Z07
March 2nd, 2008, 21:14
Very good read.
Ahhhh.....the Gallardo. I loved the way this car appeared and suddenly gave Ferrari something serious to worry about. Until this pocket Italian V10 exotic arrived onto the scene, aside from the 360 and subsequent 430, there really was no other choice.
Right now, there simply is no other better sounding car to my ears. With a Tubi exhaust, the car is given lungs to match its design. Volume hand in hand with melody, the Gallardo starts with a bark and continues to blow out angry mutterings under full throttle.
I first heard a SuperLeggera a few weeks back at a lunch party with some friends. It made the free flowing Murcielago that drove out seconds before sound bronchial as it blew out the showroom windows of Maranellos in Egham during a Top Gun fly by. It took a friend to elbow me so I could remember to close my mouth. Great experiences, these, as it's normally a childhood memory that accompanies such stark, joyous reminders of seeing supercars in action. Aged 34, I'm delighted to see my receptors are still acute to the abusive, intrusive act of using an italian exotic to its full potential.
Harry (http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/upload/member-harry.html) you all know. Some may also know of his amazing stable of cars. Personally, I only like the fella for his Gallardo. I blew him out on New Years Day (my car was stuck up my drive!!) but vowed to go out again with him as my love for Gallardo's continue to grow. I've got an itch and I know it needs scratching soon.
Harry turned up at my house earlier today with a car that looked just spectacular. If I had to make a minor criticism about it...hah, who am I kidding? This is perfection. Designed by someone who just doesn't exist on the same plane as us, the Gallardo Superleggera is a car that is designed to do nothing other than tell everyone else to STFU and listen. It's brash, brazen, bold and boisterous. I fell in love with it and all of a sudden, lap times and journalist reports didn't matter one iota.
With supercars, it's all about the emotion. The spine tingle you get upon accelerating, the thumbs up you get from fellow road users, the feeling of NOT wrapping somebody else's £160,000 car around a lampost. Actually, this last bit is easy as the car is a doddle to drive (as most modern cars appear to be lately??). Paddle shift transmission was a piece of cake with only the odd intrusion of computers deciding on the balance between clutch and throttle, causing a little bit of hesitation on hard acceleration from stand still. I still think the Nissan GTR transmission is unbeatable as it was smooth, incredibly quick and efficient. The Gallardo version in contrast was a little harsh and uncivilised. Were it not for the exciting downshifts that were accompanied by a blip of the throttle, there'd be little about it I'd like.
It's hard to be objective about this car when there's a mini tactical nuke being detonated in the approximate location of the exhaust tips. Following it earlier as I led Harry through the Hatfield tunnel in his SL and me in my GT3, the Gallardo was keen to show its teeth time to time with frequent flashes of lean, unburnt fuel as it ignited on exit. Great fun that tunnel, despite my ears bleeding for three hours after. Without harbouring too much on the noise of this car, it really needs to be experienced by anyone interested remotely in cars. Or mini tactical nukes.
Interior was amazing too as you can see by the photos with liberal use of alcantara and carbon fibre. It's tastefully done too and the cabin does a great job of reminding you how much money you'd just spent on this piece of automotive art. Suprisingly, though, for a car that demonstrated itself as an easy car to drive, the pedals were seriously offset with both your legs pointing uncomfortably to the left. Harry warned me that if not careful, you could quite easily slam on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
LOL THANKS HARRY - just the kind of thing you want to hear as you pull out of your drive with a car equaling the price of an average mortgage.
Speed is academic in these cars. 500BHP + will obviously put a smile on a dead mans face, but there is such a sense of occasion about this car, it's not just about pure performance - it's a seat in the pants sensation that can only be measured subjectively and no amount of high tech measuring gadgetry can convey the feeling a full throttle burst a Gallardo SL will give you.
I remember a moment when Harry had obviously been chatting away to me, but I'd been utterly oblivious to his discussion, instead I was bathing in the noise, atmosphere and joyous ambience of the SL. Only on the downshift when the car blipped its throttle did I yelp a cry of joy, eventually waking myself from this moment of euphoria and grabbing the last word or two from Harry's dialogue. I just nodded in mock understanding, shifted down a gear again and pushed my foot through his awkward footwell for a repeat, drug-free trip down mental-headcase lane.
Is a SL worth two normal Gallardos? Can you afford 2 Gallardos? For me, it's worth every penny as nothing can make you feel as right as driving a SL down a road with a bunch of people grinning like the joker as a result of a full bore rape of the A1.
It's expensive, harsh, has a flawed transmission and also does you no endearing favours to the public. Would I swap my GT3 for one? Hell yes.
Thanks Harry - your car is AMAZING.
