Lamborghini Gallardo Yellow and Black

The LP640 model of Murcielago had a starting price of $350 000, higher than the original that could be found at a price tag of $273,000. But the differences between them are not just in the price, because the Murcielago LP640 can reach 60 mph in just 3.3 s, which is .5 sec faster that the original, telling us that the LP640 has a bigger power: 471 kW (640 bhp) at 8000 rpm compared with 433 kW (580 bhp) at 7500 rpm of the first Murcielago.

Another image of the Lamborghini Gallardo as seen on the 2005 International Car Exhibition in Amsterdam. Since Lambo’s are very, very rare in the Netherlands, this car was one of the most popular of the entire exhibition. Seeing a Lamborghini on the Dutch streets is an event that happens to me once a year at most. There are even fewer than there are Ferrari’s. No wonder I stayed for over an hour at the Lamborghini presentation. I tend to think that a yellow Lamborghini looks at least as good as a red Ferrari. Yes, I really think that Lambo’s are the toys for the boys who are even bored with the most prestigious models from Modena. Lamborghini has a certain wildness in itself that can’t be compared with the extremely stylish looks of a Ferrari. Perhaps Ferrari is much more nobility and Lamborghini equals nouveau riche. Ouch, did I just say that? Whatever. In the meanwhile, the only Ferrari I would prefer over a Murcielago would be an Enzo or an F40. What about you?

 

Other Horsepower Increasing Methods

  * Stuff more into each cylinder - If you can cram more air (and therefore fuel) into a cylinder of a given size, you can get more power from the cylinder (in the same way that you would by increasing the size of the cylinder). Turbo chargers and super chargers pressurize the incoming air to effectively cram more air into a cylinder. Many manufacturers make aftermarket turbos and super chargers for many different cars.

  * Cool the incoming air - Compressing air raises its temperature. You would like to have the coolest air possible in the cylinder because the hotter the air is the less it will expand when combustion takes place. Therefore many turbo charged and super charged cars have an intercooler. An intercooler is a special radiator through which the compressed air passes to cool it off before it enters the cylinder.

* Make everything lighter - Lightweight parts help the engine perform better. Each time a piston changes direction it uses up energy to stop the travel in one direction and start it in another. The lighter the piston, the less energy it takes. Lighter parts also allow the engine to rev faster, giving it more horsepower.

 * Increase the compression ratio - Higher compression ratios produce more power, up to a point. The more you compress the air/fuel mixture, however, the more likely it is to spontaneously burst into flame (prior to the spark plug igniting it). Higher octane gasolines prevent this sort of early combustion. That is why high-performance cars generally need high octane gasoline - their engines are using higher compression ratios to get more power.

* Increase displacement - More displacement means more power because you can burn more gas during each revolution of the engine. You can increase displacement by making the cylinders bigger.