Thanks to Callaway’s most exciting promotion to date, Finnish golfer Jari Puolakka has been confirmed as the winner of a Lamborghini Gallardo that can be his to drive throughout 2012, insurance and servicing included.
After a five-month competition that celebrated the ground-breaking partnership between Callaway and Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A, eight finalists were flown to Lamborghini’s state-of-the-art headquarters at Sant’Agata near Bologna in Italy, with 37-year-old Jari finally being unveiled as the overall winner.
“I’ve always used Callaway drivers and hoped it might lead to better driving,” said an amazed Jari. “But I never dreamed it could mean on the roads as well as the fairways! I was researching the new Diablo Octane driver I wanted to buy when I came across the Lamborghini promotion, but never thought for a moment that I would win.”
Thousands of golfers across Europe had tested their skill and judgment in a spot-the-ball competition aptly named the Ultimate Test Drive, with 100 runners-up winning supercar track days and the eight closest reaching the grand final in Italy.
This lucky group was treated to a full tour of the Lamborghini museum and factory where iconic super cars such as the Countach, Diablo, Murcielago and, more recently, the new Aventador, have been hand-built since the company was founded in the early sixties.
The victorious eight, hailing from France, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Northern Ireland, was also granted unique access to the new CFK facility which specializes in carbon-fibre production and development. They then experienced first-hand the awesome driving power of both the Gallardo LP-570-4 Superleggera and the Gallardo LP-570-4 Spyder Performante with Lamborghini’s senior R & D test drivers.
The success of the competition echoes the dynamic partnership between Callaway and Lamborghini – two companies drawn together by a shared passion for innovation, power and performance.
The first fruit of this collaboration, Forged Composite, was announced a year ago at the Paris Motor Show. Feather-light yet formidably strong, it has allowed Callaway to take driver power and forgiveness to levels beyond the reach of titanium through ultra-precise weight distribution.
Forged Composite was employed in the crown of the Diablo Octane Driver and the crown and sole of the RAZR Hawk Driver used so successfully by recent European Tour back-to-back winner Thomas Bjorn. The Driver is also favoured by the Tour’s longest hitter, Alvaro Quiros, while 2011 South African Open winner, Ernie Els, employs the Tour version.
This ground-breaking material has also been used by Lamborghini to achieve unprecedented power-to-weight ratios in the new Sesto Elemento technology demonstrator, so named because carbon is the sixth element of the periodic table.
“We have been delighted by the response to a promotion that has reached millions of golfers across Europe,” said Neil Howie, president of Callaway, Europe, Middle East andAfrica. “The incredible number of entrants is a testament both to the performance benefits of our Forged Composite Drivers and the lure of owning one of the world’s most iconic supercars.”
Callaway www.callawaygolf.com