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Regular User
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Brasília-DF Brazil
Posts: 15,357
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We Build the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
By Michael Taylor
Edmunds.com
We're late. Really late. We're off to Lamborghini to flail wrenches and pneumatic guns and share some man-giggles with the craftsmen on the production line of the 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP540-4, but we're late. To join such privileged artisans, we just expected to be picked up in a limousine. Surely every one of the demigods on the assembly line at Lamborghini would get such treatment, we figured.
We already have reservations about working on any company's production line, given that our skill set is limited to taking cars apart and we otherwise display an astonishing level of Makita dyslexia. And since the assembly line at Lamborghini moves only once every 50 minutes, a worker has to perform a lot of complicated tasks. The assembly line at Audi moves every 90 seconds for the A3, which seems like a far better fit for us, only we even can't remember what we were thinking 30 seconds ago.
No pressure. This is only the next-generation 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, capable of 202 mph.
The Next Gallardo
This white shell at the beginning of the assembly line carries the vehicle identification code ZHWGE54T89LA07107. It's only the third example of the new-generation 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 to go through final assembly here at the Lamborghini factory in Sant'Agata. It is an SOP (start of production) mule, which is intended to test the assembly process before production begins in earnest.
Though the bodywork of the 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 betrays only a few changes, you can see that there's a lot that's different as soon as you look around at the back of the body-in-white. The core architecture is completely new, stronger in all the right places, but also 44 pounds lighter, too. Its suspension now bolts straight into the chassis, and there's another link in the rear-wheel suspension setup. All this is required because the 5.2-liter V10 engine is new. At least it's new to Lamborghini, as its core bits debuted in the Audi RS6 a few weeks ago.
The 90-degree V10 features a quick-revving flat-plane crankshaft, new pistons, new cylinder heads and direct fuel injection (Iniezione Diretta Stratificata, or IDS). The stroke remains the same, but an 84.5mm bore adds 200cc in displacement, and the compression ratio has jumped from 11.0:1 to a staggering 12.5:1. The result is 553 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 398 pound-feet of torque at 4,250 rpm.
The 3,307-pound LP540-4 has the same power-to-weight ratio as the Gallardo Superleggera, and the quicker shifting action of its automated manual transmission helps 100 km/h (62 mph) come up in 3.7 seconds and brings 200 km/h (124 mph) into reach in 11.8 seconds. Moreover, the transmission's new Corsa mode enables the performance to be easily repeated.
Of course, the Gallardo's weakness has been the V10's lack of torque at midrange rpm, but the additional 22 lb-ft should help, though it turns up 2,250 rpm later than before.
Day One, Station One
After tearing off the protective plastic as if it's hiding the world's best Christmas present, our first job is to wheel ZHWGE54T89LA07107 (let's call him "Zweegie") into the first assembly bay. Not hard; it's a couple of small push-pulls until the rig slots into the track and then reaches its chocks. Job done. We preen for a moment in our factory-supplied, slim-cut, high-fashion cotton jersey and snappy trousers that make us look like an Italian cab driver. No overalls or white coat for us, although this is really just part of Lamborghini's effort to ensure that there's nothing sharp enough on our clothes to scratch the car.
We try to fit the fuel tanks and fail miserably, so a trained assembly worker steps in to complete the task. At the front of the car, a fellow journalist, the impossibly tall Georg Kacher, busily attaches the steering rack. Checked by about six other people, Kacher gets one of his last thumbs-ups of the day. It's a new rack, because the front track is wider, the suspension uprights are new and the suspension links are longer. Relief washes over the crew at Station One. All the car's bits have arrived and all the bits actually fit into place. This is a big accomplishment, because this assembly is validating new parts from suppliers as well as the assembly process itself.
Day One, Station Two
We're handed a long yellow box attached to an electrical cable. Lots of buttons and lots of arrows. Make yourself useful, son, and move Zweegie over there. Grazie mille. A gentle whir and over she goes — we've rolled a Lamborghini! And nobody yells at us. Next we're expected to transplant the core of the new Gallardo, the nervous system that nobody sees. The wiring harness.
