joined the club - meet our LP560-2

[anomie]

Reasonably intent on chucking in 911 Turbo for GT3 RS. Having brunch in Pangbourne. Walked into HRO on a whim...as one does.... (looking back, probably not the best way to give the impression we are actual potential buyers and not just random looky-loos. Neither is wearing mud covered dog-walking clothes with faces that reveal distinctive signs of having been at the pub till midnight the night before).

Despite the unusual circumstances of the walk-in, we came out about 75% sure we were going to get a MK1 SL after Christmas. *note to wives: if you want your husband to buy you good presents tell him you are perfectly happy to buy a lamborghini and you don't care how much it costs. Doing so inspires grateful shopping trips to jewelry stores and help with the hoovering before family comes over for dinner.

MK1 SL fell through. Understandable enough. It was SOR and at the last minute the owner couldn't part with it. If I were him I wouldn't either. No hard feelings but a bit of disappointment. Nothing else really on the market we were super keen on....or, there were some good looking cars, but they were not good cars, and by this point we were we over Porsche and had Lambo-fever.

Craig to the rescue. He had seen me eyeing up the LP560-2 in the showroom. Maybe its superficial but what drew me in first, amid all the other cars (other than the fact that it was not in Aventador price range and thus reasonably achievable) was the Chanel handbag-esque quilted interior. I love me some quilting. And, of course, the wing. Both husband and I like a big showy rear end...which works out well for me when deciding whether or not to have a few extra roast potatoes, and the car also has a nice backside.

I was a bit iffy on only one point. It is white. It doesn't matter that it is a special pearly white. I like a supercar to look either evil or garish and white is neither of those things. But, husband, having been a teenager in the 80's, has a boyhood hard-on for a white countach and this is about as close as he is going to get.

Offsetting any reservations about it having a bit of class and not being (visually) obnoxious is the fact that we like the idea of all that power in twitchy RWD form. Plus, carbon fibre makes me as moist as a snack cake, and this has a lot of carbon fibre. Deal done.

Obligatory handover photoshoot to turn into next years Christmas card for the purpose of pissing off my holier than thou "eco-friendly" relatives who turn family reunions into a Prius convention.



Then, onto a truck to be shipped up to Yorkshire. Tempting to wait and drive home, but common sense prevailed over wasting annual mileage on 300 motorway miles in crap February weather. Into the garage it went.

In theory it should stay there till April-ish. In all likelihood we will look for the first hint of sunshine and kid ourselves that it won't start raining in the next hour or so before taking it out on a drive, getting caught in a deluge, and aquaplaning into a hedge. (I'm too sexy for the road...)

Alternatively, we can park it up outside the pub and revel in how much more popular we have started to become in our village lately. We just happened to tell one person about the car. Suddenly lots of people we have never spoken to before have realised what wonderful personalities we have which is, I am sure, why they now talk to us all the time.



And, just for fun, this one....because it was this photo that really sold me the car despite the fact it wasn't baby-vomit green or trump-tan orange.



I think this is our first supercar assuming we are all in agreement that a 911 turbo doesn't really count. Couldn't be happier. Husband couldn't be happier either. I have timed it well. Agree to purchase before Christmas. Bring home 2 week before Valentines day.

Rachel

Edited by anomie on Wednesday 1st February 13:17

[anomie]

Craigwww said:

....I know how much you're going to enjoy the aural assault that the V10 delivers!

Thanks! I have every expectation of substantial aural pleasuring once husband is home from work and geared up to play with his toys.

[anomie]

DarrenKMC said:

Looks awesome, congrats! Good bunch down at Lambo Pangbourne too.

Thanks! Replying to reiterate the point about the team at Pangbourne. Given that we probably looked a bit homeless when we walked in they were gracious and accommodating from the start. Craig & co couldn't have been friendlier and the experience definitely helped sell us on the brand but we never felt like we were being sold to.

It was a markedly different experience to when we rocked up to Ferrari in Leeds in our recently detailed 911 turbo wearing our Sunday best, wandered around the showroom, and no one spoke to us or even made eye contact (and we had bought from that showroom before when they still had Lotus in). I get that one should make an appointment...but that put us off completely which was part of why we went into Pangbourne when we did.

Buying a supercar is a special thing for most people and I think it should probably feel that way. Not that we would have expected to be fawned over (its a Gallardo, not an Aventador SV, in which case some peeled grapes and palm fronds wouldn't go amiss) but the experience of buying should be proportionate to the eventual pleasure of taking ownership and I cannot say enough how impressed we were with the team at HRO.

z4RRSchris said:

is the wing factory? looks grreat

Yup. The LP560-2 has the SL wing as it is something of a cobbled-together parts-bin "special".

[anomie]

70proof said:

I know I am biased, but best Gallardo variant there is.... 2wd like the balboni, cf/alcantara and spoiler of the sl, best power:weight ratio of any variant too, even squadra corsa!!

sure to appreciate too given the way balboni prices have gone this year.

