It was drizzling the morning we showed up at the factory. The cars you see here are either ready for road testing or delivery. Production is on the right, with the Murcielago and Gallardo assembly lines running somewhat parallel to each other. About 6 Gallardos and 1 Murcielago come off the lines per day.
A neat shot showing the cars taped up for testing and delivery.
A Murcielago in its little "delivery suit."
Doug Kott from R&T takes the wheel of the "E-Drive" (paddle shift) Murcielago. We're heading out to the countryside for a drive and photo shoot.
Sergio Fontana (head of Lamborghini PR) is our host and leads the way in a silver Gallardo. Things are a bit wet ...
We are seemingly always stuck behind a truck.
Or a train...
Or the polizia, who have been alerted that we're shooting today. Frankly, I couldn't tell whether they were on our side or not! But obviously, they have cleared the roads so we can use both lanes safely.
Eventually the skies start to clear up a bit, and the real driving begins.
We pull over to prepare for the photoshoot. These bad boys look pretty mean from behind!
The photographers (Stephane Foulon, left; Umberto Guizzardi, right) sit in the back of an Audi station wagon and drive in front of us snapping away.
It's pretty funny to see them hanging on in the turns! (Especially when trying to reload...) The Audi's tires are squealing like mad in the corners, while the supercar Murcielago follows in utter silence with its superior handling.
These photographers are good -- Cover shot? You can see there isn't much room on the roads up there, and the photographers are typically driving in the oncoming lane.
Way too many great shots for here, you'll have to buy the magazine, November Robb Report.
Time to take the Murcie's rain gear off and go topless for the rest of the drive.
Last-minute preparation before taking the cars up into the hills for "the turn."
Up in the stunning countryside, a few instructions before the shoot resumes.
Lots of fun roads up here. The Murcielago is a wide car, and these are narrow, winding roads. But the car's manners are so good, you just continue to breeze on through, paying more attention to the photographers instructions than the tricky turns.
The car looks great from behind -- certainly better than we do. (Robert, can you photoshop our bald spots please?)
"Why is this man smiling ...!" You're literally on top of the world here, in any one of a number of ways.
Doug takes "the turn" as Stephane and Umberto start shooting with the motor drive on.
Umberto positions himself for some close-ups of Doug as he flies back down the hill.
Stephane chooses the inside track for this series of shots.
Honestly, I could get used to this. The Roadster is a blast to drive and pulls me through the curves effortlessly.
Stephane and Umberto are always looking up at the sky to gauge the available light. When I ask Stephane about setting the white balance on my Nikon, his advice is "Just set it to automatic, it's too complicated otherwise!" He shakes his head and you realize that these guys are calculating like crazy the entire time they are shooting.
We've worked up an appetite, and naturally Claudia and Sergio have anticipated this with a "snack" stop. Lunch is a few more stops away.
It's a digital world now, as Stephane downloads the photos in-between bites. "Just as good as film ..." he claims.
Heading back we encounter bits and pieces of traffic.
But passing is a snap. The Murcielago is a beast from behind, which is probably the only view most drivers will ever have of it. (Notice the stark contrast between vehicles.)
One last stop before the photo shoot is done.
And the station owners proudly snap photos of the cars using their cell phone!
An Italian "Hurst" seems to appropriately punctuate the end of the drive.
We park the cars for lunch. When we return, they are gone -- they've been whisked back to the factory. We all squeeze into the Audi wagon, and return to reality.