The Original Baby Lambo, The Gallardo, Just Turned 20

Lamborghini is getting to ready to introduce the replacement for the Huracan, but before it does so, it is first taking a stroll down memory lane by looking back at the car that the Huracan succeeded: the Lamborghini Gallardo.

The first production Lambo with a V10 engine was revealed at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, and it proved to be highly successful for the Sant'Agata Bolognese-based brand, breaking several sales records for the automaker. But the story of a baby Lambo began far sooner.

In fact, founder Ferruccio Lamborghini had already considered a smaller Lamborghini with a lower asking price and smaller running costs in the early 1970s.

This concept ultimately led to the development of a project that became the Urraco. In the 1980s, this evolved into the Jalpa, Lamborghini's original everyday supercar. Then in 1987, development of a new project called L140 began with the goal of creating a more compact Lamborghini. Several prototypes were completed, and they had a variety of technical solutions and potential powertrains, including a V8 at first and later a V10 engine.

But the following year, Lamborghini opted to start over from scratch, keeping only the original concept, general dimensions, and the idea of a 10-cylinder engine for the new supercar. A 10-cylinder had never before found a home in a roadgoing Lambo.

The engine was the work of two people, primarily: Massim Ceccarani, who became the Technical Director, and Maurizio Reggiani, who oversaw engine development and design in the Technical Office. But as Reggiani recalls, the V10 almost didn't happen.

"The L140 had a 72-degree V10 engine with the gearbox integrated into the oil pan area, designed by Lamborghini, and not practical to produce for the type of car it was intended for," said Reggiani. "Furthermore, the position of the gearbox under the engine generated a high center of gravity, which wouldn't guarantee the drivability and handling characteristics that a super sports Lamborghini should have. So when we started the project codenamed 'Baby Diablo,' a V8 was chosen, and it was decided to look for a potential engine among those already on the market, including the eight-cylinder Audi. With the subsequent acquisition by Audi, it was decided to produce a completely new car with an aluminum tubular frame and a 10-cylinder engine, designed by Lamborghini, and a brand-new transmission, both manual and robotized."

Basically, the 10-cylinder Lamborghini wanted to use was too poorly packaged and too expensive for the sort of baby Lambo it would be fitted to, and were it not for Audi's intervention, the Gallardo would not only have been an inferior product, but it would also have had a more common engine design.

The engine developed for the Gallardo displaced 5 liters and had a 90-degree angle with dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. This translated to 493 horsepower, or a nice round 500 PS in Europe. The wider angle helped keep the engine short, improving handling and visibility. With regular firing intervals, the engine and exhaust notes were spectacular. This was achieved with the use of crankpins with an 18-degree offset.

A dry-sump lubrication system further lowered the center of gravity and also promised perfect lubrication under all sorts of forces.

Reggiani explains the design thus: "So that it could be produced in the planned quantities, the V10 had to have a 90-degree V, and so it was decided to adopt a 'split pin' on the crankshaft, which allowed regular firing even if the crankcase had 90-degree cylinders. The crankcase, which up to then had inserted liners and Nikasil coating on the liner, was revised and redesigned by Lamborghini engineers, to be made with a hypereutectic aluminum alloy that allowed the liner to be cast directly on the aluminum. This allowed the distance between the cylinders, and consequently the length of the engine, the weight and costs, to be reduced."

As impressive as that was, Lamborghini also introduced its six-speed gearbox with the option of a robotized sequential version called e-gear. This has since been regarded as a poorly refined so-called "flappy paddle" gearbox, but it was highly revolutionary at the time.

Along with a solid powertrain, the chassis was constructed of aluminum, while external hang-on parts like bumpers were produced from thermoplastic material. All of this was important, but at Lamborghini, a strong visual identity is arguably even more critical.

Design started in 2000 with a project based on an initial Italdesign-Guigiaro proposal, with the styling refined and completed at the Lamborghini Centro Stile (then newly established) under the oversight of Luc Donckerwolke, who is now plying his trade at Hyundai and doing a fine job of it too. As with other baby Lambos these days, the design was partially influenced by that of the brand's halo car, which in 2001 was the Murcielago.

