Raise your hand if somebody you knew had this exact photo as their Myspace background. Raise both and wave them around if it was your Myspace background. Ain’t no shame in that, especially now.
Just off the top of my head, I think there were a combined 3,587 different special editions, trims, refreshes and updates to the Gallardo. All of them, if not cool, were at least expensive. Then came the Huracán after. And with it, we’re repeating the process all over again.
I had actually forgotten all about the OG Gallardo because of all the extra versions and the Huracán. But then I remembered it again after writing about it this week and damn, has that car aged well.
It had the wedge-y profile that was so completely defining of a Lamborghini. But its actual details were gentler, somehow. Softer. Angles that were less acute and more obtuse. This was a time when not every line needed to end in a sharp point like they do today. There was some variation in the shapes used on the Gallardo, whereas the Huracán just looks like a collection of triangles:
Meh.
But the Gallardo’s whole design just seemed like it moved. Take the wing mirrors, for example. They almost dictated the way your eyes shift across them, traveling from the base and sweeping into a 90-degree turn to end. And that window shape is easily one of the most elegant ones out there.
Its fascia wasn’t terribly cluttered with LED running lights or whatnot. The headlights were a simple polygonal shape with round bulbs within. That was it.
And the car looks old, there’s no doubt about that. Old, but not dated, which is key. Which goes to show that you don’t need to add stripes or a wing or extra carbon bits for it to look good. Simple is good.