Lamborghini Gallardo - THIS is the Next NSX

sabashioyaki said:
I'm with you MAKO, the Gallardo or the Ford GT will be my next sports car, stock market permitting. It looks like it'll be a few years before we see anything under MSRP, even for used ones. The first used Gallardo in the US changed hands for 25k over MSRP, and Ford GTs will be even more. The waiting list is 2 years, so if you're planning on getting one in 5 months, expect to pay about 200k OTD.

The $200k you quoted is low, I had a salesman call me several weeks ago. Was #1 on the waiting list since last summer and he was authorized to sell the only GT this dearship would be getting @ $240,000. Yeah right when its list at $139k. I have no proof of what the GT's are actually going for when the start hitting the showrooms, but if folk are paying that it will be more than a few years before their anywhere close to MSRP. IMO the Lambo is a far more reasonable value.
 
I heard that the Gallardo wasn’t much fun on the track. Would you consider testing it on a track before buying it, and giving us you opinion?

The anti-track comments come from a distaste for the somewhat detached sensation coming from the 4WD system in terms of steering feel. It's similar to the arguments for and against the electric power steering on our cars. My 3.2L NSX's steering feels nowhere near as good as the non-boosted 3.0L NSX's direct steering, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me.

As far as overall track ability goes, thanks to low rpm torque peak, its massive brakes and huge lateral grip, the Gallardo is in the top echelon of sports cars, posting lap times that rival/exceed a stock 911GT2's. It would take a supercar like a Carrera GT, Enzo, Zonda, Murcielago, to beat it by a large margin.

And one more thing how did you like the interior. I know that they raided the AUDI parts bin for the Gallardo interior, so what did it look like in the flesh? Did it have a sense of occasion like an Italian exotic would? Or did it look a little on the German side of interior styling.

It's funny because how often do we listen to complaining by journalists about our car's "dour" "drab" and "boring" interior, meanwhile the Gallardo's is possibly LESS impactful. It's a total Audi A4.

Remember how they'd always say that the NSX's interior could be "mistaken" for an Accord's, and we'd laugh at how rediculously ignorant that statement was? Well the Gallardo's switch gear, radio, and center console, truly look as if they should belong in the entry level Audi. Like get into the car blindfolded, open your eyes, and voila, you think you're in a $30k German car.

This is an area where they need a little work in future versions of the car, it's just too common for this price range. It doesn't have to be crazy bling bling over the top as the Pagani Zonda interiors are, but the G's interior is actually LESS distinctive than the NSX's!

Why would you prefer the Gallardo to the 911 TURBO

The P-cars are great sportscars, but I'm a desciple of the school of "wedges" when it comes to exotics. I don't care for the modern rounded look of the 911, the 360, the 575, or the new abomination from Ferrari, the 612.

I like the wedge look of the Murcielago, Gallardo, Esprit, and NSX, and feel that cars in this price range should look like that. The Ford GT, Ferrari GTO, and Ferrari Testarossa are also good examples, even though they lose a little of their angular wedge sharpness in exchange for soft curves. Plus the Gallardo is much faster at all rpm ranges to my senses, although it's been a while since I rode/drove a 996 TT.

Final question. What are your expectations in terms of reliability and how sensitive are you to that issue?

I mentioned earlier that the Gallardo's parts are sourced and manufactured outside of Italy, thanks to Audi wanting to improve the notorious Italian quality control as much as possible. The parts are then shipped to the modernized Italian Lambo plant where final assembly takes place.

As much as I'm sure the moves by Audi have improved things versus the previous situation, any Italian car will likely give more problems/issues than a similar German/Japanese assembled car. I believe that with the changes, Lamborghini's products are now more reliable than a comparable Ferrari. How much more? We don't know yet. The Murcielago has been shipping for about two years now, and according to Audi it's been the most trouble free model in Lamborghini's history. That's a good first step, hopefully the Gallardo continues it.
 
