Hardcore Lambo Gallardo 23 | 11 | 2010

FANCY A BIT of hardcore? Well here's the new Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, essentially a Superleggera version of the exotic open-top supercar.

Ok, take a deep breath; it's full name is the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante. The Italian sportscar giant has shaved almost 65kg from the standard car's weight, giving it a dry weight of no more than 1485kg thanks, essentially to the use of carbonfibre and carbon composites on both its exterior and interior.

The designers have used carbonfibrefor the retractable roof, diffuser, rear spoiler and some of its underbody, as well as for the door panels, bucketseat shells and its transmission tunnel. The sales line for the Performante, as if one would ever be needed, is "less weight, more fascination".

Cooling and downforce have been improved by styling and aerodynamic changes at the front, while the rear diffuser has also been re-designed for the same purpose. The brakes are also beefed-up, while lightweight 19in alloys are clad in special Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres.

Time for an even deeper breath: it'll catapult from standstill to 62mph in 3.9secs, and on to a top speed of 201mph thanks to performance tweaks to its direct-injection 562bhp 5.2-litre V10 engine. The changes also result in lower CO2 emissions and improved fuel economy.

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Jim McGill