Exclusive First Test: 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

To outside observers, the whole process looks complicated and, well, a bit silly.

Clicking the right most e.gear button on the center console of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 engages Corsa mode. A push of a silver switch on the center stack disables the stability control and lights up two amber Gallardos on the instrument panel, the smaller of the two indicating that ESP is completely off. Left-footing the brake pedal and matting the throttle revs the LP560-4's engine to over 5000 rpm and creates a cacophony of popping and banging.

Releasing the brake pedal sends up a poof of smoke as the rear tires chirp and slip through not quite one full rotation. The car then bogs, as though hunkering down, before exploding forward a millisecond later.

"It always looks like a failed launch," shrugs photographer Vance. But to the nine satellites reading our position overhead, the Gallardo LP560-4's all-new Thrust mode is a raging success -- launching Lambo's latest supercar to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. The quarter mile comes just a few beats later -- 11.4 seconds at 126.9 mph. Both numbers are pretty far off the pace of Lamborghini's estimates of 3.7 and 11.8 seconds. Who knew Italians could be so conservative?

Inside the low-roofed cabin, the LP560-4's attempt to violate Newton's second law is a comprehensive assault on the senses. Getting kicked in the ass a split second before being shot from a cannon is probably the closest approximation. The only thing missing is the taste of cordite upon the lips.

Thrust mode is impressive not just at mere sports car speeds; unlike the previous Gallardo launch control system that required manually shifting the gears, a Thrust-moded Gallardo LP560-4 will autorocket through all six gears on the way to a terminal velocity of 202 mph.

Just what you'd expect from a $201,000 supercar, right? Wait, there's more...

Behind the cosmetically reshaped nose, between the all new Y-styled, LED head and taillights, is a vehicle truly worthy of such an affected alphanumeric name. LP stands for Longitudinale Posteriore and refers to the engine position -- that's longways and mid-mounted in plain English. The first set of digits - 560 -- is the horsepower count, though it's measured in Italian cavallinos (CV), which are a slightly smaller breed than our American horses. We'd call this Gallardo the LP552-4 -- that last digit accounting for the car's four-wheel drive system.