Lamborghini Gallardo - More kick boxer than hairy chested Italian

We picked up the Lamborghini Gallardo from my Supercar Club, Ecurie 25 during the Xmas week 2006 for a run up to see my old school (I left 30 years ago in 2007, really scary) in Derbyshire staying in the Fischers' Baslow Hall for a couple of nights.

Arriving at Ecurie we found the Gallardo in perfect condition - they seem to valet each car every time it's used. A quick run around the car and it's apparantly 90% Audi switch gear - very very easy to understand and use. This Gallardo is in a slightly metallic yellow which makes it shout a little - no where near the subtlety of the Ferrari 360 we got from Ecurie in the summer. We do, however, like loud :-).

I must admit to being slightly fearful of the Gallardo before we got going - it's got nearly 500bhp and nearly as much torque. However the reviews I've read have been kind and I was to find out this was a super friendly supercar.

Driving from the City to the M1 the first thing you notice is the Gallardo has firm but very noisy suspension at low speed with poor roads, make it a chore to drive slowly. However the good side was the very light clutch, great steering and forward and side visibility. No overheating or any issues in heavy traffic at all - Audi engineering showing its quality.

At last onto the M1 and the first opportunity to get some revs in. So, turning onto the M1 in second and the pedal to metal. Christ. Bugger the noise (more of that later) the acceleration was a long hard, push in the back from 3000 rpm to 8000 rpm. I though the 400bhp Ferrari 360 was fast but wow you just run out of road so quickly.....

Anyway we have couple of hours to play with up to Derbyshire so I got to push a little harder. Firstly the noise. This not the banshee wail of the 360. This is a deep throated growling V10. A slight push on the the throttle in 6th at 75mph produces a spine tingling growl that grabs the red blooded male in you. And that's just what you hear from the inside - other road users at that speed clearly hear it as well. The attention this car gets...more in a bit.

BTW the other thing about the Gallardo is - bloody hell it's a good cruiser - at 100mph (so I'm told, of course) it's very very quiet on a good surface - no wind noise and only some lovely music coming from the V10. Comfy seats (although not as good as the Ferrari 360) and good ride at speed. We tried the stereo but the V10 was more interesting even than Queen.

Into Derbyshire and we get to the corners. Takes me a good 20 mins to understand that this Gallardo just goes round bends. How you get it out of line in the dry (or even the wet) is behond me. It sticks like glue.

Then I discover what motoring orgasms are made of. The open box of the Gallardo is a delight but going up the gears with the throttle open with the clunk clink of the box as you change gear is just - praise the Lord and Pass the Klennex!! What a performance/noise combination!!!

Then there is the presence this thing has. It gets huge huge attention. We drove it through Chesterfield first and the whole place came to a standstill. On motorways people just stared and grinned - one guy leaning out of a window to take a pic. In Bakewell it got more attention the Bakewell Tart - people pointing and smiling. Interestingly the Ferrari 360 got more positive attention from women - the Gallardo got more attention from men. We took it to a car park the Peak District and came back to see around half a dozen people taking pics - i have a feeling those pics went viral in Derbyshire this weekend.

Fischers Baswell Hall hotel is a delight - outstanding service, great wine list and lovely rooms - what a beautiful location - a shame we didn't eat in there Michelin star restaurant but my partner and I had had enough of fab meals entertaining clients in December. We did, however, have an excellent meal at Rowleys down in Baswell village.

Next supercar from Ecurie is the Bentley Contintental GT - not my choice but my partners - we have to go see the Wicked Witch of the West - aka mother in law...

PS My other blog can be found here http://twoclocks.blogspot.com/