2009 Lamborghini Gallardo

So to reiterate, the $201,000, 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 will go from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds, hit a top speed of 202 mph hour, and get over 20 miles per gallon on the highway.

Like the coupe, the LP560-4 Spyder loses 44 lb and gets 200 cc added to its V-10 engine -- a new, 5.2L aluminum unit with 552 hp, 398 lb-ft on tap. Mated to the updated engine is Lambo's reprogrammed e.gear six-speed transmission that Lamborghini claims shifts 40% faster in the sportiest "corsa" mode.

At the same time, Lamborghini points out that both fuel economy and CO2 emissions are substantially improved. The outgoing 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder achieved 10/15 mpg with the stick and 10/16 mpg with the e.gear, but the LP560-4 gets 12/20 with the stick and 13/20 with the e.gear. Impressive numbers for a supercar.

With fuel prices what they are, let me get straight to the most important fact about the 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4: it gets eighteen percent better fuel economy. Eighteen percent better than what, you ask? Well, eighteen percent better than last year's Gallardo, which didn't have the benefit of direct fuel injection.

The more craven industrialists and seal-beaters among you may be interested to learn that the LP560-4 also makes more power than last year's car - 552 hp, up from 512 hp - and it also weighs 44 pounds less, thanks mainly to a new transmission that's 66 pounds lighter than the unit in the '08 Gallardo. These changes give the LP560?-4 the power-to-weight ratio of the defunct Gallardo Superleggera, so it's not surprising that the revised Gallardo, according to Lamborghini, matches that car's 0-to-62-mph sprint of 3.7 seconds.

Insane acceleration, raucous exhaust, blade-like styling

Among other things, the new 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo features a completely new V10 engine that, with 243cc more displacement and direct fuel injection, puts out 552 hp at a screaming 8000 rpm, 40 hp more than the outgoing engine and only about 20 hp shy of the original Murcilago's 572hp peak. It allows acceleration to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds, according to the manufacturer. Top speed is reported to be in the neighborhood of 202 mph.

An even more powerful engine, permanent all-wheel drive and an all new chassis mean that the 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder offers yet another significant increase in performance against its predecessor.

Lamborghini has equipped the Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder with an exceptionally sporty standard equipment package that includes the automatic top; driver, passenger and side air-bags; dual-zone climate control with sun regulator; stereo system with USB interface; sports seats with electrically adjustable back rests; leather upholstery and bi-xenon headlamps with LED daytime running lights.