spoiler you can opt for. Let’s have a
look at everything.
Photo: www.fusionest.com/
From the front it is the most different from any other car.
The bumper has the function of a large trapezoidal frame that is supposed to
serve as the place for the huge intakes. The nose is sharp and very prominent
and the LED headlights, though simple in design, fit the picture perfectly,
making this car seem very sharp and aggressive and at the same time very
harmonious.
Photo: www.fusionest.com/
The side view is always dominated by the line of the car.
The line is ascending making this car look smooth, but not boring in any way.
The huge air intakes sitting behind the doors and even above them made sure of
that. The wheels are lightweight 19-inch titanium ones but the tires at the
front and the rear differ. The front ones are 235/35 and the rear 295/30.
Photo: www.fusionest.com/
The back, some would think, offers the least space for
playing. But this is not the case here.
The lights are placed high up and the bottom part is marked by a very conspicuous
diffuser that keeps the car glued to the road. Above the diffuser there are
four exhausts, two on each side. The back seems massive, but sharp on the
edges.
Photo: www.fusionest.com/
The body shell of the Spyder Performante is made of
aluminum, with significant use of carbon fiber that helped reduce the weight.
Interior
The car of this kind of heritage and price is bound to be
packed with the best materials available. Even though this is a full-blooded
sports car, the luxury was not set aside. Even the most demanding buyers will
find no sensible reason to complain. Still, it is amazing how they managed to
put this kind of luxury into this car and still keep in mind the ultimate
weight reduction they set out to achieve. Again, the most useful tool in this
quest was the use of carbon fiber. It’s everywhere. The tunnel cover, the door
panels, the seats’ shells, the space around the transmission lever… The finish
is made from Alcantara and it’s black, but there is an option of choosing
different colors for the seats and the seat stitching. The color schemes
mentioned are the same ones offered for the exterior and they are named Grigio
Telesto, Nero Noctis, Bianco Monocerus, Arancio Borealis, and Giallo Midas.
Photo: www.mibz.com/
There is enough room for both passengers in the car, but the
driver is the one who is supposed to have most fun. The seats have a firm grip
on you and they keep you well in place while the car swirls. Everything is easy
to control and operate, the instruments are visible and clear, the steering
wheel is lovely and massive and it works perfectly with responsive steering
expected from this kind of a car. The central part is not crammed with loads of
buttons and distracting design patterns. It’s simple, with everything you need,
easy to use and still lovely. The colors of the instruments combine really well
with the rest of the interior.
Photo: www.fusionest.com/
Under the hood
Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante has the V10
engine with the displacement of 5.2 l that gives you 570 hp at screaming 8,000
rpm and 398.3 lb-ft of torque at 6.500 rpm. Just like any other Gallardo, this
one has the cylinder angle of 90 degrees which significantly lowers the center
of gravity of the car, and this improves the handling considerably. This car is
simply glued to the road. Turning is very fun and it makes you take the car to
its limits, but they are much further than you would think. The weight loss
gave us the top speed of 201 mph and the acceleration from 0 to 62 mph of just
3.9 seconds. This being said, the mentioned time is some half a second worse
than that of the Ferrari 458 Italia, but reliability issues of the Ferrari and
a slightly higher price might make the choice between these two cars difficult,
or even tip the bar towards the Lambo.
Photo: www.fusionest.com/
All in all, while the car manufacturers bicker and move
their limits in attempts to surpass one another, we are free to enjoy the
fruits of their efforts.
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