For our Owners’ Dinner this August we went to La Grotta. If you are looking for the best Italian Restaurant in Atlanta this is it. Christian and his family have owned and operated the restaurant for 33 years and it has one of the coolest environments that you will find in Buckhead. We had a great time and the food was phenomenal. We had a great turnout including a coupe of our customers that are usually out of town for our get togethers. Here are the pictures.
It should probably be clarified that despite some rumors and very understandable perceptions, I never owned this car.
In 2010 Lamborghini made five Superleggera press cars for the North American market. Their first appearance was at the dealer launch for the car that I attended in Las Vegas in April. The production Superleggeras were 2011′s but they didn’t have 2011 VIN’s available when these were produced. There were 2 white ones, 2 yellow ones, and 1 black one.
In October of 2010 we received on the yellow ones for an event. It ended staying here for a while. It left for a few days once to go to Roebling for a magazine test but most of the time the key stayed in my right front pocket!
The new Superleggera is probably the most capable car that I have ever driven. It has plenty of power, great torque, unbelievable grip, great sound, menacing looks, and is all around an awesome car to be in. Even at 6’5″ I can make the interior work.
I drove the car nearly 2,500 miles during the time that we had it. I went to car shows, did 2 mountain drives, drove it for errands, took countless customers on test drives, and generally experienced the car in just about every setting imaginable.
Needless to say, I fell in love. I miss that car terribly. It has since been sold as a used car to a very lucky owner.
The exotic car world was very different back in 2001. If you wanted an exotic car you had very limited options. The Ferrari 360 had revolutionized the exotic car marketplace in 1999 by offering a car that you could actually drive with great performance and usability. In 2001 Porsche brought out the 996 Turbo. It went 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and on to 189 miles per hour – world beating performance for the time. Lamborghini was just closing out the Diablo range and no one knew what was around the corner.
Named for a bull that was considered too brave to die, the Murcielago was released in 01 as a 2002 model. It was a re-definition of the word Supercar. It was gorgeous with some of the most aggressive lines the world had ever seen on a car. In Spanish the name means “Bat,” and it lived up to this translation with menacing opening rear air vents. The car was other-worldly but it was great to drive. Over the course of the next 9 years, Lamborghini produced 4,099 of the cars. Here is how the car evolved.
The Murcielago was released with a 6.2 liter V12 producing 580 hp. The car went 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and had a top speed of 205 mph.
In 2002 your options were very limited. You could pick your exterior color and interior color, opt for contrast stitching, order the centers of the seats done in alcantera, and that was pretty much it. The supply was extremely low with just 424 units being built for the world.
In 2003 the ordering was pretty much the same with the exception of a limited run of 40th Anniversary Edition cars. They were 50 of them built with the special paint scheme, a unique leather interior, and some extra carbon fiber elements, titanium colored wheels, and a different exhaust.
In 2004 alongside the release of the Gallardo, E-Gear was added as an option to the Murcielago. The rest of the car remained generally the same.
In 2005 there were a few enhancements and the range increased to include a Roadster. The seats were redesigned to give the driver more room, the brakes were improved drastically, and the wheels were changed to accommodate the larger disks and calipers. This wheel was called the Hercules design. Options such as a clear engine bonnet, carbon fiber interior, and navigation were added.
There were very few changes for 2006. The coupe and roadster were still offered. Carbon Ceramic Brakes became an option and the exhaust tips on the roadsters changed. If you opted for the carbon fiber bracing on the roadster, you also got bare carbon fiber on the underside of the decklid.
For 2007 the Murcielago was completely re-done and named the Murcielago LP640. This was the first official use of the LP nomenclature. L stands for Longitudinal and P stands for posteriore. The 640 stood for power in PS. The engine increased in size to 6.5 liters and produced 631 SAE hp. The cars could now go 0-60 in 3.2 seconds and one customer got his car up to 219 mph. The LP640 was immediately available as a coupe or roadster. There was a limited run of 20 Versace Edition cars that came with custom door graphics, a custom leather interior, and a full luggage set.
