Bullish Entry Lamborghini, the only car, which can give Ferrari a run for its money across all levels, is finally coming to India. An Auto India exclusive.
It is official now that Lamborghini is coming to India. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly known as Lamborghini, is a manufacturer of high performance sports cars based in the small Italian village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna. The company was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) as a spin-off from his very successful tractor factory, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A. Now, the company will make an official entry into India to sell cars exclusively through Exclusive Motors, who have been appointed dealers for this marque in this part of the world. The father of Automobili Lamborghini was born into a farming family in Renazzo, a small village near Bologna, on 28th April 1916. Ferruccio always had a love for state-of-the-art technology and mechanics, and attended technical studies in Bologna. He served as a mechanic during World War II and started a tractor factory shortly thereafter, which made him a wealthy man. He bought and drove several top-end sports cars and was generally satisfied with them, especially so with his Ferraris. However, the Ferraris' clutches could not handle the power of the engine and Ferruccio had them fixed several times without any improvement. Finally, he decided to confront Enzo Ferrari with this weakness. Upon hearing Lamborghini's com plaint, Ferrari uttered the legendary words that triggered the founding of Automobili Lamborghini: "You know how to drive a tractor, but you will never learn to drive a Ferrari!" Ferruccio then vowed to make his own car - a real car!

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. was founded on 7th May 1963. Business went even better than Ferruccio's expectations, and Lamborghini became a strong name in the sports car world. In the late 1960s, Ferruccio employed somewhere around 4,500 persons. However, just a few years later, in 1972, he had to sell 51 per cent of Automobili Lamborghini due to the economical problems he experienced as a result of the oil embargo and the general world recession. Two years later, he sold his remaining shares and left the factory for good. Ferruccio moved to the estate La Fiorita by Lake Trasimeno in Umbria, where he created a vineyard from nothing. He entered the wine industry, producing the wine 'Sangue di Miura' (Blood of the Bull). His mind flourished again, and he constructed a golf course, a suited, hydraulically powered golf caddy and built himself a car museum. When he was asked which car he liked the most, he would always answer "Miura". Ferruccio Lamborghini died on the 20th February 1993 at the age of 76. Featuring bodies designed by Franco Scaglione, Touring of Milan, Zagato, Mario Marazzi, Bertone, ItalDesign, Marcello Gandini and Luc Doncker wolke, Lamborghini's cars are not only amongst the most expensive and powerful road-going vehicles made, but are also amongst the most stunning and impressive in appearance. Contrary to a frequent misunderstanding, Ferruccio himself never was a bullfighting sup porter but loved Bulls and was a Taurus, which explains why most models have a name somehow related to bulls.
Lamborghini's products include the 350GTV (1963), 350GT (1964), 400GT 2+2 (1966), Miura (1966), Espada (1968), Islero (1968), Jarama (1970), Countach (1974), Silhouette (1976), Jalpa (1981), Lamborghini LM002 (1986), Diablo (1990), Mur ciélago (2001) and the Gallardo (2003). Although Lamborghini has continuously shown engineering expertise with the more civil models such as 350GT, 400GT, Espada, Jarama, Jalpa and Gallardo, it is the outrageous supercars that have established the Lamborghini name and look with the public. The Miura, the Countach, the Diablo, and the Murciélago continue to be the most desired sportscars of all of their peers.


