In its 2009 redesign, the Lamborghini Gallardo streamlined its back end, losing the scalloped gills and gaining simpler taillights.

LAMBORGHINI

Here’s the thing about squiring around a Lamborghini Gallardo: Either you can pull it off or you can’t. And the very first time you swing out of the low-slung cockpit with a crowd around, you’ll know which camp you fall into.

This is because the $201,000 Gallardo has no shame: A sex object that demands attention, it probably wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000.

As such, being seen in one either provokes thumbs-up signs or wisecracks about having a midlife meltdown. It might help to be Italian, or at least to look good in loafers without socks. (Tip: Never let them see you sweat.)

Kids will love it, and auto aficionados will notice that this isn’t just any rare, exotic Gallardo — this is the new, improved Gallardo LP560-4, 38 percent better than the previous iteration.

I totally made up that number, yet after spending happy miles with the redesigned sports car on public roads and a racetrack, that percentage feels about right. The latest model has the same Naomi Campbell attitude in a leaner, comelier package. If you own one of the previous 7,100 or so examples, which began production in 2003, you might want to take a look at your prenup.

If Ferrari is adored by the art and design crowd, Lamborghini has at times suffered a reputation as the outre Italian upstart: shirt unbuttoned to mid-chest, talking loudly at the bar while checking out your girlfriend. (See, for example, the “pay-attention-to-me!” Diablos of the 1990s.)

While still available in eye-searing green, the Gallardo has become a well-proportioned, cogent, exciting design. Improvements have come from reduction, not addition.

It’s lost 44 significant pounds, and the tacky back end has been cleaned up, dropping the scalloped gills and gaining simpler taillights. Yes, the rear resembles the Audi R8 (Volkswagen AG owns both companies), but it’s like good cheekbones — who’s complaining? In silhouette the crouch appears even lower and more streamlined, and the front has wider air intakes and smaller headlamps. Brother, she’s a looker.

Behind the driver, under the slightly cliched glass window, is the new direct-injected V10 with 552 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque. In shorthand: Big engine go boom.

Otherwise, it’s still all-wheel-drive and available in both a stick or a much improved “e-gear” — an automated manual controlled by paddle shifters behind the wheel. Shifts at speed are vastly smoother.

Motoring around town is manageable. You can see behind you, plus there’s a backup camera viewable in the optional GPS navigation system. In full automatic mode you needn’t shift at all, so you can wave back at people. I drove it in Las Vegas, where flash is king, and the reaction was mostly positive — though young women have a tendency to squint, as if considering whether you might in fact be worth giving one’s number to.

Similarly there are no engine backfires, back-breaking seats or mysterious rattles in the dash — all common issues with high- priced Italian exotics of yesteryear. It’s comfortable and almost ... benign. Civilized, at least.

Right up until it’s not, anyhow. Forget a woman’s fury: Unleash a Lambo’s. This thing will go over 200 miles per hour, and when I take it out on laps around a racetrack, the V10 sounds off like an all-consuming inferno, crackling and popping as it gulps air. It’s expressive and voluble when your right foot is in discussion with it.

My tester, an all-white model with blacked-out rims, has $10,000 optional carbon-ceramic brakes, which bring me swooping down from triple digits to speeds manageable for a hard left turn.

The old Gallardo felt heavy and a bit numb as it plowed into long slow corners, and even underpowered as you tried to pick up speed again. The lighter LP560-4 dances into similar situations nimbly, maintaining composure. Gliding through corners is not as effortless as in, say, the Audi R8, yet it beats both the R8 and the older Gallardo when you straighten the wheel and get back on the gas. The extra power pays dividends.

And lest you forget that it’s actually just an expensive plaything, try out the “thrust” mode, the most sure way of launching the car from 0 to 60 in some 3.6 seconds. At a stop, disengage the traction control and turn on the most aggressive sport mode setting, place your left foot on the brake and the right on the gas. Give it gas and remove brake. There’s a lurch like your heart just bumped against your ribcage, and then you’re hurtling forward. Very fun, highly immature.

So, there you have it. Expensive sex object looking for good times. Serious inquires only, please.2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4

Engine: 5.2-liter, direct-injected V10, with 552 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque.

Transmission: Six-speed manual or optional six-speed automated manual.

Speed: 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds.

Gas mileage per gallon: about 17 combined city-highway, from EU ratings.

Price as tested: $226,100.

Best features: Supermodel looks, supercar performance.

Worst feature: The commonly equipped automatic transmission’s extra $10,000 price.

Target buyer: The exotic sports-car lover looking for a little attention.

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