When seven bulls meet in Italy...
Ciao, we were invited among five medias from the whole world to drive the Lamborghini Gallarado 2012 lineup in an unforgettable tour around Italy’s most beautiful cities, from Portofino to Florence, alongside the Italian Riviera and through the picturesque green mountains. From the fanciest hotels to the most exquisite restaurants, from the fresh pasta to the finest wines, we spent three exotic, passionate, and unforgettable days, fasten your seatbelts... Avanti!
If you've never been there, it's simply shocking when you first reach Portofino! We arrived at dusk, after driving by the turquoise seaside and colorful villas on the other side, until we arrived to Hotel Splendido, renowned for its famed Hollywood visitors. This time we were the Stars, dinning at the terrace overlooking the picture-perfect harbor of Portofino alongside the Ligurian Riviera. A mouth-watering four-course menu, with a breathtaking view of the serene bay as a dressing, iza badkoun it's a Harissa kind of view, but there it's clean, it's organized, it's peaceful, it's simply Portofino mixed with one item on the dreams menu: Driving the Lambos first thing in the morning!
The Gallardo is the best-selling Lamborghini in the history of the company, with more than 12,000 units delivered to date since its birth in 2003. The 2012 models all have a signature feature, which is the Y-shaped headlights with 15 LEDs. While this element most recently appeared on the Estoque concept car, the rear and brake lights were inspired by the Murcielago LP 640, the Miura concept, and the Reventón. All the Gallardos are characterized by an exclusive design, breathtaking performance, and extreme handling characteristics, and the Spyders (convertible versions) add to the above all the intensity and open-air pleasure a super sports car can deliver.
Have you ever had the Mediterranean sea waves as wake-up call? A warm sun came to confirm it, that's it, it was time to meet... we walked towards Piazzetta Portofino, along the town’s narrow roads, multicolored houses and unto the square that was bursting with colors with six flashy Lamborghini Gallarado parked by the seaport. Red, orange, pistachio, yellow, blue, and white, yes that's how we first met that colorful bouquet of ragged bulls! We jumped into these expansive toys and made our way through the enchanted crowd, as we set off on our Italian Tour. We drove along the narrow roads parallel the Italian Riviera and uphill through the lush emerald mountains; and after two hours of sheer blissfulness hearing the thriving Lamborghini and enjoying the beautiful Italian scenery, we arrived to our first destination, Varese Ligure, in the La Spezia Province. We parked our cars in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where we had lunch at the Ristorante La Taverna del Gallo Nero, famed for its creamy chestnut filled crepes and authentic pizza and pasta. After our espressos and a short walk in the Medeival town square, we hit the road again for a four-hour drive back to Portofino. We drove by Santuario di Velva, known for its panoramic views, to Passo Del Bocco, down to the town of Chiavari on the Mediterranean Sea, and by sunset, we were back at the Splendido in Portofino. Cool down the adrenaline rush and let's walk between cafes and fishing boats towards Chuflay Restaurant. The chef personally came to our table and demonstrated how to prepare pesto sauce the genuine way, revealing his secret technique: grinding the fresh ingredients in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. He then served the sauce with virgin olive oil with freshly baked bread, followed by a scrumptious four-course meal served with sommelier selected Italian wine.
Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder (blue car)
As you may have noticed this feature is not a regular car review but a mix of lifestyle and the Lamborghini Gallarado 2012 lineup, for this we will try to tackle both angles every now and then. As a starter, please allow me to introduce the LP 550-2 Spyder, which is a rear-wheel drive supercar with limited slip differential. It is engineered in such a way that the rear-end persistently remains stable and reliable, while the front axle steers with precision and minimized movement; and together with the ESP assistant system and easy-to-control road manners, the Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder is still a safe sports car to drive. This roadster has dry weight of just 1,520 kg and is powered by a 5.2 liter V10 engine with 550 hp and has a maximum torque of 540 Nm. With top speed soaring up to 319 km/h, it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2.
Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder (white car)
Born in 2008, the new Gallardo LP 560-4 has an even more powerful engine with permanent all-wheel drive. It comes with a 5.2 liter V10 engine that has an output of 560 horsepower. The 40 hp increase over its predecessor and its 20 kilogram reduction in weight improve the power-to-weight ratio to 2.77 kg per horsepower, which means even better performance. The 1,550 kg Spyder accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.0 seconds and has a top speed of 324 km/h. However, despite of the significant increase in performance, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been reduced by 18%. The Gallardo LP 560-4 Sypder’s roof strips down in 20 seconds to reveal the sexy sports seats that are upholstered in either fine leather or Alcantara.
The next day, another yummy breakfast at the hotel's veranda as we gazed at the breathtaking view of the yachts anchored in the blue-green harbor for the last time, check-out and let's head towards our final destination: Florence.
