Top Gear Squares Off The R8 Against the Gallardo

Elvis may not have eaten all the pies, but he certainly did his bit to reduce North America's fried peanut-butter sandwich mountain.

Purists can harp on all they like about the Sun sessions and Sam Phillips, but I prefer The King in his tubby, sequin-busting pomp, the Vegas showman well propped up by a Herculean amphetamine intake and a tonne of lard.

Would Elvis have driven a Lamborghini? I like to think so. After all, he owned a DeTomaso Pantera, which he once famously blasted with a shotgun when it refused to start. The man clearly had soul, but no taste whatsoever, a devastating combination. It was surely only a matter of time before he got himself a Countach.

A 2007-spec Lamborghini Gallardo, however, is a completely different animal. Bathed in casino neon, it looks chiselled, buffed and honed; chaotic Italian temperament inevitably tempered by German DNA. There are echoes of the Countach's highly geometric shape, but the Gallardo is defiantly modern. As it should be.


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Loki123 - 3/23/2007 12:11:25 PM

+4 Boost

R8 is based heavily on the Gallardo, but uses a V8 in place of the Gallardo's V10 to avoid competing directly with the Gallardo.
Is the Gallardo worth the extra $65k ante? Sure.

jmrA480 - 3/23/2007 3:59:30 PM

+2 Boost

"but uses a V8 in place of the Gallardo's V10 to avoid competing directly with the Gallardo."

Not true, they are coming out with a V10, not sure why they didnt from the eginning though

WeAreMad - 3/23/2007 12:29:56 PM

+2 Boost

didn't clarkson get a gallardo spyder?

supermoto - 3/23/2007 12:48:45 PM

+5 Boost

I totally agree about the Lambo's brand status. But the average Joe who saw an R8 parked next to a new 911 Carrera 4 would think that the R8 was the supercar.

Will_ - 3/23/2007 2:01:09 PM

+4 Boost

I agree with both of you. However I'd pick the R8 out of those three cars. It looks the least "common" if that is even the correct word to use. Most people in affluent and more urban areas will be able to identify with the Porsche and the Lamborghini. I kind of like the idea of strolling through town in a supercar which no one has ever heard of, and people stopping to ask me what kind of car it is.

jmrA480 - 3/23/2007 4:05:10 PM

+2 Boost

true but if you buy a car to get a reaction out of other people , then i feel bad for you. now you cant go wrong with either one, i wish the R8 was about 25k-30k less so I could afford one. If it had a base of around 80k-90k i would be very happy, cant afford the 110k+ price tag yet

EvoAudi - 3/24/2007 12:56:45 AM

+2 Boost

i'd get the R8 but hate to continuosly repeat what it is.

S4cabriofoxone - 3/24/2007 1:35:33 AM

+2 Boost

Oh, people would know.

It's gotten so much press lately. On the cover of every March/April magazine.

Anyone who's SOMEONE knows what it is.

I'd choose it over the Gallardo for its beauty and practicality, the Porsche, for its beauty and speed/exclusivity.

Lexus - 3/23/2007 6:54:57 PM

+1 Boost

Between the two, the Lambo Gallardo handdown, no if or but in here.

S4cabriofoxone - 3/24/2007 1:34:11 AM

+2 Boost

Have fun forking out the extra $100K... those are dealer mark-ups for ya.

AlexTx - 3/24/2007 10:15:35 AM

+4 Boost

Why do you even bother posting...

S4cabriofoxone - 3/24/2007 10:58:13 PM

+3 Boost

Give me one attribute that is even remotely similar to the TT, besides its two doors!

Zackary - 3/26/2007 1:52:18 AM

+1 Boost

The R8 has been dubbed Audi's "greatest car ever," and yet it is fundamentally a reskinned Gallardo with a cheaper price tag. And people wonder why the BMW CEO said what he said? Not even Lexus's supercar will be based off a Toyota, and I would have expected that first!