Years and years ago I would have simply chuckled at a suggestion of getting an automatic transmission in a car that was also offered with a manual. These days, most automatic transmissions are far superior and much better in most applications than the manuals. They also took away the fuel consumption advantage from manual boxes. Their smoothness, quality of shifting and responsiveness are very impressive.
But witnessing an era of the last supercar with a manual tranny is very sad to me. I love the Gallardo. The car’s clean sexy lines (clean & sexy? sounds weird!), great proportions and outrageous performance have always appealed to me. I think it’s the best looking Lambo ever and it’ll be greatly missed (2013 is the last production year for the car). It’s hard to believe that it’s been with us for 9 model years.
It’s also pretty hard to believe that there will be no more supercars left available with a manual. It really just hit me now, how much the world has changed…
At least, the Gallardo is going out with a bang. Lamborghini has something special planned for the car. The company is releasing a limited-run, rear-drive-only Gallardo stripped of performance-irrelevant luxury options and outfitted with a manual transmission.
“It will be the least-gilded, back-to-basics stripped version,” said Lamborghini of America chief operating officer Michael Lock. “We are in an era when customers demand technology and products that adapt to them. It is the oldest supercar still standing, like a boxing champion,” Lock said.
I have a model of a yellow Gallardo on my desk, where it will remain as a reminder of the bygone era for the foreseeable future. Will you miss it as well?
No comments:
Post a Comment