The completed product was presented in 2003 and sold for a full decade before the Huracan replaced it in 2014. Unfortunately, by this time, the V10 lost its equal firing order, hence the loss of that high-pitched wail. There are still some high-frequency notes from the engine, but they are far more muted. Blame emissions for this decision.

Other highlights from the Gallardo's time on the market included the first-ever donation of a Lamborghini to the Italian Police in 2004, and the resulting supercar went viral for its imposing look. This was used mainly for special purposes like transporting organs or other medical items, and other law enforcement agencies also used the supercar, including the London Metropolitan Police and the Police of Panama.

Two years after the Gallardo's launch, in 2005, the Gallardo Spyder was revealed. Before this, the one-off Lamborghini Concept S was presented at that year's Geneva Motor Show, but the speedster look was always going to be too extreme for production.

Instead, we got a conventional drop-top, and it brought with it more performance, with 512 hp available at 8,000 rpm. The gear ratios were shortened too, and the coupe got these upgrades the following year, in 2006.

In 2007, sales of the baby Lambo had exceeded 5,000 units, and Sant'Agata celebrated with the release of the Gallardo Superleggera, with 10 hp more and 220 pounds less. This car was only available with the e-gear transmission, but at least it also got four cool color options (Midas Yellow, Borealis Orange, Telesto Gray, and Noctis Black). It also got carbon fiber parts like the optional fixed rear wing. Carbon-ceramic brakes featured too.

A year later, the Geneva Motor Show once again welcomed Lamborghini to its grounds, and the automaker unveiled the LP 560-4, which was over 440 lbs lighter and had a 5.2-liter engine with a direct stratified injection system producing 552 hp.

Later that year, production exceeded 7,100 units, but 2008 was also memorable for the brand after unveiling the new LP 560-4 Spyder, again with technical upgrades.

"For the subsequent version of the Gallardo, with the 5.2-liter engine, it was decided to change the geometry of the crankshaft, removing the split pin and thus accepting an irregular firing order in favor of increased crankshaft rigidity," recalls Reggiani. "Direct fuel injection technology was also adopted, which increased the efficiency in the combustion chamber with greater power and fewer pollutants."

In 2009, with 9,000 Gallardos having been made, the first rear-wheel-drive Gallardo arrived in the form of the epic LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni, of which just 250 examples were produced. This lost power but had a gated manual gearbox - heaven for enthusiasts. Customers wanted more sideways action, so the LP 550-2 was introduced in 2010, followed by a Spyder version the year after.

The 5.2-liter Gallardo also got a Superleggera version in 2010 as the LP 570-4, dropping some 154 lbs and producing 562 hp. Carbon fiber featured more heavily, along with new floor panels and revised aero. This same engine found its way to two other cars in 2010: the LP 570-4 Spyder Performante (which was 143 lbs lighter than an LP 560-4 Spyder) and the Gallardo LP 570-4 Blancpain Edition, which blended the "spirit" of Super Trofeo (Lamborghini's one-make race series) with a road bias. The design was inspired by the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, a one-make championship started in 2009.

2012 saw the Gallardo further updated with new LP 560-4 and the LP 570-4 Edizione Tecnica, but these were little more than facelifted versions of the regular baby Lambo. January of the following year saw the announcement of a GT3 program based on the 2013 Gallardo, while later in 2013, the LP 570-4 Squadra Corse was revealed, taking direct inspiration from the Super Trofeo.

The fascinating story came to an end on November 25, 2013, when the last Gallardo rolled off the production line. This final model was a Gallardo LP 57-4 Spyder Performante painted in Rosso Mars (red).

Over its lifetime, the Gallardo was sold in 45 countries and saw 14,022 units produced over 32 variants, and its success paved the way for that of the Huracan.

With Lamborghini looking back on an icon for its past, the teaser campaign for the Huracan's successor is likely about to begin. Lamborghini employed a similar tactic in the buildup to the reveal of its latest V12 supercar, so keep your eyes peeled - the next in a line of very special baby Lambos is about to start emerging.