The current (2005-6) range consists of the Murciélago, the Murciélago Roadster and the smaller, less expensive Gallardo and Gallardo Spyder. All are very fast, mid-engined two-seaters with four-wheel-drive as standard. The styling is largely the work of Belgian designer Luc Donckerwolke.
Lamborghini has had a number of owners:
Ferruccio Lamborghini 1963–1972
Georges-Henri Rossetti & René Leimer 1972–1977
Bankrupt 1977–1984
Patrick Mimran (managed 1980–1984) 1984–1987
Chrysler 1987–1994
Megatech 1994–1998
Volkswagen group since 1998
Future Lamborghini projects Automobili Lamborghini is continuously planning the way ahead and has plans for the following:
Murciélago R-GT road-going version: Only 25 are planned and it is to be launched early 2006. A 6.5-litre version of the well-known Lamborghini V12 will give the car around 650-680bhp. It will be a rear-wheel-drive vehicle with E-gear and ceramic brake discs. This car is expected to be a real competitor to the Ferrari Enzo, and a 0-100kph time of less than 3.5 seconds is targeted.
Murciélago GT or SV: Can be expected around the same time as the 2006 R-GT and should have the same 6.5-litre V12. It will receive a revised four-wheel drive system and a mild facelift. Shorter gearing and ceramic brake disks could be some options for this version of the Murciélago.
Espada II: A long four-wheel drive saloon with Gallardo V10 power in the nose and four seats is on the drawing board and could see the light of day in a few years. A rear hatch is planned and should ensure that it won't steal sales from its blood brothers. Lamborghini is using the Audi Nuvolari, which was built on a shortened Audi A8 platform, as its base in the development of the car.
Espada II two-seat cabriolet: Could be spun off the Espada successor project. Both V12 and V10 engines could power this vehicle.
LM00X: Lamborghini is working on a sports off-roader inspired by the LM002. It will possibly be prepared in three version: A four-wheel drive advanced Reef Runner, a four-wheel drive simpler Road Runner and a two-wheel drive lower Race Runner. All are planned to have two doors with scissor set-up functionality. It will be powered either by the Gallardo's V10 or the Murciélago's V12. Unpainted carbon-fibre body panels are proposed as a rough touch. THE 'WIND IN YOUR HAIR' EXPERIENCEAn interesting fact with the convertible version of the car is that it is not supposed to go faster than 160kph when the roof is on, lest damage occur to the soft-top. However, if weather conditions require use of the removable roof, then the driver should probably not exceed 160kph anyway.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Engine

Bore x Stroke
87.0 X 86.8 mm
Comp. ratio
10.7
Torque
66.32kgm @ 7500rpm
Valves
4 per cylinder
Power
540bhp @ 5400rpm
Capacity
6,192cc
Fuel Supply
Multipoint Fuel Injection
Design
60 degree V Engine
Location
Mid Longitudinal
Camshaft
DOHC
No. of Cyl.
12
Gearbox
Manual
Performance

Top speed
330 kph
0-100 kph
3.3 seconds
0-200 kph
11.4 seconds
0-300 kph
34.2 seconds
Dimensions and weight

Length
4,580mm
Width
2,045mm
Height
1,135mm
Wheelbase
2,665mm
Track front
1,635 mm
Track rear
1,695 mm
Weight
1,650 kg
Fuel capacity
100-litres

