I drove a Lamborghini in Singapore for a day

Passionate about cars and motorsports, Cheryl Tay is a familiar face in prominent local, regional as well as international automotive titles. More of her at www.cheryl-tay.com.

It may not be the latest model or a brand new car, but the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 that I had in my possession for 24 hours drew so much attention on and off the streets.

With the generosity of newly-launched exclusive supercar membership club Gran Superdrive, I got to experience owning a supercar for day -- just like one of their members.

Regardless of where I drove -- be it in town, down the business district or in the heartlands -- I attracted so much attention from both fellow motorists and pedestrians.

While waiting at the stoplights, drivers in the next car looked over, and passers-by on the sidewalks point at the car and turn their heads as I drive by.

People in general recognise that it is a Lamborghini, never mind that it is not the most expensive model.

When I got out of the car to hand it over to the attendant for valet parking at Fullerton Bay Hotel, I received a big ‘welcome’ in the form of tourists and hotel guests whipping out their phones to get a photo of the car.

It was parked out front at the lobby and people started going up to the car, posing beside it for photos.

If you want to draw more attention, simply switch on the Sport mode.

When that happens, the whole car suddenly becomes 'more alive'.

You can literally feel the stiffening of the dampers, the gear changes quickening and the throttle response sharpening beneath your feet.

The exhaust note becomes so much louder and the blips on the downshifts would scare birds off railings.

It’s so addictive to hear the loud roar of the raging bull, especially when going through tunnels!

Some limitations

Also, it is true that Singapore has too many traffic lights and you basically just blow your exhaust from one light to the next.

Then, the speed limits and the recently-more-active traffic police patrols mean few chances of testing the higher band of the speed range.

Occasionally I sneaked a few flat-outs on the accelerator pedal and the bull gets up to speed SO frighteningly quick!

Initially, I was a bit nervous about driving the car – it is after all, a very expensive and powerful car.

We are talking about a 5.2-litre V10 engine with 552bhp and 540Nm at its maximum, with a zero to 100km/h time of just 3.7 seconds.

I gradually got used to the car, gleefully working the E-gear via the paddle shifts behind the steering wheel.

'Drinks petrol'

Bragging rights aside, there are some compromises that come with a supercar. For example, I had to think ahead of where I was going to and then decide where to park the car.

I avoided multi-storey carparks located in public housing estates -- I went to hotels for valet parking instead.

It isn’t that much more expensive and you know that at least there'll be someone watching over the car.

The other 'drawback' is the car's fuel consumption – it drinks petrol like camel stores water. In general, the maintenance costs for such cars are pretty astronomical.

From my experience, I've concluded that at the very least, supercars won’t make practical everyday cars.

A lot of people think it is pointless to spend so much money on such cars, especially in Singapore where there are strict regulations and no permanent track to test the car’s limits.

But as a car enthusiast with fuel running through my veins, I believe that driving one is more than just showing off.

It’s about the unbeatable driving pleasure, and the experience of driving a machine with such a high level of technology.