In 2008 there were a few minor changes. The Kenwood Navigation system was updated and if you ordered the carbon fiber interior package with E-Gear, the paddles would be done in carbon fiber as well. In 2008 the warranties were increased from 2 years to 3 years, still with unlimited mileage.
In 2009 the options remained generally the same. Late in the model year a clear engine bonnet for the roadster and a factory backup camera were offered but these are both very rare options. Matte paint also became available in black, brown, blue, or white. The buttons for the windows changed and carbon ceramic brakes became standard equipment as well.
2010 was the last model year for the Murcielago. The run included 350 very special cars known as the LP670-4 Superveloce. It was a lightweight version of the car with extra power, more carbon, the option of a large rear wing. E-Gear was standard as were carbon fiber sport seats and a full alcantera interior. There were a few LP640 coupes and roadsters with 2010 VIN numbers but they were quite rare. Another special edition, limited to 50 cars, was released called the LP650-4 Roadster. They were all Grigio Telesto with orange accents.
Last week I went to a car show with the Choate Cars & ‘Q for the Cause charity car show. The company was raising money for a foundation fighting Cerebral Palsy. Thank you to Jim n’ Nick’s for bringing some awesome Barbecue out and everyone who brought a car. There was an awesome variety of vehicles there. I took the 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder press car. It was a great time.
There are certain cars that I absolutely love. An orange LP640 is one of them. Here is a video that I made with one that I recently sold.
We just got this gorgeous car. It is a 2012 Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Monochrome Edition. I am sure that by now many of you are getting confused by all of the different versions of the Gallardo. The Monochrome is essentially an option package. On this car you get a special paint (pearl orange in this case), the transparent engine bonnet with LED lighting, e-gear, style package with body colored wing, branding package, leather package I, and your choice of any of the available wheel designs for just $4,000 over the standard base MSRP of the two wheel drive Gallardo.
This one has Navigation, Backup Camera, Electric and Heated Seats, Anti Theft, and Homelink.
We actually placed two new orders for customers for Monochrome Editions last week. Many people are realizing that for just a little bit more than the current market value of the 2009 LP560′s they can order a new 2012 LP550 configured exactly the way that they want it. It is a difficult option to pass up!
There have been a lot of great car guys to come out of Georgia Tech. I graduated from there in 2008. When I was a student there I always loved to walk through the lot at the Georgia Tech Autoshow in April. This year I went and took the Superleggera. It is always a great show and I recommend you check it out if you get the chance.
Here is a video that I made in the Superleggera Press Car. It includes a bit of a tutorial on how to launch a Gallardo. Sorry to the current owner of this great car!
It is rare that we get the opportunity to spend this much time in an exotic car. When you do get to put a significant number of miles on a Gallardo or any other exotic you really get some unique insight into the cars. You notice things that don’t come up in a regular weekend on evening drive.
My Gallardo performed magnificently throughout the trip. The only issues were things that I had already known about prior to departure. I bought this car with a few service needs and we are addressing them over time. At one point we had 5 error lights on the dash:
-check engine light bank 1-5 (likely due to the LOC exhaust)
-right turn signal out (false-radio wiring issue)
-left turn signal out (false-radio wiring issue)
-brake wear warning (broken sensor wire)
-washer fluid low (valid)
Despite the Christmas Tree of warnings the car did great. None of the issues impeded the driving at all. After a couple of hours of driving in Miami the clutch tried to slip a few times but the problem was easily abated. The egear pump was just struggling to build pressure around South Beach.
Anyone who owns an exotic car owes it to themselves to do a drive like this. Round trip we were just shy of 2,000 miles and we loved every moment of it. We got to experience a lot of different roads and really get to know our new car. Though we hads some rain, the weather was really good.
I can’t wait for the next one! Vegas anyone?