We concur with your bias. We went LP560-2, as opposed to waiting for an SL, for a lot of the reasons you have outlined. In particular, the RWD factor + power to weight ratio which I think makes it a lot more special then it might seem at first "just a parts-bin psuedo-special" glance. Its only a shame the UK didn't get any manual versions of the 560-2, though I don't think there are many manual in the EU as a whole...most to US.

Although we are without expectation of appreciation, its not an unrealistic expectation. Beyond the short term it isn't unreasonable to expect the RWD to have a similar value-add as manual seems to have. Granted, it is not RWD manual like some but not all 550-2. But, with RWD the e-gear may not be as much of a "disadvantage" in comparison to the advantage of having manual over e-gear in a 4WD variety...if that makes sense.

One thing I am curious about...and maybe you know as seem into such things.... Seems to have best hp:w ratio even in comparison to SL but the Super Trofeo Stradale has 2.35kg per HP. I cannot actually find anything definitive on 560-2 weight, just a bit of guesswork. But from what I can work out (assuming dry weight of 1333?) we are at 2.38kg/hp. So, perhaps almost the lightest but not quite?

tacjcc said:

I bought a LP560-2 last November to replace a Porsche 991 CS2. I use it as a my day car in Sheffield; you really don't need to worry about a bit of northern grim weather!

I think it was more about getting used to the car in nice conditions before taking it out in sub-optimal. We live in the countryside...lots of muddy (slippy) roads and hedgerows tempting us to come flying through. But, if we had to wait for good weather we would be able to take it on the road 4-5 days a year which seems to be the extent of the great British summer. Tempted fate and went out already...just a quick jaunt in the lamborghini to the co-op a few villages away for some mini-cheddars and toilet roll...as you do.

WCZ said:

nice, shame you couldn't close the deal on that mk1 sl though

Maybe, but I think if we felt even a little bit that way we would have waited. Right or wrong I think we may have suitably convinced ourselves that given the option we would still go for this. No doubt SL is special and we would have been over the moon with no regrets had be been able to bring it home. However, I think the RWD factor has actually made this a bit more desirable.

Rachel

[anomie]

[domestic] Off-topic-ish.... YOU ^ above me need to change your user name. It was lame before and now you don't own a porsche. Sort it out [/domestic].

[anomie]

thecook101 said:

Are you two in different rooms in the same house?! My wife and I will sometimes resort to Skype when I'm busy with the cars in the garage.

Yes...yes we are. I was in the drawing room doing some needlework. He was in the study doing manly things that are hard for my girl-brain to understand. Now dinner is over I am in the sitting room honing my accomplishments on the x-box like any respectable young lady while he is in the smoking room for cigars and brandy (aka, down t'pub for a pint).

But I have no doubt that internet forum posting is a perfectly reasonable and healthy means by which to communicate.... saves all the trouble of pretending to listen which, lets face it, is a bit of a ball ache.

Also, so it is a bit less weird...we are not normally always in the same house...He is IT contractor working down south so got to do handover of car in Pangbourne Tuesday night. I don't always go down, stayed home, and got to take delivery when trucked up yesterday. Now we are both home and hoping tomorrow is a bit nicer than today for a bit of a longer trip out than today could offer.

R

[anomie]

70proof said:

Gallardo 1430kg. 520hp post 2006. 363.6bhp/tonne
Gen1 SL. 1330kg. 530hp. 398.5
Lp560. 1410kg. 560bhp. 397.2
Lp550. 1380kg. 550bhp. 396.6
570 superleggera/squadra corsa 1340kg. 425.4
560-2 anniversario 1310kg. 427.5

these were dry weights I got after extensive research back in 2015 on a thread discussing power:weight.....

hth

Thanks for insights, I did note some threads here and elsewhere discussing weight when I was doing own research. What I had trouble with was finding anything concrete about the LP560-2 in particular. Or, what I have found doesn't line up with what is above.

I found reasonably reliable sources in motoring magazines / blogs, press releases, etc... for almost every other model. Even wikipedia has a dry weight for most models. Its not so much that I doubt what you have worked out, but I'm curious as to source... Is it worked out based on weight of things 560-2 has or doesn't have vs. other models or is it externally verified? Also interesting would be to know why it is so easy to find a reliable "dry weight" for most other variants but not the 560-2?

For example, sources like this from US of manual car has it at 3,042lb (1379.8kg) while other sources such as this also concurr with 1379. I think maybe it is wrong because this is same weight as 550-2 and we have some weight saving against that. But the only places I can find anything alternative on 560-2 weight are forums....though this could be because I am english language only and I cannot access other sources.

RW

[anomie]

Thanks for all the nice comments. Chuffed for Craig now he has joined as well. Glad I could help and will look forward to his posting as and when.

Out enjoying the car a bit last weekend.... A64 to B1257 up into North York Moors, lunch in Harome, A170 along Sutton Bank...lovely views, great day out. It is a good thing the weather this weekend is so rubbish as we might have been tempted to bring her out again instead of sticking to our guns: in the garage till April. I am sure there will be lots of fun to come and probably/hopefully see some of ya'll at various run-outs...

The only thing is, I wonder how the hell this happened? Who needs a Prius when: