Lamborghini is a car for the confident - those who want to show the world boldness, style, sexiness and quality all at once. If that may seem like a brash statement, you only have to look at the maker itself to see that it carries this persona with a swagger.

Confident

This outlook is shown by the brief history on the maker's own website. It doesn't last long. It simply says: "The Lamborghini story is told rapidly: The others simply weren't good enough."

Competitor

Of course, there is a bit more to it than that. This maker was founded with high ambitions by Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, who immediately set out to compete with Ferrari. This might seem brave or even mad, but he succeeded. With models like the 350 GT and 400 GT, the name was quickly established as a competitor that could rub shoulders with the best.

Awesome

Lamborghini has never looked back since then and its latest models don't seem likely to make it start now. Take the Gallardo: The Daily Telegraph review of the LP560-4 Spyder version of this motor began: "Awesome is an over-used word, but it's the only way to describe the latest drop-top to emerge from Sant' Agata."

The piece went on to hail a "superb" six-gear shifting mechanism and concluded that the car is "incredibly easy to drive hard but it never seems remote from its driver". And who would want to be remote from a car as highly praised as that?

Supercar

Anyone imagining the Murcielago might suffer by comparison should also think again. Top Gear Magazine's verdict was that all eyes would be on it, saying: "There are few cars that will stop streets like a Murcielago and the LP640 even more so. Supercars like this are now getting few and far between."

So that boldness of the vision of Mr Lamborghini himself back in 1963 has not faded. Those getting behind the wheel will be joining in a brave adventure that has succeeded in spades.