10 years ago, Lamborghini celebrated its 40th anniversary with the Gallardo. But like the saying goes, all good things must come to and end — The Mercedes SLS AMG isn’t an exception, and neither is the Gallardo.
When it bowed at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, the Gallardo also ushered in a new era for Lamborghini. With 530-horsepower on tap from its V10 engine, nearly 250 examples were built each year. By Lamborghini (and supercar) standards, those figures are pretty high, establishing the Gallardo as the most popular supercar to ever roll out of Lamborghini’s Sant’Agata Bolognese factory.
Based on the Super Trofeo race car, the Squadra Corse is the most extreme Gallardo to date, says Lamborghini.
Handout, Lamborghini
14,022 cars later and destined for a private collector, the final Gallardo is the LP 570-4 Spyder Performante finished in what Lamborghini calls Rosso Mars. Of course, over the years Lamborghini hasn’t taken it easy with tweaking the Gallardo. The most recent Squadra Corse edition takes a page out of the Gallardo Super Trofeo racer’s books with a zero-to-100 km/h in 3.4 seconds before topping out at 320 km/h.
Lamborghini is already hard at work with the Gallardo’s successor, known unofficially as the Cabrera. When it does bow, perhaps sometime next year, following in the footsteps of the Gallardo will be tough. After all, in Lamborghini’s 50 years of existence, almost half of all 30,000 cars ever built are Gallardos.
