Disguised prototypes of the Gallardo, Lamborghini’s upcoming competitor to Ferrari’s 360 Modena, have been spotted on a test track in Italy.
Disguised prototypes of the Gallardo, Lamborghini’s upcoming competitor to Ferrari’s 360 Modena, have been spotted on a test track in Italy. We take a peek…
As CARtoday.com reported in May, the small Lambo, codenamed L140, was being tested, albeit under modified Diablo and Murciélago panels, ahead of its launch at either the Geneva or Frankfurt motor shows next year.
The new car will have an all-new alloy chassis and a V10 engine developing up to 410 kW – therefore outgunning its rival from Ferrari. The Lamborghini is also expected to be quicker, but more expensive, than the Maranello-built incumbent.
Unlike the Murciélago’s V12, the L140’s new V10 engine will be mounted ahead of a six-speed gearbox, which presumably means it will be rear-drive only, and not four-wheel drive, as originally thought.
It is expected that the Gallardo will be significantly cheaper than the R2-million Murcielago, partly due to cost-cutting measures from Lamborghini’s parent company, Audi. According to , the Gallardo is to share many of its components, if not its entire platform, with Audi’s upcoming RSR supercar.
The Gallardo, however, is likely to precede the RSR. It will be targeted directly at the 360 and Porsche’s 911 GT2, and cost R1,5- or R1,6-million. Like the RSR, the Gallardo will feature an aluminium spaceframe construction and exterior panels, put together at Audi’s quattro works in Neckarsulm, but its final assembly will take place at Sant’Agata, in Bologna. Sources say the Gallardo could weigh as little as 1,4 tons.
The supercar is essentially a 2+2 coupé with “conventionally-opening doors and rear spoiler which raises at high speeds”, reported. Former-SEAT designer Walter de Silva, new Lamborghini design chief Luc Donckerwolke and members of ItalDesign Giugiaro reportedly co-operated on the design.
Estimates for production volumes of the Gallardo vary from 750 to 1 300 cars a year. The car will be unveiled in March at the earliest, but will only become available in May 2003.
The Audi RSR will be made in slightly larger numbers. The RSR, which was featured on CARtoday.com in July, will be fitted with quattro four-wheel drive, six-speed tiptronic transmission and a next-generation five-litre or six-litre V10 engine.