Italian luxury sportscar maker Lamborghini is all set to drive in its best selling model, the mid-size Gallardo, onto the India market within the first quarter of 2006, reports The Times of India.

"The plan is to bring the Lamborghini Gallardo within the first quarter of next year," The Times yesterday reported the Exclusive Motors Manager for Sales, Rahul Grover, as saying. Exclusive Motors are the official Lamborghini importer for India. While the exact pricing is likely be known only next month, he said that the Lamborghini Gallardo could be tagged anything between Rs 1 crore and Rs 1.5 crore. Grover said the target was to sell around two to three units of Gallardo during 2006.

The 5.0-litre V10-powered Gallardo model would be the latest in the series of very exclusive luxury and sports cars to hit the Indian roads recently, following closely in the footsteps of the Maybach, the Rolls Royce Phantom and the Bentley Arnage. It is also part of Lamborghini's current global expansion drive, which most recently saw a brand new showroom being inaugurated in the Chinese City of Shanghai.
 

The Gallardo has recently become Automobili Lamborghini's best selling model ever, as the record-breaking 3,000th example rolled off the Sant'Agata production line near Bologna, earlier in December. The Gallardo range was significantly expanded during the autumn with the arrival of the strictly limited edition Gallardo SE - easily identifiable by its black roof, engine cover and door mirrors - and the Spyder - which features a fast operating, innovative electronically folding roof - both of which received their première during the Frankfurt IAA in September. Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann recently announced that production numbers would remain similar to this year in 2006, with the new Spyder expected to account for the bulk of production.

The Times went on to comment that "it remains to be seen though how Gallardo, which competes with the likes of Ferrari's F430 and Porsche's 911 Turbo, will fare in India." Lamborghini also reportedly said it was more concerned with the infrastructure in India than the purchasing capability of its potential customers.