The well known Orange Murcielago continues to get better with age a bit like a nice bottle of Merlot. In fact the gearbox is a joy to use – a fair bit less obstinate than its bigger brother the LP640.
So for 2010 I’ve had it partially wrapped matt black like the new LP670 SV. The boot, front spoiler, rear spoiler and side skirts are getting the treatment at the moment. I’ll upload a picture on completion..
Then that got me thinking, the Ferrari 599 is Le Mans blue – not the best colour admittedley, would it be worth wrapping it Rosso Scuderia – the same colour as the Challenge Stradale? The point is – colour can make or break a Supercar and I reckon it may do it some favours on an event day..I’ll keep you posted.
Things are going at full speed at the moment, most of the Supercars have left the paintshops and are being serviced. With the first events at Prodrive only 10 days away its a bit hectic here in the office…

In the last few years Supercar manufacturer’s have offered carbon ceramic brakes first as an option, then lately as standard equipment. They aren’t cheap – on a Lamborghini they can cost £10,000, but the truth is unless the Supercar is being hammered around a track by a professional race driver then ceramic brakes don’t really help much. In my opinion it’s a cynical marketing ploy.

Take our Lamborghini LP640 for instance. We ordered this car back in May 2007 and specifically requested it wasn’t fitted with ceramics. The reason for this is standard steel brakes are much more progressive with far better ‘feel’ than ceramics. Jump behind the wheel of a Supercar with cold ceramic brakes and attempt to stop and you could be in for a nasty shock. The steel brakes on the LP640 are superb hot or cold. So we decided to replace all our ceramic braked equipped supercars this winter with bespoke steel alternatives.
The Ferrari 599 GTB, 360 Challenge Stradale and soon the Aston Martin DBS will soon be thus equipped. The other benefit is if the pads wear out before we can get to change them, on a Supercar utilising ceramic’s its going to cost a small fortune for replacement discs. At least with steel’s its nowhere near as extortionate.. So in my opinion there’s absolutely no loss of braking performance but far more feel..

We often get asked if 6th Gear’s Supercar’s get driven on the tarmac and the straight answer is that some do and some don’t. This year sadly the 360 Stradale will be sticking to the track and not venture out into the public domain as will the Ferrari 599 GTB but the big Lambo’s always get taxed as does the mighty Aston DBS, the very lovely baby blue Gallardo Spyder (nicknamed Phoebe) and not forgetting the gorgeous sounding Audi R8. Personally I love the DBS, it’s a big bus but it pedals on thanks to that mighty V12. Andy’s Lamborghini through and through and to him if it hasn’t a bull on the bonnet or a DAF badge (he’s a big truck fan) then according to him it’ll drive like his dad’s old Ford Granada.
This year we both aim to do some more road driving and attend more external events, since 6th Gear went through the roof a year or so ago we just don’t get the time. Having said that we’ve a lot more staff these days so 2010 might be a little less frantic.
But back to road driving, and I personally find attention these Supercars bring on the road everso slightly intimidating. Surprisingly the Aston DBS really seems to grab people and the feedback is always positive. The Lamborghini’s never fail to create a path like the Red Sea parting on the fast lane of the motorway, but if you ever have the fortunate experience of a Murcielago on your tailgate you will soon understand why..
Parking a big Lambo on the street and manipulating it into a parking space isnt the easiest of tasks to accomplish. Being a clumsy oaf I’ve often cracked it first time, before making myself looking a goon by tripping over the wide sill and onto the pavement. No doubt amusing to the watching faces that always gather to watch the Murcielago pull in.
The DBS is an elegant piece of kit. Its a long long nose which is in total contrast to the short one of the Lambo’s. It’s a lot easier to alight too. It’s a tad tail happy on damp roads though so giving it a bootful mid corner isnt a good idea.
My dream daily driver? Without doubt a Pagani Zonda F.

Driving up from Birmingham to Leeds in the LP640 recently it suddenly struck me still what a stunning Supercar this big Lambo really is. Cruising at around the legal limit this White monster parts traffic in front like the Red Sea, there’s a constant roar from that thunderous V12 behind your ears and on top of all that a lovely high pitched whine from the gearbox. That’s not all – the LP640 has an airpump that shifts air from the cats every so often, so now and again this sound (not dissimilar to a Dyson Vac) kicks in too. It’s an old chestnut but piloting an LP640 at high speed has got to be the nearest thing to flying a jet. We’ve had this icon two years and the magic still hasn’t worn off. In fact park the LP next to any Ferrari bar an Enzo/F40 or similar and it makes the cars from Maranello look like Milk Floats.

