Owners of exotic supercars around the world are finding it increasingly frustrating to drive their high-performance machinery on public roads. There's only so much of their potential that you can safely, responsibly and legally use on city streets and rural highways. So many are beginning to turn to the race track to get their thrills. But if you're already heading to a closed circuit, then who says your car has to be street legal? Might as well make it a proper racing car, like the one you see here. German racing firm Reiter Engineering has taken the already amazing Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and turned it into a track-focused racing machine the likes of which the factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese has only dreamed. To bring the Gallardo up to GT3 level specifications. Reiter has taken out all the excess weight they could, retuned the 560-horsepower V10 engine, dropped the suspension, tweaked the aerodynamics with giant wings fore and aft, fitted new brakes and transmission and mounted the whole thing on slick racing tires. No wonder Reiter-prepared Lamborghinis have won, and continue to win trophies in racing classes around the world. Of course all the racing equipment on top of the price of a stock Lambo doesn't come cheap: 265,000 euros in this case. But the flexible platform means that the GT3-spec Gallardo can be converted to the even more extreme GT2 formula for another 30,000 euros. So if the gentleman racer feels like stepping it up another notch, he won't need to start again from scratch.

David Kaiser, a friend of our sister site Autoblog, offers up these stunning pictures from Lamborghini's launch of the Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni in Zürich, Switzerland. According to Kaiser, this was the third stop of the car's initial European tour following appearances in Paris and Lyon in France. Next, the Italian crew will pack up and take their show on to various locations in the United Kingdom.

This new Lamborghini was named in honor of the automaker's longtime test driver. Featuring a 550-horsepower version of the Gallardo's familiar V10 engine and a comparatively low 3,042-pound curb weight, the rear-drive LP550-2 is reportedly capable of scurrying to 60 in just 3.9 seconds and up to a top speed of 199 mph. Check out the photo gallery below and pay special attention to the unique black-and-white racing stripe, Scorpious wheels hiding bright yellow brake calipers and transparent engine cover. Thanks, David!



[Source: DavidKaiser.ch]

The other day we told you about the eye-catching Audi Shark hovercar concept. Now here's an equally alluring Lamborghini design based on an insect. The carbon fiber-bodied Lamborghini Insecta concept (above) was created by Iulian Bumbu, a Romanian designer and graduate of the Alfa Romeo-sponsored Transportation Design Master Course at Milan's Scuola Politecnica di Design (SPD). As the name suggests, the Insecta concept was inspired by the world of insects, particularly the armored casings which protect beetles.

The Insecta's resemblance to a beetle's sheath is especially apparent viewed from the side and above. The Insecta is similar in dimension to Lamborghini's Gallardo, though it is lower and wider with a slightly longer wheelbase. It gets its power from the same 5.0 liter V10 engine and drivetrain found in the Gallardo, but the design enhancements and use of carbon fiber make it lighter and faster. A glass engine cover seamlessly blends into the glass roof providing a clear view of the mid-mounted engine for optimum visual appeal.

[Diseno-art via Luxuo]

Lamborghini is planning a single-make race series and the star of the show will be a competition-spec Gallardo LP560-4 called the Super Trofeo. It's all decked out with race-specific goodies like special adjustments to the chassis, ABS brakes, and wheels plus a more powerful 570hp engine (weee!). The series starts in May and each race will include 30 cars owned privately and by dealer teams, plus one celebrity-driven vehicle that will change at each event. €200,000 will get you in with a car and parts package, plus trackside support and admission to the luxury Lamborghini Village at each location.

I've seen the occasional Mustang or Camaro police car before and thought that the cop driving it must feel pretty special, but that's nothing compared to how awesome the Italian police must feel: they just got a brand new Lamborghini Gallardo.

The Gallardo LP560-4 is all decked out with the usual police decals and lights, plus they managed to squeeze in all the high tech police equipment like radio and video equipment, gun racks, and even a cooler (for body parts?!).

It's not Italy's first law enforcement Lamborghini (Rome has had one for awhile) but still! Pretty awesome.

Financial whiz turned "lifestyle designer" Richard Nilsson apparently felt that plain old luxury had lost its luster, so he decided to focus on "extreme luxury." When he was running a business empire Nilsson was only able to take one week off per year, so for his first project he came up with the "Résidence Supérieur" concept as an ultimate retreat where vacationing moguls and movie stars could pack as much luxury and privacy into their vacation as possible, cost be damned.

The first RS is the Villa Oxygene in Cannes on the French Riviera. In addition to ultra-luxe surroundings, it includes exotic sports cars, a private jet and helicopter, yacht, butler, chef, bodyguards and basically anything else you could wish for. Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria recently shot an ice cream commercial there, and Nilsson is now planning other equally outrageous outposts. See the gallery for pix.

The latest Lamborghini, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, sure is a beauty. It's an updated version of the 5 year old Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, and among other things is a little lighter, has a new engine (the same one the Audi RS6 Avant has), and of course some updated styling to the exterior. New headlights, a completely redone rear end, and some new intakes top the list of body tweaks.

The engine upgrade combined with the lost weight (it weighs 44lbs less than the Superleggera) would make for some seriously fast and fun springtime driving, which for me (here in the Midwest) would be perfectly timed with the roads clearing of all the icy spots!