Lamborghini Murcielago LP640

They say grabbing a tiger by its tail is inviting danger. Seems no one told us that taking raging bull by its horns was just as fraught! More so when it's on the Sepang Grand Prix circuit in Malaysia, natural habitat for thorougbred bulls to be given their head....

Story: Adil Jal Darukhanawala Photography Mel Lee & Associates

IT WAS THE CALL I KNEW WAS WAITING TO HAPPEN! "Can you make it to Sepang in Malaysia the week after next," rang the voice at the end of the line in typical Italiano-English singsong manner. "We have a special drive session of the new LP640 Murcielago for Asian journalists and we want you to come and drive our sportscar."

HUSTLING THE MURCIELAGO THROUGH HERMAN TILKE'S MALAYSIAN MASTERPIECE WAS EDUCATION AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS. OF COURSE I DIDN'T GRADUATE, NOT ENOUGH TIME AT THE SCHOOL METHINKS, BUT I SURE DID LEARN.

Would I? You bet I would! Now when has anyone ever said no to getting behind the wheel of a raging bull? Ever since I first got stuck into automotive folklore at a very young age when in school, the stunning Miura and its creator fascinated me no end for their bold initiative to take on the great Enzo Ferrari , reputation, history, tradition, engineering prowess, racing success and all. For a tractor maker to be this ambitious (the word naive didn't register in my subconscious then) was straight out of Boys Own and even though Lamborghini didn't race, its sports cars were racy enough for me to forgive them this lacuna.

The car Lamborghini were brave enough to lay out for yours truly and other lead-footed Asian car hacks was their answer to the never ending battle of bigger, faster and quicker - the LP640 Murcielago. The LP stood for 'longitudinale posteriore' or rear-engined in a north-south placement of the glorious V12 motor with 640 being its power output. At this juncture allow me to seek our columnist Mark Walton's very insightful take (refer page 56, August 2006 issue of CAR INDIA) on what really constituted the genuine Lamborghini sportscar in its history a nd that had to be the Countach, not the Miura. I read that more than a month ago and while it did make me reflect on my boyish infatuation for the Miura, I do know that the genes of the Countach run strong in the latest Murcielago.

And that was what I was here for at Sepang, to drive this 640bhp sportscar on the full Grand Prix circuit and at a pace where I could just about scare myself silly. "Do not worry, Sepang is very good for our Murcielago," said Lamborghini's Dominik Hoberg. I thought his remark was made to make me feel good before he added "Thanks to the ample run-off areas so that even when you find your limit to be less than that of the car, you will spin off without hitting anything."

And spin we did though I was a passenger when it happened and I lived to write about it. Lamborghini had paired two journos per car and as it transpired my cohoot in arms was the editor of the Japanese magazine Rosso, aptly focusing exclusively on Italian cars. This said gentleman asked me if I had driven a Lamborghini before and I answered in the affirmative. When he asked me where and how many times, I told him I had driven Lambos in Italy and Germany plus also in India. Maybe that was a mistake because he next told me that he not only drove Lamborghinis and Ferraris for a living, he owned the latest Gallardo plus also an Espada! Now that was more like it, a man steeped in motoring history and living his dream.

In the penultimate stint with Jap editor driving, on the very last lap, he began to push as if his life depended on it and going into turns six and seven he over-corrected and the LP640 reared its great behind, came around and whipped off into the gravel on the right hand side, spinning thrice before coming to a halt in the gravel trap. I remembered Hoberg's words about safe Sepang and I knew he was trying to be cool.

So there was it, a first for me: a 'literal' spin in a supercar and not exactly the thing I relish. But then that's the LP640 for you. A mad barking car that is docile when you have to in everyday driving on the street but direct and powerful if you like your motoring that way when you get a decent stretch of tarmac to plonk the right foot down. Get on to the flip side and it is like dancing on a razor's edge: one wrong move will have the car chew you and spit you off if you are lucky otherwise it will slice you in two without you even getting to cry out to the lord.

