Lamborghini Gallardo Performante review, test drive

We drive the 570bhp drop-top Gallardo Performante in sunny Italy.

Published on Jun 14, 2012 05:25:00 PM

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Lamborghini Gallardo Performante review, test drive

Make : Lamborghini

Model : Gallardo

Our convoy of a burnt-orange Aventador sandwiched by a bright-green Gallardo Superleggera and a steel-grey Performante slices through the Italian countryside on the outskirts of Sant’Agata Bolognese. It’s an eye-popping sight which, along with the sound of 22 cylinders dishing out a collective 1814bhp, has the potential to create anarchy in the streets. I’m expecting to be chased by camera-phone toting bambini in Pandas and Puntos. But we get, at best, the odd glance or an approving nod from fellow enthusiasts whenever we stop to switch cars.

Lamborghinis are made in Sant’Agata Bolognese so they are probably as common a sight around here as a Nano is in Sanand. In fact, we are at the epicentre of the supercar world and it’s in this innocuous part of Italy that Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati all live within fighting distance of each other. For these brands it’s all about heritage, so even though Audi bought Lamborghini in 1998, this marque is just as Italian as it was in the days of its founder, Feruccio. And the cars we are driving, the latest in the Lamborghini range, couldn’t be truer to the brand – each one of them extrovert, in-your-face and very loud.