We've seen wiring harnesses before, but nothing like this. It's frighteningly complicated, a heavy, snaking bastard of a thing, bursting with bright colors and every shape of connecting clip you can imagine. It's a three-man job, standing around with miles of wiring draped over your shoulders. It looks like something that could easily go wrong, so we pass.
Meanwhile Georg Kacher is busy incorrectly fitting the fat pipe (which he insists is a water pipe) between the fuel tanks. It's not all his fault, though. The pipe is for the old Gallardo and it's about a centimeter too short for this car.
The front differential for the all-wheel-drive system goes in here, too. It's good, meaty work for manly men and we stick our hand up to volunteer for the pneumatic gun preset to the correct torque for the bolts. This diff is easier to install than the old one, as the viscously coupled innards of the Superleggera's front diff have been stuffed into a housing that's 18 pounds lighter than before. And now it's built by Getrag, not Graziano. It looks easy to fit the aluminum coolant pipe, so we bung that in, too. But we can also see lots of plumbing bits that aren't quite bent the right way, lots of hoses that aren't long enough or are too long, other things that don't quite fit and even parts bins that are missing plenty of stuff.
When a car company upgrades, so does everybody else, and that includes the logistics guys, who thought some of the brackets would work better at Station Four, but neglected to tell the boys at Station Two, where they were traditionally bolted on. This results in much pointing of fingers, waving of arms and some frantic penmanship on the corporate clipboards of the Lamborghini managers who are tracking the car's progress.
Day One, Station Three
It takes Lamborghini 115 hours to build a Gallardo. Zweegie will probably take another 50 hours or so, but Lamborghini's production bosses expect that this number will drop below 100 hours when assembly comes on song. Assembly is not on song today and it's not entirely our fault. Lamborghini has already analyzed the pre-series car before ours, and it burped up 57 defective parts. "It's normal at this stage," says Matteo Franchini, the fabrication leader. "We're comfortable if we don't have more than 10 big items that we are discussing in our daily quality meetings. It's just the job stoppers that worry us, like adopting the new lifting kit (to raise the nose) that doesn't run through the power-steering system anymore."
Day One, Lunchtime
The company cafeteria is a thing of wonder, with five kinds of pasta, roasts, scaloppini, schnitzels, pizzas, deserts, soft drinks, beer and even the local sparkling red lambrusco. Lunch is a big deal at Lamborghini, and apparently the food runs a close second only to the canteen at Maserati, some 12 miles away in Modena. Meanwhile Ferrari is spending squillions on its own new staff cafeteria to catch up.
Since there's only about 4 percent unemployment in this heavily industrialized section of Italy, cheap, high-quality food plays a role in attracting a motivated and skilled workforce. As Klaus-Peter Korner, the Lamborghini factory's director of production, explains, "There are ways to be the best car company, and this is not only in productivity but also to be the best employer.
"We would love to pay people for personal performance, but there is no structure to do it. In Germany, we have the possibility to pay up to 15 percent more to a line worker if we want. In Italy, when you have reached your skill level after two or three years, we are blocked from paying more."
Day One, Station Four
The Lamborghini personnel are hovering around us. The car is being escorted by two clipboard-carrying functionaries from the quality department, another from R&D and a floating cast of electrical dudes and logistics guys. There are also some instructors from Lamborghini's training center, where LP560-4 prototypes have been built and rebuilt for months. Everyone on the assembly line has had 40 hours of training on this car already, which explains why they have a basic understanding of where everything goes. It's not just a matter of getting all the bolts in place; it's also about getting the bolts done in the right sequence and snugging them down to the right torque. With tight tolerances, you might crank in a bolt two turns too far and find that the rest of a bracket's bolts might not go in at all.
No such problems for us, though. We've obviously impressed the bosses, because they've entrusted us with the heart and soul of the whole car. Yep, we've been handed the accelerator pedal. Our whole life has led up to this magic moment. And yet to hold in your hand the beautifully crafted aluminum accelerator pedal of the old Gallardo is to be saddened by this new piece of injection-molded plastic with its clip-on aluminum faceplate. We have fond memories of our own right foot alternately caressing and brutalizing the Gallardo's fondly remembered pedal of aluminum artwork, so we take no joy in bolting in this thing of plastic.