Tom Larkins said:
The $200k you quoted is low, I had a salesman call me several weeks ago. Was #1 on the waiting list since last summer and he was authorized to sell the only GT this dearship would be getting @ $240,000. Yeah right when its list at $139k. I have no proof of what the GT's are actually going for when the start hitting the showrooms, but if folk are paying that it will be more than a few years before their anywhere close to MSRP. IMO the Lambo is a far more reasonable value.

As I mentioned before, with ANY new all-new sportscar in this segment, there is going to be incredible speculation and demand during the first model year. Once volume production catches up, and then exceeds the demand, prices fall back to MSRP very quickly.

This happened when the NSX was introduced as all of you know, and it's no different now 13 years later with the Ford GT.

To say that they will still be over MSRP a "few years" from now, when Ford has already said publically that they are mass-producing this car and will be at full capacity by the end of the first year is a doom and gloom opinion.

Ford will be making the same 1,500 cars a year by early 2005 that Lambo will for the Gallardo, and Ferrari does currently for the 360.

This is a volume segment, they're not selling Enzos and Murcis here. They need to move lots of these cars, because they're the profit centers for the marques in question (with the exception obviously of Ford).
 
MAKO said:


To say that they will still be over MSRP a "few years" from now, when Ford has already said publically that they are mass-producing this car and will be at full capacity by the end of the first year is a doom and gloom opinion.


Maybe you didn't understand, my post was in context of what "sabashioyaki" was stating in the contex about waiting a few years for the value to come down some.

At what I was quoted by the dealer "$240,000" it may be awhile before it got back to the MSRP levels. Thats not a doom & gloom opinion at all. I may be to optimistic...

To say in two years the GT will depreciate $100k in value is doom indeed, but that statement was never made. I do think it will be interesting to see what the market will do with the GT. I cannot think of a more talked about American production car being brought to market that appears to have the ability of blowing the doors off most everything.

Oh, may I say after doing research on 355/360's over on F-chat for awhile.....I do enjoy the replyies from you and Allanlambo.

enjoy the Lambo
 
PoohBEAR said:
Am I the only one that don't like the "G"? IMO, it looks like a Toyota Celica :( In my book, 2001 diablo roadster is my babe


I love my father, but his lack of exotic car knowledge is funny sometimes. When the new Celica was released a few years ago, my father called me and told me he saw a new car, and he thought it looked like a new Lamborghini. I told him it was a Toyota celica, and he didn't believe me until he went back by the dealership and saw it was a Toyota dealership.



On a side note, there is a full write-up on the Gallardo in the latest edition of Road & track, as well as info on the ME-FourTwelve, the next Eclipse, and speculation on the next Supra. It's a very good issue. Worth the $4.00 IMO...
 
PoohBEAR said:
Am I the only one that don't like the "G"? IMO, it looks like a Toyota Celica :( In my book, 2001 diablo roadster is my babe

In real life, as opposed to 2D pics, there is no resemblance.
 
Tom Larkins said:
Maybe you didn't understand, my post was in context of what "sabashioyaki" was stating in the contex about waiting a few years for the value to come down some.

At what I was quoted by the dealer "$240,000" it may be awhile before it got back to the MSRP levels. Thats not a doom & gloom opinion at all. I may be to optimistic...

To say in two years the GT will depreciate $100k in value is doom indeed, but that statement was never made. I do think it will be interesting to see what the market will do with the GT. I cannot think of a more talked about American production car being brought to market that appears to have the ability of blowing the doors off most everything.

Oh, may I say after doing research on 355/360's over on F-chat for awhile.....I do enjoy the replyies from you and Allanlambo.

enjoy the Lambo

Thanks Tom, I appreciate the kind words.

You mentioned research, are you in the market for an F-car?
 
