猩氏車評—蘭博基尼 Murcielago LP640

來自專欄 世界上最好的車評人——傑里米克拉克森車評

猩氏車評—蘭博基尼 Murcielago LP640??

Mad bad and utterly wonderful to know

瘋狂 反角 徹頭徹尾的美妙絕倫

An alarming e mail has just arrived from the public relations department at Honda. It says I recently test drove the new Legend and wonders when my review might appear in The Sunday Times.

郵箱提示一封來自本田公關部的郵件，告訴我他們很期待我對他們新車的測評結果，並且想知道什麼時候會在Sunday Times上發表。

This is all frightfully embarrassing because I can』t recall a single thing about it. It was a car. It came to my home. I drove it for a week. And then it was taken away. I remember it in the same way as the childhood sneeze—I don』t remember it at all

My wife says I came back from one drive in it moaning about the positioning of the headlamp switch, but she can』t remember what was wrong, or why we』d become so starved of normal conversation that I』d even brought it up

這就很尷尬了，因為我根本不記得了。我只記得有輛車送到我家，我開了一個星期，然後就被拿走了。就像小時候打噴嚏一樣，完全沒有印象。我妻子告訴我我開完車回來就一直在抱怨如何調節頭燈，但剩下的她也都不記得了。

It must, therefore, be an ideal car for those who』ve had Vauxhall Corsas all their lives and have now won the pools. You can continue to demonstrate your total lack of motoring interests with the more expensive and maybe larger Legend—and it will not annoy you in any way, except perhaps for the headlamp switch

這一定就是給那些之前開歐寶，之後中了彩票的人準備的。你可能會去買更貴的車去表達你對汽車毫無興趣，而且不會惹你不開心，除了這個頭燈調節的按鈕。

Although we can』t be sure about that what I can be sure about is that the Legend is not alone. I』ve been through my diary and it seems there are hundreds of other cars that have left no stain on my memory at all

我不太確定這車會不會惹你不開心，但我可以確定得是這車絕非個例。在我的日記中，數以百計的車我都不曾有印象。

Only last week, while preparing a TG item on affordable Hatchbacks, I had to say to a researcher 「What is my opinion of the Clio?」 Happily, from his point of view, an archive of road tests on Times Online could provide an answer

除了上一周我們準備廉價小鋼炮那一期節目時，我必須要告訴我們的研究員「我對雷諾Clio感覺如何？」在我看來，時報官網的路測完全可以給你答案。

But now, a week on, I』m afraid it』s gone again. I either liked it very much

,or I hated it. And I』m damned if I can remember which

但現在，一周過去了，這車在我腦海里又消失的無影無蹤，不知道是喜歡，還是厭煩，真的是爆炸難受。

Then there』s Ford Galaxy. Clearly, I drove one two months ago, for a week, and all I remember is that it had idiotically hard seats. Engine? Space? Price?

然後就是福特銀河，兩個月前我做了試駕，一周過後，我只記得它的座椅是多麼智障。 發動機怎麼樣？車內空間如何？性價比怎麼樣？

Sorry. It』s all blank.

不好意思，我的大腦現在一片空白。

Strangely, when I first started writing about cars—or carts as they were called back then—I never forgot a thing. What』s more, I can still remember the feel of the engine cutout switch in Fiat Regata ES, and the exact lilac color of the front seats in the Renault Fuego Turbo

奇怪得是，我最開始做汽車測評時，我從不會忘記任何事。我甚至還記得菲亞特Regata ES的斷油開關，還有雷諾Fuego Turbo前座的顏色。

So why can』t I remember modern cars? well, put simply, they don』t have lilac seats or pointless cut out switches. Many, I』m afraid to say are nothing but white goods.

為什麼我對現代的汽車就沒有一點印象呢？簡單來說，因為他們沒有淡紫色的前座，或者毫無用處的斷油開關。他們乾淨的就像一張白紙。

If you go back to a time when buyers could choose between Golf GTI and Escort RS2000, the differences between them were huge. RWD vs FWD. Carburetor VS Fuel Injection. Hatchback VS Saloon. Tennis Racket headrest inserts—I still remember that—VS Golf Ball gearknobs

回到過去，人們在高爾夫GTI和福特Escort RS2000間抉擇，兩輛車如同天壤之別，後驅對上前驅，化油器同缸內直噴，掀背還是三廂？網球拍式頭枕，或者，我現在還記得，高爾夫的球形換擋桿。

Now if you get out of a present Golf GTI and switch to a Hot Megane, it』s no longer like moving through a wormhole in the space time continuum. The only way you will fund any differences at all is by burrowing into brochures and examming the price of extras. That』s not a fun way to waste your time. My worry is that if car makers don』t start putting a bit of soul and flair and engineering panache back into their cars—and I』m excluding Alfa and Citroen from this, because they do—pretty soon, motoring will cease to be fun

如果現在讓你在高爾夫與梅甘娜之間選擇，就沒有了以前那種像穿越蟲洞的感覺，唯一的區別就是小冊子上兩者印的價格。這可不是消磨時間的好東西。我擔心的是，如果汽車製造商不為他們的汽車注入靈魂，除了阿爾法和雪鐵龍，因為他們正在這麼做，不久的將來，汽車業將變得死氣沉沉。

And when that happens, you will not be comparing VW with Renault. You will be comparing The Car with Public Transportation. And as often as not, you will find Public Transportation is cheaper and more convenient

從此，你不會再將大眾和雷諾拿去比較。你會比較開車好還是公共交通方便。一般來說，你都會覺得，公共交通既方便又便宜。

I remarked recently in these pages that a VW Golf GT had failed to travel from London to Cornwall anything more than a chore. It didn』t soothe or excite, or do anything that makes a car more than a personal transportation module

And now we have Honda Legend, a car so forgettable I can』t remember a single thing about it. Why use that for the drive into London when train is faster, you don』t park a train, don』t pay congestion fee for it, and you can while away the journey with your nose in Private Eye?