Day One, Stations Five and Six
The little man takes three jumps to climb into the engine bay of the LP560-4. There's not much we can help with. It's lots of interior trimming, lots of heat shields, lots of sound and vibration insulation tucked into places you didn't know the Gallardo even had.
Day Two, Station Seven
The morning's first job is also the day's most challenging. While a distractingly shapely woman bangs away at the interior trim, the boys set about fitting the new suspension wishbones. And they're soon stumped because the front ones just don't want to go in. The problem is the bottom rear bolt (on both sides), and it's defying all tools — electric, pneumatic and manual. The training instructor loosens the front bolt to just finger-tight, then the rear one just accepts the air gun.
The dash has been bunged into place. And now the fuel system gets the rest of its plumbing and so does anything else that needs to attach itself to the engine — because the engine's coming next.
Day Two, Station Eight
The new engine cometh, and we cometh it. Yep, Yours Truly herds the 553 horses that are to be harnessed to this chariot. Then the heavy lifting is on. Things are slightly less streamlined; the assembly line guys look like they need all the help they can get, particularly toward the back as they try to line the V10 up with its new, lower, more rigid mounting points. There's lots of back-and-forth, lots of dropped driveshafts, lots of "no, no, no!" as newly positioned hoses and bits of that bloody wiring harness try to wedge themselves where they never used to. And then, just like that, she's in.
Then it's reasonably usual stuff for anybody who has spent time near a racing garage. Oil lines to be connected to the dry-sump system, fuel lines, ECUs and a hundred smaller bits. We've also fitted the little doodad that opens the secondary exhaust flap when you've given the engine a bootful of gas pedal. Hee, hee, this is actually fun.
Day Two, Station Nine
Putting this car together is a little like making lasagna. Every time you look up, more layers have been laid down and it's finally looking finished. But a little bit of the steam has gone out of us now. The car already has its new engine, new gearbox, new suspension and better brakes. Where's the fun after that? We don't even spin the car on its assembly rig anymore because a gantry will carry it now to nearly the end of the assembly line. At least we've helped out a couple of the boys with the windshield, though we're unsure just how helpful they thought we were.
Day Two, Station 10
We're waiting for the taillights. They're supposed to be here, but they haven't arrived yet. The new exhaust system is here, though, with four pipes out the back now instead of two and it almost fits, first time.
Day Three, Station 11
The lights have arrived to highlight the wider-looking tail. Well, one of them has, anyway. It fits in easier than the front lights, but there's another issue. The composite horizontal panel that sits on top of the rear fenders doesn't quite fit properly because it's been built with prototype tooling, and the holes for the screws don't quite line up with the brackets. Even with some fiddling, there are a couple of gaping holes in the white bodywork. It's the kind of thing that takes you back to the bad old days at Italian carmakers. Good thing that prototype parts are involved, not production parts.
Day Three, Station 12
Now, fitting wheels is something we can do. Don't need to, though, because of the little hydraulic lifter that makes it almost a one-handed job. This is just too easy! Given the ease and detail of what's going on (and the very limited stuff they'll let me actually do from here on in), we wander off and skip a couple stations, interview some people and drink some coffee. We return in time to install the seats and the plastic bucket in the nose that holds luggage, but that's about it.
Day Three, Last Station
Rocco takes Zweegie into his care. He's the first man to fire up every single Gallardo that comes off the line, and this LP560-4 falls under his wing as well. This is the only place in the factory where an engine is allowed to run, and — bloody hell — it's quiet. That's because all the exhaust is disappearing up the ducting and out the roof and all we're left with is valvetrain whir. We're waved over and we get to be the second man to light this V10's fires.
Normally there are a couple of test booths the car would run through now, but we skip things like the ABS test and the paint-checking station. Zweegie is wheeled straight out to the Lamborghini courtyard — with us in it. Rocco might have been the first to fire Zweegie's engine, but we gave this car its first 300 yards. Yep, from flat zero on the odometer to 0.2 km, we're the first person to ever engage a gear, the first to turn the steering wheel, the first to dab the brakes.
And in those 300 yards, we can tell you, this 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 feels very, very good.
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