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If it’s hard for you to put a price tag on that kind of entertainment, allow Lamborghini to do so: That will be $224,800 to start for this lighter, faster, more expensive version of the regular $199,900 Gallardo. (The V-8 powered Audi R8, which shares the Lambo’s aluminum space frame, all-wheel-drive system and midengine layout, is a relative bargain, starting at $118,000).

The sportiest and most ‘purist’ Gallardo ever

With the Gallardo Superleggera, to be launched at the 2007 Geneva motor show, Automobili Lamborghini presents an uncompromisingly high-performance sports car. Thanks to increased power (an additional 10 hp) and a 100 kg reduction in weight, the new range-leading Gallardo Superleggera is even more dynamic than the already very sporty Gallardo. The weight/power ratio of the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera is only 2.5 kg/hp, putting it in the top lightweights of its class.

The Superleggera also has the fastest acceleration in its class. It needs only 3.8 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph); 0.2 seconds less than the basic model, and boasting speed and grit under various driving conditions.

The Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera is an extremely high-performance car: it includes a standard robotized mechanical e-gear gearbox that guarantees shifting without removing hands from the steering wheel. The new Gallardo Superleggera can be ordered through the dealer network starting March 2007: production volumes will be restricted to lower numbers than the standard Gallardo.

Sure, the Dodge Viper or Corvette Z06 will circle a racecourse just as quickly, and they cost roughly as much as the Gallardo’s floor mats. (Yes, I’m kidding: the floor mats were only $650.) But one’s a Dodge, one’s a Chevy and one’s an Italian exotic. So it all makes sense. At least for the guy selling the Italian exotic.

If that salesman needs another hook, he might mention the relative rarity of the supercars from Sant’Agata Bolognese. Last fall, more than 3,000 Ferraris were registered in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — but only about 440 Lamborghinis.

Higher power thanks to lighter construction

Lamborghini engineers decreased the Lamborghini Gallardo’s already low weight when empty (1,430 kg) by another 100 kg (70kg in the USA) using advanced materials and technologies. The engine hood is made of visible carbon fibre and transparent polycarbonate, a type of material that guarantees lightness and also shows off the magnificent V10. The rear diffuser and underbody covering, the rearview mirrors, door panels and the central tunnel’s covering are also made of carbon fibre. Further reductions in weight were achieved by replacing certain glass surfaces with transparent polycarbonate. For the interior, monocoque carbon fibre sports seats covered in Alcantara® were chosen to ensure restraint of the driver and passenger during the intense lateral accelerations that the Gallardo