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The Gallardo was designed as
a competitor to the Ferrari 360, and now competes
with its replacement, the Ferrari
F430 which both, despite having only V8 engines,
develop similar peak power. And, although the
Gallardo's performance is lower than that of the
V12 Murcielago, it remains extremely fast, and
according to many reviews, a better engineered
vehicle. Many reviewers have commented that the
Gallardo has much better rearward visibility and
is more maneuverable and tractable in low-speed
traffic, making the Gallardo a more practical
car to drive. It is also much more practical to
use in bad weather than many other supercars,
thanks to a specially developed rear-biased all-wheel
drive. Although corporate owner Audi[2] is renowned
for its Quattro AWD system, Lamborghini uses a
system of its own.
To the disappointment of some Lamborghini fans,
the Gallardo does not have "Jack Knife Doors,"
aka "Scissor doors" as found on the
Countach, Diablo, and Murcielago models. This
upholds the Gallardo's image as a more composed
supercar that is both easy to live with and a
lethal track weapon.
The Gallardo was designed by Belgian Luc Donckerwolke,
who is currently the Design Director at Spanish
automobile manufacturer SEAT. Donckerwolke won
the 2003 'Red Dot Award' in recognition of the
magnificent design of both the 2003 Gallardo and
2002 Murcielago.
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