Murcielago question

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Discussion

GallardoSpyder

Original Poster:

66 posts

181 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
I'm in the market for a manual Murci.

A proud owner of Dr. Pathmanathan's book 'Murcielago' but it is silent on the difference between models with the suspension settings next to the gear shift and those without.







Is this as simple as, those cars without didn't have the adjustable Koni suspension?

In which case, surely these are more desirable buys later down the line?

Does anyone know the model years this changed in?

EVOeng

957 posts

171 months

Sunday 31st December 2023
quotequote all
Yes, the cars with the buttons below the shift gate are the only cars with electronically controlled dampers; these are 6.2l cars from 2002-2004. 2005 cars had updated brakes and no active dampers but still used the 6.2, all cars with the 6.5l engine also did not have the electronic dampers.

carspath

835 posts

178 months

Sunday 7th January
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GallardoSpyder , Thank you for alerting me to that omission ..... much appreciated .

And Evoeng , thank you for filling in the blanks about those buttons on the early Murcielago's central console which electronically adjust the car's dampers .

I am just about to start on a book ( Lamborghini's Holy Trinity ) looking at the socio-politico-economic factors , which alongside the scientific and technical advancements , drove forwards the evolution of the Countach into the Diablo and thence the Murcielago .
I will include a paragraph about these buttons in that book .

From about 2005 ( and with all the roadsters - including my very early Arancio Atlas car ) the Murcielago inherited the Gallardo's brakes , which was said to be a big improvement on the brakes that the Murcielago started off life with .

The main attraction of getting a manual Murcielago over an E-gear car is that there is less to go wrong with the simpler 3-pedal manual system .

But the robotised manual E-gear system and its actuators are , by all accounts , pretty robust .

In manual sport mode the E-gear system is , in my opinion , very good - it is fast ( hugely faster than me anyway ) , the driver has pretty much full control over the change-up and change-down points , and it carries the huge advantage of allowing the driver to keep both hands on the steering wheel when pressing on .

In big , heavy , powerful road cars a paddle-shift system allows you to extract the most from the car on those very rare occasions in southern UK when the roads open up and allow you to play .
Lamborghini and Ferrari introduced , and have stuck with , these paddle systems for good reason .

I really enjoy the early E-gear system in my 6.2 car - I deliberately chose it over a conventional manual system because it was so different to anything else that I had had up to that point in time .
I have not been disappointed , and have no regrets .
You really can feel the car's drivetrain doing something positive each time you pull on up or down paddles .
It is infinitely more satisfying than the PDK system in my 981S although the latter is much faster and much smoother .

The clutch pedal and the gearchange in the 3 pedal Murcie is nowhere near as engaging or as challenging as the clutch pedal and gearchange in a Countach for example , and is much more '' normal '' by comparison .

You might see this as an advantage or a disadvantage , but it would be worth getting a test drive in an E-gear Murcie if you can . You might be pleasantly surprised .

Bear in mind that car dealers and motoring journalists who have not had the privilege of spending years living with a car , or who might have an agenda , do have an incentive for talking up a particular drivetrain variant - either for profit or for column lines .

If you want a truly visceral 3-pedal drive , and insist on exercising your left leg at the same time as your left hand , you might want to look at earlier L or F offerings which will dish up engagement levels from a completely different universe .


I think that the Murcie is a really great car if you use it as it was truly intended to be used - ignore all those who say they take it to Tesco or to the tip . What utter garbage - of course you can , but the Murcie was designed to astound and to fly , and given the chance it does both these things superlatively well .
The real challenge is for you the owner to find the roads and the road conditions where the beast can truly unleash itself .


Best of luck finding your dream Murcielago GallardoSpyder , and most of all Enjoy The Search !smile








Edited by carspath on Sunday 7th January 00:46


Edited by carspath on Sunday 7th January 01:08