In race with police cruiser, Lamborghini tanks
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
BY DIANE C. WALSH AND TOM HAYDON
Star-Ledger Staff


The standard-issue Crown Victoria cruiser was no match for the 2006 Lamborghini.

Once the famed Italian sports car got above 100 mph as it fled from North Brunswick police on Route 1 north early yesterday, the officer broke off the chase.

But the V-10 Gallardo, which doesn't get great mileage, was apparently low on gas when the chase began, and the driver needed to make a pit stop to refuel.

That's when Edison police farther up the road caught the speeder.

Gianluca Siciliano, 38, of Torino, Italy, was arrested at an Edison service station on Amboy Avenue. He was charged with eluding police.

Police said Siciliano told them he was a representative of Lamborghini, the elite automaker based in Italy. A Lamborghini spokesman could not be reached yesterday.

Deputy Police Chief Don Conry said an officer using radar originally clocked Siciliano going 85 mph on Route 1 near Livingston Avenue in the northern end of the township.

"The officer pursued, accelerating to 100 mph, and saw the Lamborghini was rapidly pulling away from him," Conry said.

North Brunswick broadcast a description of the $175,000 sports car with Massachusetts plates. Edison police spotted it seven minutes later at 1:37 a.m., and Siciliano was arrested.

He was being held in the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick. Bail was set at $10,000.

The Gallardo has a top speed of 196 mph, according to the automaker's Web site, but its 520-horsepower engine gets only 17 mpg highway, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. North Brunswick police use Ford Crown Victorias as their cruisers, which have standard engines, Conry said.

The state Attorney General has guidelines for high-speed chases that call for police to end pursuits when the speed creates a substantial risk to the officer or others, depending on the road conditions, the location, and the likelihood of catching the fleeing driver at another time, the deputy chief said.

Yesterday's chase "lasted probably seconds," Conry said.

"It became obvious that he (the officer) wasn't going to catch the car. The risk to the officer and the driver wasn't worth it. It was only for a speeding ticket," Conry said, "and as it turned out, we were able to catch the driver."

Interesting article :thumbup:

Just another example that we have yet to produce a car that is as fast as a 2-way radio :)

hahaah...funny stuff...this happened a town over from me. I was actually on the same road yesterday, but not at the same time to see it.

haha thats funny that he actually stopped for gas....

oh boy, the speed owned the police, but the gas tank owned the lambo :)

I think it would have been worth it to try and find a secure hiding place once the police gave up, and just wait it out before going to a gas station, walk or catch a bus to a hardware / AutoZone buy a gas can go to the station get some gas if its that low I dunno those measures would have been less to deal with than Jail and bail. But you act foolish you pay the price, good for him.

That's why Toyota needs to make a hybrid sportcar. You can only drive 60 miles a tank with those monsters...

hhahah...good article! :thumbup:

That's why Toyota needs to make a hybrid sportcar. You can only drive 60 miles a tank with those monsters...You mean to outrun the cops is why Toyota needs to make a hybrid sportcar?:uh: So far hybrids, due to much heavier weight and the low hp increase (albeit high torque increase) from the electric motor, have great acceleration but poor top speeds.

If Toyota wants their hybrids to be able to not only outlast the cops but also outrun them, they'll need to find a way to improve the top speeds.;)

If he is with the Lambo company, this might get his rear fired, LOL.

Running from the cops in a Lambo? Not exactly an easy to disguise vehicle :egads:

You mean to outrun the cops is why Toyota needs to make a hybrid sportcar?:uh: So far hybrids, due to much heavier weight and the low hp increase (albeit high torque increase) from the electric motor, have great acceleration but poor top speeds.

If Toyota wants their hybrids to be able to not only outlast the cops but also outrun them, they'll need to find a way to improve the top speeds.;)

weight has little to do with top speed, its engine power and especially aerodynamics

weight has little to do with top speed, its engine power and especially aerodynamicsLittle? Weight is as big and legitimate a factor to top speed as engine power and aerodynamics.

It's very simple:
work = distance x force = power x time, therefore power = velocity x force.

Now what's the force that the engine power has to overcome? That's right, aerodynamic drag AND friction. You know the aerodynamic part, but what makes the friction?
Answer: friction force = coefficient of friction x weight

So given the same horsepower, velocity will decrease when the opposing force increases, and that includes the friction force that is a function of weight.;)

aerodynamic force is the major force in top speed, there is friction from the tires of the car on the road but its nearly nothing compared to the aerodynamic force of on rushing air. That equation you listed only takes into acct the friction of the car on the ground but there is a VERY large drag force from the air which has a seperate equation

Why does a 5500 lb Bentley Flying Spur have a top speed of 195 mph with 551 hp while the top speed of a murcielago is 199 mph with 580 hp and 3638 lbs? Weight is little of a factor, aerodynamics, engine power, and transmission play a much bigger role for top speed. The lambo is probably producing a lot more downforce than the bentley also but weight isnt the main factor in top speed.

If he had hid he might of gotten away.

You mean to outrun the cops is why Toyota needs to make a hybrid sportcar?:uh: So far hybrids, due to much heavier weight and the low hp increase (albeit high torque increase) from the electric motor, have great acceleration but poor top speeds.

If Toyota wants their hybrids to be able to not only outlast the cops but also outrun them, they'll need to find a way to improve the top speeds.;)

Not too mention the cop already had the guys license plate number and radioed that to other officers. Even if it was a hybrid the cops would be knocking on the door sooner or later. What the guy should have done is stop and ask the officer if he wanted a test drive :D Maybe the cop would have been cool about it. Don't ask to be let off though as that coiuld be bribing an officer :egads:

Good to see the cops broke off the chase :thumbup:

Seriously not worth innocent people's lives for a speeding ticket.

Back in high school my friends and I would ditch cops all the time on our Crotch Rockets, you think a Lambo is fast 0-60, LOL, we would be 7 blocks away before the cops had a chance to turn his siren on. :woohoo: