| The Lambo experience
For years on lazy Thursdays afternoons (in Dubai where I once lived, Friday is the weekly day off) I used to walk across to the showroom next door to browse...ask why??..the dealer was selling Lamborghinis!! I don't think I ever recall being so taken up by a shape as I was with the Countach, the LM and later the stunning Diablo. Often the owner, a local(Arab) would walk out to chat briefly..he knew I was a petrol head.. and promised a drive some day. I forgot about his offer over the years...but guess what...he didn't.
One Thursday I got a call saying..Deepak - game for a test drive? I shook my head in disbelief as I never thought someone would lavish such luxury on some obscure Indian..hahaha
By the time I put the phone down I was in the showroom next door and what do I see... a stunning Lilac coloured Diablo Special Anniversary edition all lined up against the showroom exit door with its gullwing doors open skyward waiting to be taken out.
My heart was literally pounding with excitement as the beaming showroom owner asked me to hop in.
The passenger seat was like a glove..snug..race ready. The Anniv edition had some race gear I think as these seats (Recaros I think) were with the racing harness, the straps join at your chest and can be released with a twist buckle.
With my heart still pounding with excitement and anticipation what followed next is something I can never forget ever. As the key was turned in the fob I heard a series of whirring noises and figured it was the fuel pumps priming that monstrous V12. Then as the owner cranked her I heard a beautiful distinct clean electrical whine as the starter went about relentlessly spinning the V12. And then almost as though something from the heavens had descended the V12 fired to life with a roar. Goosebumps is an understatement..my cheeks were hurting now with the ridiculously wide smile plastered on my face! What a roar, what a rumble.
The Lambo is no Ferrari. Where the Ferrari is about finesse, refinement, racehorse like sharpedgeness this machine is all animal.. more a lion than the bull. Its literally raw and wild. We inched out of the showroom gently as the ground clearances on these cars are micro and this was a brand new machine yet to be sold.
The Dubai Sharjah stretch is just around the corner from the showroom and in a few seconds we were lined up on the road with a clear stretch ahead. The owner had decided he was going to treat me to a ride of a lifetime...and he did.
The guy just floored the massive V12 Lambo and ERUPT is the word to describe how the Diablo exploded onto the highway. The sound from the engine behind, literally without any exaggeration, was like two full grown male Lions giving out earshattering full throated roars in unison.
Oh boy..believe me..this car can make the most frigid of women go weak in the knees (well I better stop at that!!! hahaha)
What a car, and what an engine. The Lambo is something in a class of its own...its absurd to compare it with a Ferrari. Its about being in the company of tigers and lions and actually riding them when they are letting out their loudest roars. There's something amazingly raw, animal like about the Lambo. That day in my heart I bowed in respect for the man who conceived this beast in metal. Those Italians know their cars and their emotions!!! | 
19th February 2008, 14:57
