POISED FOR ACTION: This 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder is fun, fast and impossible to ignore
September 25, 2017
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Written by independent automotive journalist Steve Statham
This 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder (Lot #727) is certain to turn some heads at the 2017 Las Vegas Auction.
One of the hallmarks of successful industrial design is that any person, no matter how far removed from the end user, can look at a product and immediately comprehend its purpose.
From that perspective, the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder is a smashing success. There’s no mistaking its function – everyone from toddlers to cloistered monks can look at it and understand that it’s an exotic sports car, intended to go fast and be a helluva lot of fun to drive. It was designed not just to cut through the wind but also to generate an emotional response – and man, does it ever do that.
That’s not just our opinion. Sports car enthusiasts voted with their money, making the Gallardo the best-selling Lamborghini model ever built. The Spyder version, with its fully automatic and retractable soft-top, debuted in 2006 and immediately became the most popular Gallardo model.
Bidders at Barrett-Jackson’s Las Vegas Auction, October 19-21 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, will get to see up close why the Gallardo became Lamborghini’s smash hit when this Giallo (yellow) 2007 Gallardo Spyder (Lot #727) crosses the block. One of 1,015 Spyders made that year, this Lambo comes with a clean CARFAX history and only 3,300 actual miles.
The interior is nearly as dramatic as the exterior styling, with yellow accent pieces on the instrument cluster, steering wheel, console and door handles, and a gorgeous upgraded, double-stitched, black and yellow leather interior package. The car is also equipped with the Lamborghini multimedia system.
The appeal of a mid-engine Gallardo Spyder goes beyond just the visual impact. The car is powered by a 5.0 liter, DOHC, 40-valve, V10 rated at 520bhp and 376 ft/lbs of torque. In this Spyder, the V10 is teamed with the 6-speed e-gear automatic transmission. The e-gear is an electronically controlled, sequential gearshift utilizing paddle switches located on the steering column. The e-gear system gives you four functional modes: Normal, Sport, Automatic and a program for slippery road conditions.
Although the Gallardo Spyder looks like a straightforward, wind-in-the-hair sports car, Lamborghini has loaded it with a number of technological help-mates to enhance the driving experience. The body lift system is operated via a switch on the console, and allows the driver to raise the front of the low-slung car to overcome road obstacles. Other techno-bits aid the car at speed. The rear spoiler automatically activates at 74 mph, and retracts again at 55 mph. The Spyder, like the Gallardo coupes, came with all-wheel drive.
The fully automatic soft-top is also quickly and easily activated by a switch on the center console. The top folds and is secured behind the driver in the engine compartment. As you’d expect, Lamborghini engineers reinforced the Spyder’s door sills and A-frame to maintain a tight convertible body structure. This Spyder is also equipped with the modern-day comfort features one would expect in a car of this caliber.
The Gallardo Spyder was only built for three years, before being replaced by the second-generation LP-560-4 Spyder. It was a brief but memorable run. The Gallardo Spyder, with its long wheelbase, short overhangs and cab-forward poise, came across as an athlete ready to explode into action.
As Lamborghini stated at the time, “As with every Lamborghini, the Gallardo Spyder adopts the stylistic principles of purity, athleticism and sharpness. The Spyder is not just an open-top version of the Coupe, it sets forth the tradition as seen with the Murcielago Coupe and Roadster, creating a self-standing model.”
“Purity, athleticism and sharpness?” Those are characteristics baked into the design, from the air intake scoops along the quarter panels, through the louvers on the hood, to the front-leaning cab-forward posture.
Anyone can see it.
For up-to-date information about this vehicle, click HERE. To view all the vehicles on the Las Vegas docket, click HERE.