現在的情況是高爾夫GTI已經不能勝任倫敦到康沃爾的旅程了。它不再平靜或者富有激情，讓你覺得和坐公交沒有什麼區別。現在又有了本田Legend，一個讓我完全想不起細節的車。火車更快啊，為什麼還要開這破車？

What』s more, the train may crash, which is a better foundation on which to build a conversation with your wife than the poisoning of your Honda』s headlamp switch

That bring us, of course, to the mysterious scissor door Lambo Murcielago LP640—a car some of you may recall from recent TG

另外，火車會出事故，這又多了個話題，同時，把我們帶入了今天的主題—蘭博基尼LP640-4蝙蝠。

Unfortunately,a monstrous pressure on time that week meant the review was rather truncated, so I』d like to fill in the gaps here

然而，這周壓力很大，也就是說這篇測評可能會有些斷章取義，所以特此說明。

The Murcie is astonishing rather than astonishing. This, fitted with an enlarged 6.5 V12,it develops a massive 495 carbon dioxides and a top speed of 211MPH.On TG track, I had it up to an indicated 207,which is faster than any other car ever managed

用震驚來形容這輛蠻牛是不夠的。 6.5L V12引擎排放出495個單位的二氧化碳，而且極速達到了211mph，我踩到了207mph，已經快過了測試過的所有量產車。

So yes, the power and the noise that goes with it mean you are never likely to forget even the shortest drive. That』s good. But the main reason this car is so memorable comes when you get to a corner

是的，它的動力和聲浪會讓你永生難忘，即使是短短的一段。這就很棒，但這輛車最令人印象深刻的是它過彎的樣子。

It』s fitted with a 4WD that feeds to power to whichever axle is best able to use it. Fine, but it』s such a dimwitted set up that you are usually going backwards before it』s noticed the rear has gone loose and that it might be a good idea to shove some oomph up front

全時四驅系統讓動力在任何時候都能完美分配。但這套系統有時又會讓你不知所措，因為後輪打滑時，他卻把更多的動力分配到前輪去。

Or it decides that the rear could go loose due to the angle of steering wheel and speed, and feeds the most of power to the front. And any attempt to unstick the back with a boot floor just means more and more understeer. I couldn』t help wondering what this car might be like if with a simple RWD layout. Lighter for sure, and therefore faster too. Yes in the rain there might be a smidgeon less grip. but to balance that, it would be a lot more predictable. Better, in simpler words.

亦或是通過判斷車速和方向盤的角度去把動力全部輸送到前輪，任何想要改出的操作都會引起更嚴重的轉向不足。我一直在糾結這輛車如果是純後驅會怎麼樣。會更輕，當然也會更快。雖然下雨的時候抓地力會很小，但相比起來會更容易預測。

Audi, the company owns Lambo for 9 years till now, has tried to make the car less wild and mad. You can see that in the styling, the headroom, but the handling quirk means it』s still far too much of a handful to be taken seriously as a driver』s car

And that』s wonderful, Ferrari makes drivers』 car, machines for the terminally earnest. Lambo should be making stuff that puts a smile on your face, even when it』s standing still

奧迪入主蘭博基尼已經9年了，它曾試圖讓這頭牛變得不再狂野。它的設計風格，頭部空間都在變化。 但它的操控性離一個合格的駕駛者之車還有一定距離。這樣挺好，法拉利去製造駕駛者之車。蘭博基尼應該去製造那些能讓你傻笑的車，即使是靜止狀態下的狂牛。

Even though I have ordered a Gallardo Spyder. I』m the first to admit it』s not as good as a F430 around a track. It』s less delicate, less poised. But as a car, a mad, expensive preposterous waste of money, the sheer force of it personality know the techno Ferrari in a cocked hat

雖然我已經訂了敞篷版蓋拉多，但我不得不承認在賽道上它沒有F430那麼好。沒有那麼精確，少了一份沉穩。但作為一個燒錢的車，就讓人覺得相比起來，法拉利不是什麼好車。

This is why I still love the LP640.It』s flawed, silly. With a totally useless 4WD, a hammered down sat-nav screen, and a steering wheel coated with clearly the black series of TG dog. Technically, it』s not even as good, I should imagine, as the new Honda Legend. But when you are chasing the memorable times of your life, do you opt for a dinner with a chartered accountant or Lemmy from Motorhead?

這就是為什麼我依然深愛著蝙蝠。它有瑕疵，有缺陷。四驅系統一無是處，導航強扭硬塞，方向盤就像TG狗的皮一樣。理論上講，它不能算是一輛好車。我應該預料到的，但當你回憶你的人生的時候，你是否願意找尋埋藏在你內心深處的野心呢？

Lambo is at the cutting edge of everything that makes cars interesting and exciting and wonderful. And we have to love it just for that.

蘭博站在車輛激動人心 美妙絕倫 引人入勝的制高點上，而僅僅因此，我們就不得不對此醉生夢死

?翻譯：GearKnobs字幕組—JeremySong