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2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Road Test

Las Vegas. Bling capital of the known world. Cruising the Strip in Lamborghini's latest edition of their best-selling “Crumpet catcher”—as Sir Stirling Moss once said of a similar machine from 40 years ago.

Fits into the Las Vegas scene well, but better suited to Nevada's open roads. (Photo: Larry Crane, American Auto Press)

The Gallardo is a radical form, perfectly matched with the memorable styles of Vegas after dark. In daylight, the Strip is full of family-friendly rental cars, but after dark even the rental fleet changes to match the ebb and flow of bling bunnies (crumpet) in search of bling resources. Attention is the game. Wild-eyed performance is the myth. Except in the puritanical white coupe with the world's greatest neon flowing all over the flanks of a Lamborghini LP560-4. All eyes feed the dream. Behind the tiny windows it is real.

Once over the shock of the Gallardo's swing-out door (why not use Lamborghini's signature scissors?), the interior remains one of the entry-level Lambo's strongest features. Demonstrating the wisdom of Stephan Winkelmann, central casting's perfect leader of the resurgence of Automobili Lamborghini, and his team of brand masters, there are no changes here; it remains artful, useful, comfortable and roomy. With Ad Personam, the company's latest individualization program, the customer is able to create any combination of color and trim. Behind this program stands the philosophy that a

New look pulls more cues from its big brother Murcielago up front... (Photo: Larry Crane, American Auto Press)

super sports car should, after all, reflect the personality of its owner by enabling him or her to completely indulge their expectations and wishes. As a consequence, extreme exclusivity is the trademark of the new program. “Think the Impossible” states the motto, just one more element in Lamborghini's personal statement culture.

Only storage space remains a point of contention. There is very little inside and only a weekend bag's worth in the nose. Herr Winkelmann steadfastly refuses to call his cars exotics, they are super sports cars, and maybe that is the key to our passion and tolerance of their spatial shortcomings. In the not too distant past, luggage was strapped to the outside of anything called a sports car, but today, of course, we have Fred Smith's famous travel back up system, FedEx. Perhaps the Lamborghini Club should arrange a special rate. The best personal luxury is to arrive at the hotel where everything is already folded into drawers or hung neatly in the closet.

On

...and from the back. (Photo: Larry Crane, American Auto Press)

the outside, both ends of the firm's most popular model have been changed to include a clearer family resemblance to the Murcielago LP640 and Reventón in their smaller sibling. The big cooling nostrils and low, central wing direct air under the perfectly flat belly pan and give the LP560-4 a much more serious aspect. And that is no styling exercise. As counterpoint to the nose wing is a newly designed rear diffuser that, together, contribute to the steering stability even at extremely high speeds. The result is 31-percent better aerodynamic efficiency than its predecessor. The new Gallardo comes nearer the Murcielago on top speed with 202 mph now possible. And its implication of attitude and radical style is on every square centimeter of its lightweight aluminum couture.

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