Lamborghini Gallardo Driving Experiences

Of the 30,000 cars that Lamborghini has produced over the course of its half a century in operation, half of those came between 2004 and 2014 alone. And the model in question, the one that became its most produced and one of its most popular supercars of all time? The Lamborghini Gallardo of course.

Like other Lamborghini supercars, the Gallardo shares its name with a famous breed of fighting bull. Its design, headed by Luc Donckerwolke, took inspiration from their 1995 Calà concept car.

On the engineering front, it comes kitted out with a choice of either a 6 speed manual transmission or a 6 speed electro-hydraulically actuated single clutch automated manual transmission, patented by Lamborghini as an ‘E gear’, which is activated by a series of paddles behind the steering wheel.

Powering on the Gallardo comes its 4.2 litre V10 engine, which, whilst smaller than those found on the likes of an Aventador or Murcielago, still bumps out an impressive 493 bhp, roaring from 0 - 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and 0 - 100 mph in 9.1 seconds, and is capable of top speeds 193 mph.

The BBC’s long running motoring show Top Gear were immediate fans of the Lamborghini Gallardo from the off. They not only made it their Dream Car of the Year twice over - first in 2005, then again in 2009 - but they also wrote a special ‘This Is Your Life’ piece for their website to mark the Gallardo’s end of production in 2014.

Did you also know that the London Metropolitan Police have used the Gallardo before? In 2005 and 2006, Lamborghini London supplied them a Gallardo for use in publicity events, fitted out in their standard yellow and blue livery with a small blue lightbar affixed to the top of the roof.