2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera

2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
Road Test

If you ever want to understand why some people are willing to part with $246,000 for a Lamborghini, one day with a bright-yellow Gallardo Superleggera will make it all clear. People gawp and gape and wind down their windows to mouth the words "wow" and, in the case of spotty teenagers, "sick."

Strangers become emboldened to ring your doorbell on a Saturday afternoon and beg for a closer look. Others will tail you home at 11 p.m., like pesky magnets, in pursuit of a closer look at a car that is a common sight only at Lamborghini's plant in Sant'Agata Bolognese in northern Italy and possibly at South Beach in Florida.

The Superleggera is the hard-core version of Lambo's entry-level supercar, the Gallardo, trimmed of 126 pounds, thanks to the extensive use of Superman-hard but lightweight carbon fiber. The engine cover, the rear diffuser, the underbody cover, the exterior mirrors, the rear spoiler, the side sills, and the inner door panels are all made of carbon fiber, and some of the glass—the rear window, for one—has been replaced with lighter-weight polycarbonate. Removing 126 pounds from a supercar is a good thing, but bear in mind that the 3434-pound curb weight is hardly light, as declared by the Italian term superleggera ("super light").

While Lamborghini was shedding weight, it added 11 horsepower to the already enormous 512 horsepower that the Gallardo makes from its 5.0-liter V-10 engine. According to Lamborghini, the power increase came from changes to the engine software and a bigger intake manifold. Torque remains at 376 pound-feet, peaking at 4250 rpm. The six-speed e-gear automated manual transmission is a no-cost alternative to the six-speed manual.

Lamborghini has fitted the 19-inch wheels with sticky Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber that is optional on the base Gallardo. The suspension settings are carried over, according to Lamborghini. Carbon-ceramic brakes are an option on the Superleggera and were fitted to our test car for a whopping $15,600. (Porsche charges about $8800 for this type of brake, and Ferrari wants somewhere around $22,000 for carbon rotors on the F430.)