Comparison Test: Evil Twins
Evil Twins: Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder vs. Superleggera
Lamborghinis at full song will instantly grab your attention and leave your ears ringing before they disappear.
By Patrick Hong • Photos by Brian Blades and Guy Spangenberg
LAP TIMES:
Superleggera: 1:32.47 sec
Spyder: 1:34.32 sec
The Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera aptly plays the demonic role in the Gallardo line, not with outright performance, but with its aura. That's right, the Superleggera emits some sort of electronic/magnetic interference that prevented our test equipment from functioning within four feet of the car. Of note, we did not experience this phenomenon when we tested another Superleggera just a few months back.
As in the Spyder, the Superleggera is equipped with a 5.0-liter V-10 but retuned for better intake and exhaust airflow. The result is 10 more horsepower with the engine rated at 522 bhp and 376 lb.-ft. of torque. Thanks to several weight-saving materials, the Gallardo "light" is about 500 lb. lighter than its Spyder twin (240 lb. lighter than the standard coupe). The engine cover is made of carbon fiber and polycarbonate. The rear-quarter windows are all polycarbonate. And the underbody covering, the door panels, the rearview mirror housings, the rear diffuser, the central tunnel covering and the seat shells are all made with carbon fiber.
With virtually the same V-10 engine mated to the same 6-speed paddle-shift, electrohydraulic transmission driving all four wheels, it is amazing what a 500-lb.-lighter Gallardo will accomplish on the test track. From a standing start in full launch mode, the Superleggera reaches 60 mph in 3.4 sec., tripping the quarter-mile clock at 11.7 sec. with the speedometer sweeping past 121.3 mph. That's 0.4 sec. quicker to 60 mph and in the quarter mile than the Spyder. Even though the Superleggera is equipped with stickier Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires, it showed only a slight improvement in its slalom speed — 71.3 mph versus the Spyder's 70.6 mph. And on the skidpad, the Spyder actually beats the Superleggera by 0.01g with 0.99g.
Perhaps the difference in performance between the two is best demonstrated in the lap times around Willow Springs. Millen is able to take the checkered flag in the Superleggera almost 2 sec. faster than in the Spyder. However, with both cars, Millen admits that it took him a bit longer to get comfortable in them. He notes, "There is a trick to driving the Lamborghinis. You can't be aggressive with them."
After his first stint in the Spyder, Millen recalls, "Generally, the car's speed is limited by understeer. However, once the car gets settled in a long corner, it feels pretty good. The feedback through the steering is vague, so you never really know where the limit is." He continues, "The Supperleggera feels more nimble and more under control" when compared to the open-top Gallardo. But, he adds, "It is not a night and day difference between the two cars."
In both cars on the front straight going into Turn 1, we noticed the downshifts were a bit slow, especially when the engine seems to take longer to rev-match to the lower gearing. Millen confirms this observation, and adds: "When you are hard on the brakes and trailing deep into the corner, the ABS is invoked in the front, and then the systems starts to adjust. The rear ABS comes on, too. Then the car starts to wiggle and move around. It's unbelievable how the ABS system takes over and starts to steer the car."
Even so, the Spyder and Superleggera can speed through corners quite quickly. "Both cars are pretty stable and neutral around high-speed corners. They are well-balanced cars once into the corner. It's getting in that's the issue," Millen notes. This problem also appears coming down the hill through Turn 5: "If you're not easy with the brakes, it will move you a car's width off where you want to be. It just steers it out. It is really surprising." Around Turn 9, Millen observes, "Both Lamborghinis get into a neutral drift. The good thing is that it's not oversteering or understeering." Overall, Millen concludes both are more road cars than track cars.
While the Spyder and Superleggera may not be all-out track cars, we love their shrieking V-10 exhaust note at speed, especially coming down the front straight at Willow Springs. Lamborghinis at full song will instantly grab your attention, get your adrenaline pumping and leave your ears ringing before they disappear through the corner.
If the Lamborghini's forte is not on the track, it definitely wins top marks for its visceral driving experience on the road. Combining the mesmerizing sound of their V-10s with their dramatic angular bodies, both the Spyder and Superleggera are exotic rides that make you look and feel good. Executive Editor Douglas Kott writes in his notes: "I like the Lamborghini's V-10 for its huge thrust and sound...an angry Italian wail, somehow guttural and reedy at the same time." All of us find the e-gear 6-speed paddle-shift sluggish and the clutch takeup jerky. The brakes are hard to modulate smoothly, quite grabby when you try to come to a stop slowly.
It is a toss-up between the Spyder and the Superleggera. There is really no price difference between the two. With the Superleggera you are gaining a bit more performance on the track. What you lose with the closed coupe is the ability to work on your tan. But at the same time you gain a sleeker carbon-fiber-trimmed interior, increased structural rigidity and a rear wing that makes you look fast even when you're standing still. The nod here goes to the Superleggera.
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