A Lamborghini Gallardo supercar, seen on the streets of central Beijing in 2013. The good Gallardo was modified to make it look a bit more special. That worked. But it is pretty? Hmm… The Lamboo is wrapped in a matte black wrap and the entire pillar and roof line is covered in shiny bling.
These plastic ‘crystals’ were extremely popular at the time. Bling in general was considered ultra cool. Lots of cars were dressed up to shine! The plastic crystals were sold in square meters, like floor mats, so folks at the local tuning shop just had to cut and glue. On the Gallardo it has worked out rather well, the bling makes for a nice contrast with the matte black body.
The owner was kind enough to leave the window open, unveiling an heavily modified interior. The seat covers, floor mats, dash trim, and trim piece around the 6-speed E-Gear transmission are all after-market additions. There is a Hamann badge on the dash but it is likely fake as I didn’t see any Hamann bits on the car. Hamann did offer various packages for the first-generation Gallardo, but these came with wings and spoilers and the like.
The first generation Lamborghini Gallardo was made from 2003 until 2008 in Coupe and Spyder forms. Power came from a naturally aspirated 5.0 liter V10 engine, good for 493 hp and 510 Nm. The engine was mated to a 6-speed manual or to a 6-speed ‘E-Gear’ automated manual, as in this car.
Bling at the back needed some work. Sales of the Lamborghini Gallardo in China started in 2004. Price started at a steep 2.98 million yuan. That was a shipload of money for the day and these early Gallardo’s are therefore very rare. Especially ones so pretty as this car.