lambo-gallardo-lp-550-2 news - - 2009

See more Lambo Gallardo LP550-2 pics

Oh yes. It has finally happened. The Lamborghini Gallardo has gone rear-wheel drive.

This is the Gallardo LP550-2, and it’s that last little number that’s important. Where all current Lamborghinis are four-wheel drive, the LP550-2 is solely rear-wheel drive, charging it straight into a head-on collision course with the Ferrari F430.

The LP550-2 is armed with a 5.2-litre V10 puting out 550bhp – a fraction less than the four-wheel-drive Gallardo, but still a mighty lump of power – and is expected to hit 60mph in a fraction under four seconds.

Ditching the four-wheel-drive gubbins makes the LP550-2 a little svelter than the stock Gallardo: it should weigh in around 30kg lighter. It’s hardly a stripped-out racer, though – take a look at that interior shot, which reveals plenty of posh, stripy leather… and a proper manual transmission.

On the subject of stripes, anyone reckon the nose-to-tail racing stripe is solely there to bait the Ferrari Scuderia?

The LP550-2 seems likely to be limited to a mere 250 cars… only question is, how many will make it through the slippery, icy winter?