2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

2009 version of Lamborghini introduced at the 2008 Geneva auto show “LP560-4″ LP for “longitudinale posteriore”, meaning the longitudinally mounted engine sits behind the driver, 560 for 560 PS (“pferdestarke”, a primarily German unit of power), and 4 for four-wheel drive…

The 2009 Gallardo gets a whole shedload of visual tweaks cued in part by the radical, so-exclusive-they’re-only-making-20-of-them Lamborghini Reventón shown at last fall’s Frankfurt auto show. These include more angular, more efficient front air intakes; new headlamps; and a rear end that sports new taillamps, updated exhaust outlets, and a revised bumper and diffuser. The new bodywork, Lambo says, improves the car’s aerodynamic efficiency by a hefty margin. The car also gains Audi-style, multi-LED running lamps on the front fascia. Inside, the instrument panel has been changed, as has the center console.

The Gallardo LP560-4 coupe is available to order now, and deliveries will begin later this spring, likely at a price approaching $200,000. If the rollout of the LP640-spec Murciélago coupe and roadster is anything to go by, expect a Gallardo LP560-4 spyder to follow shortly.

And now Mechanically…! The V-10 jumps from 5.0 liters to 5.2—not surprisingly, it now matches the displacement of Audi’s V-10—resulting in that bloated power figure you read above: 560 PS, or 552 horsepower, up from 513 horsepower in the current car. Torque is also up, from 376 to 398 pound-feet, although it now peaks at a lofty 6500 rpm versus 4250. (The horsepower peak remains at 8000 rpm.) The engine gains direct injection, as well as a claimed 18-percent increase in fuel economy, as if any Lambo owner, most of whom probably own oil fields, cares about such a thing.

The extra horses have tacked on an additional 6 mph to the Gallardo’s terminal velocity, which means the LP560-4 can now surpass the 200-mph barrier before topping out at 202 mph. Acceleration is even more pulse quickening, with the LP560-4 charging from 0 to 62 mph in a claimed 3.7 seconds, 0.3 second faster than before, aided, no doubt, by an estimated 44-pound weight loss and a quicker-shifting automated manual transmission.

We recorded a 0-to-60-mph romp of 3.5 seconds in our test of the 523-hp Gallardo Superleggera, a more hard-core version of the current car, so we’re going to bet that 3.7-second figure is a shade pessimistic. Lamborghini also claims gains in handling and stability from revisions to the suspension and four-wheel-drive system.

See some snaps of this version…