Of all the thrills provided by a performance-oriented hyper-exotic automobile, my favourite is the singularity. In physics, a singularity is the point of mass density where gravitational forces are so great they distort space and time — and then the whole shebang collapses into a black hole. The Lamborghini Gallardo SE’s supercar singularity arrives somewhere around 5000rpm. The intensity of the V10’s operatic bellow becomes so great that forward thrust and relative speed become subjectively unquantifiable. Planting your right foot until the engine winds out to 8100rpm whilst heading towards an oncoming eighteen wheeler’s bow wave is an act of quantum-level insanity. And a bit of a hoot.
So if you’re wondering why anyone would pay $190k for an extreme sports car designed by a Belgian for an Italian tractor manufacturer turned sports car maker under the watchful eye of a German provider of OCD-level sedans and SUVs owned by a union-controlled multinational mass-market manufacturer, there’s your answer. Unfortunately (for someone in that mix), the days when a supercar could provide a single thrill and call it good are gone. Fortunately (for well-heeled car collectors), the unrelentingly angular Gallardo has another trick up its two dozen creased sleeves: handling.
More specifically, the Gallardo SE uses father Audi’s Quattro system to keep the mid-engined machine’s back end from coming ‘round during hyperspace forays into Lateral-G World. This is what accelerative drivers with a family and less than generous insurance coverage call “a good thing.” Like the equally benign Lamborghini Murciélago, the Gallardo SE can be flung around corners without the slightest regard to whether or not you should have done that quite so goddamn fast. An understeer slide is the only penalty meted out for adhesive miscalculation. And unlike its Mercy stable mate, the baby bull is small and light enough to make even experienced passengers nauseous through the turns without a nose-first tire plow.