The MurciélagoThe Lamborghini Murciélago is a GT and supercar automobile made by Lam borghini and designed by Luc Doncker wolke. It was introduced in 2002 as the successor to the Diablo. The body style is a two door, two-seat coupé. An open-top version called the Murciélago roadster was introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The roadster features similar performance to the coupe with a more aggressive rear flank, as well as a considerably higher price tag. The Murciélago has a 6.2 L V12 engine, a six speed manual gearbox and All Wheel Drive. It also has a rear spoiler that can be raised to an angle of 70 degrees. The side mirrors fold in to increase aerodynamics and the side scoops automatically open to the needed size to let in just the right amount of air needed to cool its engine.
The name Murciélago comes from a bull that survived 24 sword strokes in an 1879 fight, and fought with such passion and spirit that the matador chose to spare its life, a rare honour. In another Lamborghini tie-in, the bull was later presented as a gift to Don Antonio Miura, a noted breeder, and went on to sire a line of famous fighting bulls. Murciélago also means bat in Spanish, and a Murciélago roadster is featured briefly in the movie Batman Begins. The coupe's base price is 273,000 dollars, which is 90,000 dollars more than its smaller sibling, the Lamborghini Gallardo.
The Gallardo The Lamborghini Gallardo is the Italian supercar maker Lamborghini's 'entrylevel' car, sitting beneath the Murciélago. 3,000 Gallardos were built in just two years, making it the company's most produced model to date. The second-place Diablo took a decade to sell 2,903 examples. It was designed as a competitor to Ferrari's 360 Modena, and now competes with its replacement, the F430. The car is named after a famous breed of fighting bull and is pronounced roughly 'gah-yard-o'. Gallardo is also Spanish for the word gallant. Although performance is lower than the Murciélago's, it is still very high, and the Gallardo has much better rearward visibility and, according to reviewers, is more manoeuvrable as well as more tractable in low-speed traffic, making it a much more practical car to drive. It is also more practical to use in bad weather than other supercars, thanks to rear-biased all-wheel drive. Although corporate owner Audi is renowned for its extremely good Quattro AWD system, Lamborghini uses a system of its own. However, to the disappointment of many enthusiasts, Lamborghini did not fit butterfly doors, as on the Murciélago. At current U.S. prices, a Gallardo costs about 165,000 dollars. The Gallardo uses a V10 engine based on Audi's old straight-5 design. This engine was split again to become the straight-5 engine found in the new Volkswagen Jetta. The five-litre engine is a current Audi 4.2-litre V8 (featured in Audi's S4, A6, A8, and upcoming Q7 models) with two extra cylinders added. The Gallardo offers two choices of transmissions, a conventional six-speed manual transmission, and an advanced six-speed electro-hydraulically controlled auto-clutch manual, or, as Lamborghini abbreviates it to, 'E-gear'. The latter allows the driver to make shifts as fast as an automatic transmission would, with the control that a manual offers. The driver shifts up and down via paddles behind the steering wheel, and does not need to manually actuate the clutch. Audi, Lamborghini's current owner, plans to offer its own sports car based on the Gallardo architecture, the Audi Le Mans (other production-possible names include A9, S9, or RS 9). It would use a V8 in place of the Gallardo's V10 to avoid competing directly with the sister car.

Satya Bagla, of Exclusive Motors is the dealer for Lamborghini in India. He says: "Lamborghini has always been a brand with strong emotional attachment. It is a brand for those who have made it in life and want to possess the best sportscar in the world". Rocco Basta, Regional Manager, Middle-East, Asia-Pacific and South Africa for Lamborghini says: "We are happy that we have the right partner with the right connections in the Indian market. We are happy to be here and we should do well when we come to the market starting January 2006." The Lamborghini Gallardo and Murciélago are both going to be available for prices starting at 1,50,00,000 rupees and 2,50,00,000 rupees respectively. At the end of the day, these are not cars, which you buy because of utility – you buy them out of an emotional bond. This is the spirit that Lamborghini is trying to instill in its brands. Emotion is what moves us and we would all be poorer without it. And poor is something you cannot afford to be if you have your sights set on the Gallardo or the Murciélago. THE PENULTIMATE LAMBOIn December 2004, several Gallardo supercars were donated by Lamborghini to the Italian police in honour of the force's 152nd anniversary. The Gallardo police cars are used by the traffic police (Polizia Stradale) during emergencies and alarm situations on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria highway.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Engine

Engine Gearbox
Manual or 'E-shift'
Bore x Stroke
82.5 x 92.8 mm
Comp. ratio
11:1
Power
500bhp @ 7800rpm
Torque
52kgm @ 4500 rpm
Valves
4 per Cylinder
Capacity
4,961cc
Fuel Supply
Multipoint sequential fuel injection
Design
90 degree V Engine
Location
Mid rear mounted
Camshaft
DOHC
No. of Cyl.
10
Performance

Top speed
309kph
0 to 100 kph
4.2 s
0 to 200 kph
14.5s
Dimensions and Weight

Length
4300 mm
Width
1900 mm
Height
1165 mm
Kerb weight
1430 kg
Fuel capacity
90 litres
Wheelbase
2560 mm


-- Vinu