So what have the Lamborghini engineers done to make the LP640 the most audacious car ever from Sant' Agata? Well if you take in the sleek exterior first you will not notice a purer form than this Murcielago. Of course there is function which has decided the overall form so while

IT MAY NOT BE DRAMATIC ENOUGH LIKE THE DIABLO BUT THEN THAT IS ONLY MEASURING THE EXTENT OF HOW FAR WILD YOU CAN GO WITH A LAMBORGHINI. AND THE MURCIELAGO IS BOTH, PRETTY AND WILD, ROLLED INTO ONE FINE ORGASMIC WHOLE.

there are new design bumpers front and rear, it is the sides which throw up an interesting mix: the expanse behind the air intake on the right hand side is practically closed while that on the left has a vast gaping aperture for the cooling charge to hit the oil radiator. It may not be dramatic enough like the Diablo but then that is only measuring the extent of how far wild you can go with a Lamborghini. And the Murcielago is both, pretty and wild, rolled into one fine orgasmic whole.

Open the scissor door to inelegantly glide yourself down into the cockpit and you know that you are in a genuine honest to goodness fire breather. Lamborghini had laid out both right and left hand drive versions of the LP640 with both the six-speed close ratio manual gearbox as well as the brilliant e-gear auto 'box complete with its new dedicated acceleration mode (aptly termed "Thrust") built-into the system. And as always there was the permanent four wheel drive with the torque split normally set at 30:70 front to rear but with the ability to switch seamlessly after the electronics brains trust residing in the car takes in factors such as dynamic oscillation, weight transfer and also the relative friction factor in optimum synchronisation with the viscous clutch. In fact the Lamborghini boffins informed yours truly that if it were ever needed, in extreme cases one could find 100 per cent of the ample 660Nm of torque being fed to just one axle and this could even be the one at the front!

The magnificent naturally aspirated 60-degree V12 has been upped in capacity to 6.5 litres and this has helped bump up the power from 580bhp to 640bhp at 8000rpm. Torque is a battleship monstering 660Nm at 6000 rpm and you know that more is never enough in this league. But then again my shotgun riding Japanese partner enquired "Do you feel the extra 60 horses?" and that did make me think, though not during the duration of the quick break dance sequence. I had wanted to take my new toy - the Racelogic Driftbox with me to Sepang to try and play with two things at one time but the Lambo men (and women) were ready with the performance figures and so the Driftbox stayed put.

Imagine the performance capability of the LP640: it does zero to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds flat in first gear! You only get to shift into second at around the 105km/h mark and from then on it is not the quickness of pace or the speedo and rev needles going crazy which impresses you but the sheer planted feel as those mighty 18-inch Pirelli P Zeros get to work, laying down the power admirably well on this wide tracked ballerina. Yes this 1665kg car is fast (330km/h top speed), nimble where it has to be, taut when you allow it to be so and perfectly tractable when you are on the babe hunt run cruising down Bandra's Linking Road.

In the real world the cockpit may seem excessive, heck the whole car seems that way and thank goodness for that. The e-gear with the paddle shifts is great but what use is a Lamborghini if you are not going to take it by its horns, er six-speed gearbox?

Hustling the Murcielago through Herman Tilke's Malaysian masterpiece was education at the highest levels. Of course I didn't graduate, not enough time at the school methinks, but I sure did learn. While many were overtly praising the e-gear paddle shift system, I for one liked to play with the mechanical feel and direct engagement of the fantastic six-speed manual transmission. Getting to take the car through its peak torque point in each cog was scary but fun as long as you knew when you had to roll it back with the simple expedient of lifting your right foot off the throttle pedal. While I might be exaggerating a bit here, the huge 380mm dia ceramic Brembos were crushingly effective and you knew you had to watch out, for they could turn from friend to foe in no time given your shenanigans at the wheel. And yes the lack of ESP was great in that it lets you use your skills at the wheel to do the business while delivering that chill in the nape of your neck while you are modulating throttle, dancing on the brakes and working the cog lever as never before. Let me assure you this is more car than any Indian can handle to its hilt and that's what makes it so enticing. And yes if you have a spare four crores gathering piddly interest in your piggy bank, do make a beeline to Exclusive Motors in Delhi. They may sell you one, provided they can get one from Lamborghini! Puzzled are you? Well production for the whole of 2006 and early 2007 has been sold out!

The crackle finished induction plenums highlight the glorious naturally aspirated 6.5 litre marvel of a V12 engine. Owners can also specify a clear glass engine cover instead of the all black louvred job.

Source: Car India September 2006.