Lamborghini Gallardo / Pre-production #00038 / Manual

1998. A year of great events. Stockholm will be this year's city of culture and Bill Clinton finds himself in a...bit of controverse. But perhaps more important than any of this is that a small Italian car manufacturer with growing financial difficulties and a dated model program is bought by the Volkswagen group. Of course, we are talking about Lamborghini, which already in 1998 had kept the aging Diablo alive perhaps a little too long. Something that also began to be felt with declining sales. The Volkswagen group was quick to put in the rescue effort in the form of updating the Diablo to last a few more years before a completely new model program could be launched.

2002. The world waits with excitement for what will follow in Diablo's footsteps and when you lay your eyes on the Murciélago for the first time, it becomes clear that Lamborghini's DNA has been given an almost fairy-tale second chance. The year after, little brother arrives. Or yeah more like... "little brother". Gallardo. A slightly smaller model that retains the new design language of the company but replaces the V12 with the V10. In 2003 one could only hope but this would be the car that saves the entire company. In the same year, Urban Erdtman, CEO of Volkswagen Sweden, decides to launch an agency for Lamborghini in Sweden. Urban is a sports car fanatic and sees the potential in the brand's new model range. He also wants a Gallardo himself. Something that turns out to be surprisingly difficult. The model has long queues and as manager of the entire company, Urban does not want to push ahead, but instead goes directly to the factory to buy a car.

Lamborghini S.p.A doesn't really have a car for Urban either, but manages to snag car #00038, a pre-series car that was used for demos and presentations and would normally have stayed with the factory. The car is prepared and mechanically inspected to make it ready for delivery. The interior is changed to give the car two-tone leather and the engine is changed to give the car a series-produced engine. The odometer resets to 0km after showing a meer 810miles. Something that is of course very well documented. This is thus probably the car with the lowest chassis number that has every been released to the public.

Today, this Gallardo must stand as one of the best in the world. The exterior is in the color that Lamborghini calls Nero Serapis. The traditional 19" "Cassiopeia" rims still sit on their original tires. This is the Gallardo in its purest form. Classic shapes from a classic era. Open the door and you're greeted by a beautiful, simple interior with two-tone leather upholstery. In front of the driver a black leather steering wheel, free of unnecessary buttons and just behind a simple gauge cluster. But you can't sit here without looking at the center console and the six-speed, open gearbox. Magical. Turn the ignition and you wake up something particularly mean. The V10 sounds like nothing else and breathes more freely thanks to the sports exhaust system.

A car that is unparalleled. A car that is as much history as car. Extremely well documented and in perfect condition. This is what we at Garage-11 see as modern art.