After a three-hour drive from Portofino, we arrived at Forte Dei Marmi, a sea town and commune in the province of Lucca in Northern Tuscany. It is a popular touristic area where people come from all over the world to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea, stroll by the marina, and shop in the designer boutiques. For lunch, the vegetarians got their massive raviolis, we had capricious appetizers and savory seafood dishes served with an exotic twist in a relaxing ambiance by the pool. The paninis... what can I tell you about their bread... it's simply a mix of our zaatar mankouché, add to it some ftayer and wrap it all with rkakat bjebneh, for me it was like a daily homework, the result was 2 kilos more between the before and after the Italian Tour :(!
Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera (green/yellow cars)
Compared to the already svelte Gallardo LP 560-4, the weight of the Superleggera was trimmed down to 1,340 kg, making it the lightest road-going model in Lamborghini’s range. The major key factor is the carbon-fiber components in both the exterior and interior that make up 40 of the 70 kg saved on the Superleggera. In the interior, the center tunnel cover, the door panels, the surround of the e-gear automated manual transmission lever, and the sports seats’ shells are all made of carbon-fiber and just like the rest of the cockpit, the sports seats are clad in lightweight Alcantara rather than leather. The dynamic, lighter, and more powerful Gallardo is powered by a 5.2 liter V10 engine with 570 hp. It has a weight-to-power ratio of 2.35 kg, that together with the weight reduction, decreases CO2 emissions. This Lambo hits the 100 km/h mark in 3.4 seconds and the 200 km/h mark in only 10.2 seconds, reaching a top speed of 325 km/h.
Gallardo LP 570-4 Performante (orange car)
Thanks to Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) technology, the engineers in Sant’Agata Bolognese, where all lambos are born, managed to decrease the weight of the new Spyder Performante down to 1,485 kg due to the extensive use of carbon-fiber components that make up nearly 40% of the 65 kg saved. The Performante shares the same engine of the Superleggera with optimized performance as a result of lower weight; it launches itself from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, has a maximum torque of 540 Nm, and reaches a top speed of 324 km/h, all while reducing CO2 emissions.
After our flavorful exotic fruits and foamy cappuccinos, it was time to leave the beach, we got back towards our vibrant and always shinning Lamborghinis, and here it was time for the two main bulls of this adventure, to seriously meet after flirting for 3 days, I wrapped the harnesses of the “Rosso Mars” Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale, one of 150 units to be produced only! With this supercar, Automobili Lamborghini is bringing motor racing excitement directly to the road and at the reach of your fingertips, as this toy is based on the successful race car from the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, the world’s fastest single-make series. It is equipped with a rear spoiler for greater aerodynamic load (3 times the load of the Gallardo LP 560-4) and increased dynamic stability during tight high-speed driving. Just like race cars on tracks, the driver can manually vary the rear spoiler to optimize the car’s performance according to the road conditions. Also similar to the the racing version, the engine head is removable with quick-release system. Needless to say, carbon composite materials are everywhere and together with aluminum components, the extremely lightweight construction was achieved, with a maximum dry weight of 1340 kg, 70 kg lighter than the Gallardo LP 560-4. The Super Trofeo Stradale is the most extreme Gallardo ever made with power-to-weight ratio of 2.35 kg per hp and maximum torque of 540 Nm, it sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds and 0 to 200 km/h is only 13.8 seconds, reaching a top speed of 320 Km/h… And believe me I tried them all, yes, yes, I did so, don't ask me why and how but it was a continuous mix of pleasures... We headed to Tuscany in a five-hour drive, where we pushed the bulls to their edge along sharp twisty curves and endless straights, through spectacular scenic views till we reached our lodging place in Firenze, Villa San Michele, a small luxury hotel few minutes from the center of Florence. Situated on a hilltop and surrounded by verdant gardens, the villa which dates back to the 15th century was formerly a monastery, its facade is attributed to Michelangelo and its interior is untainted Renaissance beauty. Our Giro Italiano came to an end at the Loggia restaurant on the hotel terrace, with invigorating Tuscan cuisine served under the starry night: puff pastry filled with creamy asparagus, truffle macaroni, impeccable beef tenderloins served hard-core rare, and passion fruit gelati for a perfect finish…
For those of you who are still wondering where is the seventh bull, it's simply myself, born in April and proudly having Taurus as a sign, and for those who still believe in Lebanon and felt jealous that why can't we have roadshows like that? I'm one of them, I swear we can have a similar Jawleh Bilebnen, maybe a better one, but we must focus on building better roads, protect our remaining landscape and the cedars left, take out all the manmade boundaries and pleeeeeease CLEAN this country! Food wise, we have the finest cuisine in the world, as for the supercars, don't worry I'll handle it, the Bulls are my brothers!
Nadim Mehanna