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/01.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/02.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/03.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/04.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/05.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/06.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/07.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/08.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/09.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/10.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/11.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/12.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/13.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/14.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/15.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/16.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/17.jpg
Ahhhh.....the Gallardo. I loved the way this car appeared and suddenly gave Ferrari something serious to worry about. Until this pocket Italian V10 exotic arrived onto the scene, aside from the 360 and subsequent 430, there really was no other choice.
Right now, there simply is no other better sounding car to my ears. With a Tubi exhaust, the car is given lungs to match its design. Volume hand in hand with melody, the Gallardo starts with a bark and continues to blow out angry mutterings under full throttle.
I first heard a SuperLeggera a few weeks back at a lunch party with some friends. It made the free flowing Murcielago that drove out seconds before sound bronchial as it blew out the showroom windows of Maranellos in Egham during a Top Gun fly by. It took a friend to elbow me so I could remember to close my mouth. Great experiences, these, as it's normally a childhood memory that accompanies such stark, joyous reminders of seeing supercars in action. Aged 34, I'm delighted to see my receptors are still acute to the abusive, intrusive act of using an italian exotic to its full potential.
Harry (http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/upload/member-harry.html) you all know. Some may also know of his amazing stable of cars. Personally, I only like the fella for his Gallardo. I blew him out on New Years Day (my car was stuck up my drive!!) but vowed to go out again with him as my love for Gallardo's continue to grow. I've got an itch and I know it needs scratching soon.
Harry turned up at my house earlier today with a car that looked just spectacular. If I had to make a minor criticism about it...hah, who am I kidding? This is perfection. Designed by someone who just doesn't exist on the same plane as us, the Gallardo Superleggera is a car that is designed to do nothing other than tell everyone else to STFU and listen. It's brash, brazen, bold and boisterous. I fell in love with it and all of a sudden, lap times and journalist reports didn't matter one iota.
With supercars, it's all about the emotion. The spine tingle you get upon accelerating, the thumbs up you get from fellow road users, the feeling of NOT wrapping somebody else's £160,000 car around a lampost. Actually, this last bit is easy as the car is a doddle to drive (as most modern cars appear to be lately??). Paddle shift transmission was a piece of cake with only the odd intrusion of computers deciding on the balance between clutch and throttle, causing a little bit of hesitation on hard acceleration from stand still. I still think the Nissan GTR transmission is unbeatable as it was smooth, incredibly quick and efficient. The Gallardo version in contrast was a little harsh and uncivilised. Were it not for the exciting downshifts that were accompanied by a blip of the throttle, there'd be little about it I'd like.
It's hard to be objective about this car when there's a mini tactical nuke being detonated in the approximate location of the exhaust tips. Following it earlier as I led Harry through the Hatfield tunnel in his SL and me in my GT3, the Gallardo was keen to show its teeth time to time with frequent flashes of lean, unburnt fuel as it ignited on exit. Great fun that tunnel, despite my ears bleeding for three hours after. Without harbouring too much on the noise of this car, it really needs to be experienced by anyone interested remotely in cars. Or mini tactical nukes.
Interior was amazing too as you can see by the photos with liberal use of alcantara and carbon fibre. It's tastefully done too and the cabin does a great job of reminding you how much money you'd just spent on this piece of automotive art. Suprisingly, though, for a car that demonstrated itself as an easy car to drive, the pedals were seriously offset with both your legs pointing uncomfortably to the left. Harry warned me that if not careful, you could quite easily slam on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
LOL THANKS HARRY - just the kind of thing you want to hear as you pull out of your drive with a car equaling the price of an average mortgage.
Speed is academic in these cars. 500BHP + will obviously put a smile on a dead mans face, but there is such a sense of occasion about this car, it's not just about pure performance - it's a seat in the pants sensation that can only be measured subjectively and no amount of high tech measuring gadgetry can convey the feeling a full throttle burst a Gallardo SL will give you.
I remember a moment when Harry had obviously been chatting away to me, but I'd been utterly oblivious to his discussion, instead I was bathing in the noise, atmosphere and joyous ambience of the SL. Only on the downshift when the car blipped its throttle did I yelp a cry of joy, eventually waking myself from this moment of euphoria and grabbing the last word or two from Harry's dialogue. I just nodded in mock understanding, shifted down a gear again and pushed my foot through his awkward footwell for a repeat, drug-free trip down mental-headcase lane.
Is a SL worth two normal Gallardos? Can you afford 2 Gallardos? For me, it's worth every penny as nothing can make you feel as right as driving a SL down a road with a bunch of people grinning like the joker as a result of a full bore rape of the A1.
It's expensive, harsh, has a flawed transmission and also does you no endearing favours to the public. Would I swap my GT3 for one? Hell yes.
Thanks Harry - your car is AMAZING.
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/01.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/02.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/03.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/04.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/05.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/06.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/07.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/08.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/09.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/10.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/11.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/12.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/13.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/14.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/15.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/16.jpg
http://www.blowdogfiles.com/gallardoSL_GT3_020308/17.jpg