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| Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder - The Spyder who loved me! |
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| Affection of volcanic magnitude. Presenting an Indian exclusive on the Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, all the way from Tenerife |
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By : Bijoy Kumar Y | Published : May 04, 2009 | Photos : Lamborghini |
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As far as sights go, this was brilliant. Minutes after taking off from one of the seven islands that form the Canaries, you get to see Mt Teide. At roughly 3,000 ft, this is the tallest mountain in Spain (though it is closer to Africa than to mainland Europe). It rises above majestically over a large cloud cover that permanently floats over Tenerife, almost like a shark’s fin over troubled waters.
Tenerife is where the rich and famous come seeking sun. And of course, plane-loads of Germans and their children too, as I discovered in my overcrowded tourist charter B737-800. But as the pacifier warriors and their moms bent on disciplining them got on to their buses, I was escorted to an Audi A6 driven by a pretty chauffeur. A pointer that the good life had already begun.
It has got to be a good life when you stay at a spanking new hotel that goes by the name Gran Meila Palaciao De Isora Resort. Ever wondered where all those Miss Universe contenders go after they lose to yet another Indian or Venezuelan? Well, I think they are hired en masse by this resort and they startle you with their greetings as you come around corners.
This is the kind of place you get hopelessly lost in while merely trying to find your room. And when you do find it, you are in three minds whether to take a bath, a shower or sink into the jacuzzi facing the ocean. Then you decide against all three ideas so that you don’t spoil the setting. In short, this is exactly the kind of place I DON’T LIKE and I DON’T WANT when I am on a test drive. For God’s sake, there is a nasty recession out there and you don’t want Lamborghini to stop inviting journalists for test drives because some number cruncher in Audi does not like the idea of the Italians contributing to the economy of Tenerife, right?
I spent a restless night in my room deciding which pillow to use and got out as the first rays of the sun played truant with many a bleary eye. Presto, there she was – the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder in Bianco Monocerus (plain white never sounded that exotic, right?). And what followed can be rated XXX. I know, this is the Summer of Speed issue and I don’t want to dwell deep into how the engineers at the Ufficio Tecnico Lamborghini improved traction, handling and stability at high speeds. Instead I will concentrate on how I survived a day of temptation.
So you get in, lower the roof using a toggle switch and turn the key. The 560 bhp V10 explodes to life and settles into a rather bass-full rhythm with your heartbeat – which incidentally is not in any mood to settle down. Then you engage the e-gear and start rolling ever so carefully so as not to make the mistake of blipping the throttle. But those who lined up outside the Grand Pimped Up Resort or whatever it is called were expecting a little bit more celebration. The street was paved with cobble stones and the tyres were cold… but that didn’t prevent me from launching a load of smiles and the respective cheers by flooring the throttle. Cars make noise. Supercars make even more of the stuff. And Lamborghinis corrupt little boys who are still clinging to their mothers’ skirts. As palm trees gave way to buildings and later to clear blue water on one side of the road, the Spyder started to stretch its legs – all eight of them. We were on an expressway and the fast lane was being occupied by Gallardos of all hues. The new car has 40 horsepower more than its predecessor and it weighs 20 kg less and it improves the power-to-weight ratio to 2.77 kg per horsepower. Actually that sentence above was copied from the leaflet, so that you think I did lots of research to do this story. However I did have enough time to experience what that brutal power-to-weight ratio can do. This car is capable of doing 324 kph and no one would have stopped me if I was doing 324 kph on the fast lane at Tenerife that day. But since there were other road users including a few journalists who were treating the new Lambo like a new Nissan delivery truck and since I didn’t want to become one with any one of them, I controlled my urge to go over 250 kph. Alright, I did see 260 once or twice when the road was straighter than most fashion designers, still.
This car can reach 200 kph in just 13.1 seconds and that makes it more destructive than even a wagging tongue. In case you are wondering, 100 kph is dismissed in 4 seconds flat and that is way beyond what most eyeballs can cope with. The sheer force with which the powertrain goes about its business is just unbelievable and makes you think that this thing will put a few satellites in orbit if you strap a few auxiliary rockets and launch it from Cape Canaveral. Most importantly, you feel absolutely in control doing these obscene acceleration runs thanks to all-wheel drive.
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