Back in August 2007 Andy and I travelled to the Lamborghini factory at Sant’Agata, Italy to pick up this monster and boy what a trip back through the Alps we had. The Orange Murcielago was also at the factory having had a top end engine rebuild so we swapped around a bit both a bit cautious that one engine was brand new and the other had just been rebuilt. Mind you the maximum recommended engine RPM on a rebuilt/new Lamborghini V12 is 4000rpm. Not much but on a Lambo in 6th Gear (no pun intended) it equates to 120mph, more than enough to see us through the Gottardo pass and into Switzerland.

There’s just something about Lamborghini’s that stir the soul. When you have a minute find the opening credits via You Tube for ‘The Cannonball Run’. Just have a listen to that 4.0 Litre V12 Countach 5000S – what an absolutely gorgeous note. These days with fuel injection and other relatively modern engine management systems, that throaty roar only heard from Carb engines has gone for good, a great shame.

But back to the LP640 and some of you may be aware Lamborghini have recently introduced the LP670SV an even faster derivative of the LP640. At £300,000 including a few extras we’d love one. But for the moment the LP640 will come a very close second..

Had a good day out yesterday with business partner and 6th Gear’s Operations Director Andy Cummings when the guys at Evo Magazine called and asked if they could borrow our Aston Martin DBS and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 for a blast round the Bedford Autodrome’s West circuit.
The weather was typically crap as per usual for this green and pleasant land, and the track surface greasy with a bit of light rain. Roger Green climbed behind the wheel of the 580bhp Bond car first and hammered it round the tarmac for a good 10 minutes before one final flying lap to set the best time. Then it was the turn of our Lamborghini LP640…Roger quickly getting to grips with the different handling of this four wheeled drive monster. Watching Roger take this Lambo around the track was great fun – this is a guy who has raced the iconic Porsche 962 Le Mans car, and is trying to get a drive this year in the Le Mans classic. Even with its 1650kilo’s and four wheel drive it seemed to struggle around the twisties before spinning once on the bus stop chicane. No matter..Roger was soon off again and flew past the pits on a final fast lap with the howl from that wonderful V12 hanging in the wind.

So which of these awesome V12’s do you think set the fastest lap time? Bear in mind the Lambo LP640 can hit 215mph and 0-60mph in 4 seconds, the Aston DBS 190mph and 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds. Both are a similar weight.
Well be surprised, because the DBS trounced the LP640 by a fair margin…
Interesting, but the LP640’s power band really comes into it’s own above 5000rpm but when it does hit that magic number this Lambo absolutely flies, it really is astonishing. However the DBS is much more linear – a good spread of power throughout the rev range and considering the wet weather it just got the power down better on this occasion.
So what would it have been like in the dry?

I reckon it would have been a different story…

Simon George

Now’s the time we start putting the Supercars through a programme of paintwork and servicing. When you are talking nearly six grand for a Lamborghini clutch (and we have 6) then it certainly aint cheap!! Paintwork wise we had a good year in 2009.

The Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale is about to have the front spoiler painted, the LP640 has suffered in the same area too. The Ferrari 599 has had a great year with hardly a mark on it and as for the 3 Aston’s (DB9 DBS and Vantage) these have also stayed almost unmarked. The old lady of the fleet – the well known Orange Murcielago has had a lot of recent work. Bodywise it’s being painted currently to look like the Murcielago LP670 SV with matt black rear panels. It’s just had the latest LP640 wheels and brakes upgraded too, so when this is finished it’ll be a heck of a monster!! This is a sentimental Supercar for me – when it was new in 2004 ( a couple of years before 6th Gear began) it took me on a 5000 mile trip round Europe and what a great journey that was. It’s covered well over 130,000 miles now and still features in Evo magazine from time to time. Strangely enough even with this mileage it drives superbly, thanks to all it’s recent upgrades. The 430 Spider is a fairly recent addition to 6th Gear’s fleet – again its a Supercar thats easy enough to handle, not my cup of tea if i’m honest but predictable in the dry. Personally I prefer the Lambo’s in the wet – with 4 wheel drive they are ‘planted’ and heavy enough not to be affected by wind too much either.

The Aston DBS is a cracking machine. Now I’ve never been such a fan of Aston’s – pipe and slippers spring to mine but the ‘new’ range is anything but. The DBS is the best certainly on the track, its a hard ride with the sports suspension setting switched on and the brakes are stunning. However its the noise that makes the hairs on your neck stand up on end. The howl from that James Bond V12 is simply awesome over 4000rpm.

The Ariel Atoms havent needed too much attention since the 2009 season. A brake pad change and a new starter motor for one has been it. ‘Robust’ is a pretty good description of these incredible supercharged rocketships. Personally I won’t ride as a passenger in them anymore, I’m not the best passenger at the best of times but the Atoms just cross the line for me. Thrilling but bloody terrifying if I’m honest! More soon……

Simon George