Wild thing, move me

More than two decades ago, an Italian beast roamed the streets of the world, a beast so brutal that you needed a trip to your personal trainer to warm up your muscles before you considered stepping into it. Even then, you were at risk of a headache with its cranium-pounding acceleration. Other concussions and haemorrhages took place due to the monumental G-force it put on muscles you never knew you had in your body.

With such aggressive ferocity did it accelerate that rather than producing horsepower, it felt like the engine produced raging bulls that dug into your rear end as the RPM needle soared up another notch. Remember the Lamborghini? It was the only real competition for Ferrari, probably the world's most desired sports car.

Times have changed, and so has the "raging bull" since it was taken over by the VW group, and while many thought the Germans had put a cap on the Italian zest and insanity, let me assure you that it is all still there.

I staggered from the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera after a hot lap with one of Lamborghini's test drivers. What the Germans did with Lamborghini was to give the company more "real-worldness" and make the company realise that making cars only Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme could drive wasn't the smartest thing to do. So then came the Lamborghini Murcielago, followed by its little brother Gallardo. Both use all-wheel-drive transmissions with V12 and V10 engines, respectively, both of course forged deep in the cores of hell, but driveable in the real world without injuring your hamstring.

Both models are the only two basic cars the company currently makes, and both have been major reasons that the company is still around. So with two basic models you're really looking at making two different sets of customers happy, one the stinking-rich kind, and the other the I-have-too-much-money-to-count kind. So what is the strategy when you want customers to buy more and when customers want more? The answer lies in special-edition vehicles that come in limited numbers. What limited means is defined by president and CEO Stephan Winkleman's formula, "supply=demand-1". So no matter how rich you are, if you're not quick to get what you want, you'll have to crawl round in the black market.

With products like the Murcielago over five yeas old and the Gallardo over three years old, Lamborghini has introduced over five variations of the vehicle. The Gallardo has a roadster version along with the SE and Nera, which were limited-production units, and the Murcielago had the roadster version along with the LP640, which is also available in roadster form.

Now back to the dizziness created by the Lamborghini test drive after a hot lap at the Phoenix international speedway in Arizona. As the blood capillaries slowly oxygenated the drained regions in the frontal lobes of my brain, I started seeing the logic in the Gallardo Superleggera that I was out to test for the day. The Superleggera is a high-performance version of the Gallardo. More mean, more lean, more unforgiving, more blood-draining, more crazy,

more focused and basically more

everything that you wanted the usual Gallardo to be on the track.

As the blood returns my memory comes back as well. Fortunately the Superleggera has not injured me for life, but it has definitely shaken me up. I recall a few hours ago we waited in the front of the resort, with over 10 Superleggera models lined up. We stood before a black one with the e-shift transmission. My fellow driver grasped the key firmly and turned it. Trance! Now, you can explain the engine sound of the Superleggera as a roaring bear waking from hibernation, but considering the concept under which the Superleggera was built, it feels more like the athletic dance a 100-metre sprinter performs as he prepares to run, the shaking of muscles telling him that it's time. The high-pitched bellow that the engine gives before it settles seems more like the drill whistle of an army general.

Let me explain further. Over 100 kilograms has been shaved off to improve acceleration and response. The Superleggera is meant for Gallardo-owners who felt the vehicle was lacking on the track. There is more carbon fibre than your girlfriend will understand, and she's likely to ask you why you did not buy the more expensive version that covered up all this plastic with some sort of upholstery. The side mirrors, door upholstery, handbrake handle, rear spoiler and parts of the bonnet cover are made of carbon fibre.

The centre of the bonnet cover is made of polycarbonate and is transparent, used to lower the weight and give you a clear view of the super-powered monster that's being controlled by your right foot. The Superleggera is also likely to be the answer to Ferrari's F430 Challenge Stradale.

Back to the mesmerising engine, the gentle rumbling giving off a treat-me-with-respect tone. You wait before you start off in the Superleggera, you realise you're in a Lamborghini, and slowly the reality dawns. Settling in involves a strict set of steps for the Superleggera we drove, mainly because it came with a four-point racing harness and because I'm only 1.70 metre tall. Step one, when you enter the Superleggera is to close the door, then you buckle yourself in. The other option is to buckle up and then ask someone else to close the door. So snug and tight is the seating in the Superleggera that it takes you back to memories of the womb. The view outside is clear, and there is plenty of room to stretch your legs.

Then the wizardry starts. You flip up the right paddle situated behind the steering wheel to shift up a gear. The Superleggera starts to roll. What initially impresses about the vehicle is that it is usable within the city. It is no insane machine that requires you to wear neck support every time you drive it. When driving around town the Superleggera reacts almost normally, maybe a tad too normally. The only problem was the brakes, which I was told needed a higher temperature to operate smoothly. No matter how gently you pressed the pedal they had a tonsils-to-the-front-teeth effect, but let's forget about the low-speed world. This the Superleggera, and it's time to revel in the high-speed world.

Its insanity is what you want to hear about, and its rage is what I want to experience. A short while later we switch drivers. Engage first gear, and wham! as the Superleggera rockets forward, screaming past 6,000rpm. The madness continues when the next gear crashes through as you flip the paddle up again, every gear draining another ounce of air from your lungs. Lamborghini says 0-100kph is in 3.8 seconds, but who's looking at the watch here while the scenery gets blurry as the engine reaches the highest pitch in its mechanical symphony? In fifth gear we're over 250kph, and I look over questioningly at my

co-driver, wondering about the final gear. I decide to back off with the thought of the huge fine the Arizona state police could hit me with. We all know the Superleggera is quick, and there is no need for it to prove itself: the proving needs to be done by me, whether I have sufficient hormones to keep pushing.

Where Lamborghini hopes that the Superleggera will impress on the track is in how deep the G-force can push in, pull out, and squash left and right my eyeballs and every other part of my body. The bucket seats will hold you in place in every corner as the 350bhp and 510Nm produced by the five-litre engine are employed at each exit.

What is most impressive about the Superleggera is likely to be its very stringent stability program that can make any amateur look like a professional. I say this with absolute certainty, for I'm aware of the exact moments the stability program kicked in. If it wasn't for these moments, I'd likely have been embedded deep within the walls of the Phoenix raceway. Tune into the soul of the Superleggera, and you can hear its mocking laughter.

"You're a mere mortal given a weapon used by the gods", its sinister engine note seems to say.

After a few minutes of track performance, the brakes also come alive, allowing you to fully push the very limits of the vehicle. This is when you realise that maybe Lambo could have gone a bit further to make the Superleggera a little more extreme, to give that truly exhilarating experience. In terms of design also, the signs that this is no ordinary Lamborghini - if there is such a thing - are only observable by the well-trained eye. The Scorpio wheels, the carbon-fibre rear spoiler and the side stickers being the most obvious give-aways.

So a question then arises. With a 20-per-cent increase in price, bringing the total to Bt25 million, the Superleggera is something that you have to put some serious thought into.

If you're looking for an absolute track performer, this isn't necessarily it, but on the other hand, if you have the extra cash lying around then you just might be lucky enough to own one. Lamborghini will manufacture only 350 of these special-edition babies and will consider production for next year. Unfortunately if I were to consider buying the Superleggera I would spend the rest of my life paying off the loan, but you know what? I think it just might be worth it!

Vijo Varghese

The Nation

Ultimate in Luxury

The Luxury LS 460 is a wonderfully comfaortable car fitted with all mod cons, althoough not necessarily the most fun vehicle to drive.