PoohBEAR said:
Am I the only one that don't like the "G"? IMO, it looks like a Toyota Celica :( In my book, 2001 diablo roadster is my babe

Calv'... You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. Indeed it does appear Celica'esque in two dimensions, namely print. But in person, it's low-stance and WIDE presence and low-slung front rising in form to it's rear is fully assessed face2face. :p

Barring QA&QC fiascos and frenzied-escalated market-adjusted pricing ("legal" dealer thievery, hehe), this car is going to be a winner and raise the bar, if not form it's own niche'. Right on par w/ the original NSX's emergence in 90-91, but that was a different era- different barriers and challenges then.
:cool:

Being on the threshold of entering my professional career... the HSC/NSX forthcoming, the AstonMartin line-up, the Lambo Gallardo, and the Ferrari Scaglietti (sp?); *sigh* I am in a relative bliss... atleast dream-car wise!
 
this really is a great time to be a sports car fan...reminds me of the mid 90's but times 3. With all the HP for example, that Mercedes is producing with their AMGs you can tell that the automotive world is in quite an HP war...I love it!
 
maybe i should go see one in person.....heck, with allllll these many cars coming out, i may need a different job!!! anyone hiring? I like to get an HSC and aston martin :D and a G? :D in the next couple of years or so....

Osiris_x11 said:
Calv'... You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. Indeed it does appear Celica'esque in two dimensions, namely print. But in person, it's low-stance and WIDE presence and low-slung front rising in form to it's rear is fully assessed face2face. :p

Barring QA&QC fiascos and frenzied-escalated market-adjusted pricing ("legal" dealer thievery, hehe), this car is going to be a winner and raise the bar, if not form it's own niche'. Right on par w/ the original NSX's emergence in 90-91, but that was a different era- different barriers and challenges then.
:cool:

Being on the threshold of entering my professional career... the HSC/NSX forthcoming, the AstonMartin line-up, the Lambo Gallardo, and the Ferrari Scaglietti (sp?); *sigh* I am in a relative bliss... atleast dream-car wise!
 
MAKO said:


You mentioned research, are you in the market for an F-car?

Yes, but not as much with what I have learned and seen w/the Ferrari's

Was looking at a 355, but I don't know if its that much of a move up from what I have now. Don't mind the maint. issues b/c I can do them myself other than the majors. Then I started thinking I might as well look at the 360 however they are dropping value @ significant levels based on what I've seen just in the last 6 months. Better car than the 355 certainly, however I don't like the idea of taking that great of a depreciation hit, maybe as much a 15-30 grand in a year is possible. The Gallardo looks like a real winner so far, although I can't drop that type of coin right now.

Listen too me, I sound like I'm complaining .....


Like others have posted, the selection of high HP exotics is better than ever and maybe a new nsx/hsc will be a suprise. I'm on the waiting list for that too! I'm in no hurry.
 
Tom Larkins said:
Yes, but not as much with what I have learned and seen w/the Ferrari's

Was looking at a 355, but I don't know if its that much of a move up from what I have now. Don't mind the maint. issues b/c I can do them myself other than the majors. Then I started thinking I might as well look at the 360 however they are dropping value @ significant levels based on what I've seen just in the last 6 months. Better car than the 355 certainly, however I don't like the idea of taking that great of a depreciation hit, maybe as much a 15-30 grand in a year is possible. The Gallardo looks like a real winner so far, although I can't drop that type of coin right now.

Listen too me, I sound like I'm complaining .....


Like others have posted, the selection of high HP exotics is better than ever and maybe a new nsx/hsc will be a suprise. I'm on the waiting list for that too! I'm in no hurry.

That's a tough spot to be in, you nailed it. The F355 is definitely not enough of a leap over an NA2 NSX, not in my opinion. Over an NA1, well that's a bigger jump for sure, possibly worth it. The problem is that it's nearly 2x the cost of a used NA1, even at just $80k for the 355, so the value may not be there. Plus you never know when the 355 is going to leap up and bite you, Bill in Arizona (MYNSX, MY355) just burned out a set of stock headers on his 99 355, and the repair bill was over $5k.

