Lambo Super Trofeo Stradale (2011) at Frankfurt motor show

Lamborghini tonight whisked the covers off the new £195,000 Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale supercar on the eve of the 2011 Frankfurt motor show.

It’s the roadgoing version of the Super Trofeo race cars that compete in the European Blancpain Super Trofeo championship, a one-make series for Gallardos and their racier and richest owners. Hence the Stradale name – it’s Italian for road.

This is confirmation that Lamborghini – like Aston Martin and Maserati – continues its strategy of launching numerous spin-offs. The new Gallardo is still two years away; we’d wager this won’t be the last Gallardo special edition, either.

Another cynical marketing exercise or a genuine road racer? The Gallardo STS – let’s save fingers and eyeballs by shortening that mouthful of a name – has an identically powered 562bhp 5.2-litre V10 and the same gigantic rear wing, said to double the downforce of the Superleggera.

The spoiler is made from carbonfibre and numerous other bits of the STS are fashioned from composite too. The diet regime lops 70 kilos off the already-trim kerbweight of the regular LP560-4 and Lambo quotes a 1340kg dry weight. Those black forged 19in alloys alone save 13kg.

Pretty much, yes. It’ll top out at 193mph and the 62mph ratrace is over in just 3.4sec. Bystanders will barely have time to notice the new Rosso Mars paintjob, a nod to Italy’s national racing colour. It’s the first Lambo to sport matching red brake calipers.

Don’t worry if red’s not your thing: you can also pick from Grigio Telesto and Bianco Monocerus. Italian colour schemes somehow sound so much more evocative than their English plainsakes, don’t they?

It’s a festival of Alcantara and cabonfibre again, the soft leathery material adorning the dashboard and seats, while the seatbacks, door trim and centre console are made of the black woven stuff. You can of course go to town and spec up full carbonfibre overload, should you have more money than taste.

The STS mates the V10’s 562bhp and 398lb ft V10 to the Lamborghini six-speed robotised manual transmission. If you don’t mind shagging your clutch and tyres, it contains a very fun Launch mode which presets the revs to 5000rpm then engages the gear in an eyeblink. Every owner should try it once.

Sant’Agata will build just 150 of the Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale. Customers can spec theirs up to mirror the race cars bearing the same name, with rollcage, four-point harnesses and fire extinguishers all on the menu.

By Tim Pollard