Lamborghini Gallardo
Astonishing looks and guaranteed rarity make the 6spd manual one to watch
Modern Lambos haven’t risen like modern Porsches and Ferraris because there’s a perception they’re not flash enough. Nonsense, of course; but modern supercar fanciers prefer the more obvious and louder 599s and GT3S. If they looked long enough they’d see that an early Gallardo is a rare, special supercar. Old-school if you like. And out of the 14,022 built between 2003 and 20013, fewer than 500 had the six-speed manual gearbox. With prices of Spyders and special editions warming up nicely – the Singapore edition makes £250k-plus now – early Gallardo coupés at between £60k and £80k do feel like strong value.
Fitch Engineering in Devon has an orange 2005 manual with 41k and history for £69,995 and Auto Prestige in Bradford has another ’05 six-speed in Midas Yellow with 29,000 and Lambo dealer history for £74,990. A year ago these would have been less – but stick-shift supercars are in right now.
Examples with low mileages aren’t hanging about. Nick Whale Sportscars in Warwick recently sold a 2005 manual with 31k and ‘fabulous history’ for £79,995 and it wasn’t in
‘Stick-shift supercars are in right now – examples with low mileages aren’t hanging about’
the showroom any time at all. In June Historics dispatched a 2004 manual in black with 49,000 miles and ‘sparse history’ for a solid £58,240 – well over the £35k to £45k estimate.
You can understand why these early cars are on the move. The Gallardo was the first Lamborghini built after Audi signed that big cheque in 1998 and production numbers were low – 933 in 2003, 947 in 2005 and only 626 in 2006 making them rarer than a Ferrari 360, F430 or 458.
You get an alloy spaceframe and body, 500bhp, dry-sump V10, 0- 60 in 4.2sec, 192mph top speed plus they’re easy to drive and look sensational. Those first rear- drive manuals have none of the E- gear’s reliability glitches. Clutches cost about £2500 to replace, servicing is around £700 a year and owners report mainly predictable failures like throttle bodies and anti-roll-bar bushes. Don’t hold your Gallardo on the rev limiter for too long and only use proper AGIP oil – otherwise you’ll toast that V10. There have been some engine fires on early cars from power steering fluid leaking on to the exhaust manifold so the £299 pipe upgrade is a very prudent fix.
Proper specimens with long Lambo dealer histories make the best buys because they’ll have had all the correct factory upgrades. Try to find one with the optional lifting system that raises the car over speed bumps – panicky U-turns in front of queues of traffic in a Lamborghini never look cool. History tells us the earliest and simplest incarnations of all supercars eventually become iconic. The manual Gallardo is one of them.