And you're right on the 360, anyone buying one of those right now better be willing to keep it for 10 years and drive it into the ground, because the depreciation is just starting to kick into high gear. You'll lose $30k - $40k on it over the next two years alone, no matter if it's brand new, or an original 1999. And at the end of that two years your reward for grinning and bearing it is a replacement model, the 400 Monza, which will further punish the pre-owned 360 market, just as the 360 did to the 355 previously.
 
I was just comparing the Gallardo and Ford GT to how long it took for the 360 to start falling in price. It's been only recently that 360 prices have started tumbling. I hope prices of both these cars fall sooner, I can't fathom spending more than 150k on a car. If they don't I might be looking at a 360 or 996TT, prices of those seem to fall everyday.
 
I agree, I was not a fan of the Gallardo on photos (and I still prefer the classic "lambo" doors over conventional ones), but since I saw one "live" I cannot stop thinking how nice, exotic and nsx-esque it is!

The Celica did not even cross my mind in that moment...
 
sabashioyaki said:
I was just comparing the Gallardo and Ford GT to how long it took for the 360 to start falling in price. It's been only recently that 360 prices have started tumbling. I hope prices of both these cars fall sooner, I can't fathom spending more than 150k on a car. If they don't I might be looking at a 360 or 996TT, prices of those seem to fall everyday.

It sounds as if were both in the same situation. One thing appears to be happening w/Lambo's "Murci" manufactured over the past few years is they appear to be depreciating at lessor levels to some extent than the Ferrari.

I forgot about the 996TT, done some research on those and a 997 should be out within the next 18 months, again current used TT's are dropping huge as well. I'm talking Vette like rates of depreciation.

Makes me wonder, what the level of saturation will be in 3 years when all these new models come out.
 
chumch said:
this really is a great time to be a sports car fan...reminds me of the mid 90's but times 3. With all the HP for example, that Mercedes is producing with their AMGs you can tell that the automotive world is in quite an HP war...I love it!

Maybe a Moore's Law for the auto industry can be applied.

HP figures will double every 18 month... :D
 
I have another question. Is the Gallardo drivable during winter?

You know how it is that NSX and Ferrari hibernate in garages for the winter. So do you think the AWD of the Gallardo will make it drivable in all weather conditions?
 
gheba_nsx said:
I would be more concerned about salt on the street and other driver not capable that of the car itself...

sorry, no snow in my area

what does salt in the road do to the car?
 
It can corrode and rion the finish and shine of the paint. I am not sure how bad it is on aliminium (probably better than on steel) but anyway... I prefer to avoid.

Specially if the street is wet and there is salt. On a dry street it is not much of a problem... water enhance the negative salt effect a lot!:(
 
gheba_nsx said:
It can corrode and rion the finish and shine of the paint. I am not sure how bad it is on aliminium (probably better than on steel) but anyway... I prefer to avoid.

Specially if the street is wet and there is salt. On a dry street it is not much of a problem... water enhance the negative salt effect a lot!:(




Ouch, thank god we don’t have ice were I live. It doesn’t even rain much, that’s why I prefer RWD to AWD.

But hell, my point of view for the Gallardo is beginning to shift to the better after all what I heard from MAKO and some journalists. What put me off at first about the Gallardo is that many said that it wasn’t much fun to drive, they said that it was too much like AUDI and too little like Lamborghini. I guess that was an exaggeration. Good luck MAKO, I'd still prefer the NSX, but if it is all great for you then go for it.

But don’t forget to answer my question. I like to study other cars in the market
 
Great thread.

There were two Gallarados parked outside the Paris Hotel in Vegas over Super Bowl weekend that were just stunning in person. I wasn't all that hip to the car from the photo's I've seen in mag's, etc. but was blown away in person.

IMHO, the two Lambo's made the 360 spider and Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante also parked outside look, well pedestrian. But that's just me.
 
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