PC fans commonly liken the speed of their computers to that of high-performance cars. It's therefore somewhat surprising to note that relatively few hardware manufacturers have released car-inspired PCs. Acer pioneered this phenomenon with its Ferrari laptop range, but it has taken almost two years for anyone else to follow suit.
Ever eager to widen its range of stylish laptops, Asus has just released the sports car-inspired Lamborghini VX1 range, which promises as much performance and style as its namesake.
Design
The VX1 comes in two flavours: black, and the more traditional Lamborghini yellow. Both are attractive, but our yellow review sample makes an instant retina-searing impression straight out of the box, making it the more suitable poser's accessory. Asus says the laptops use the same paint finish as the iconic cars, incorporating subtle golden paint flecks that catch the light of the sun, as well as the famous Lamborghini logo.
The lid of the VX1 has a moulded plastic section that is reminiscent of a car boot spoiler, but it's actually inspired by the engine cover slats of a Lamborghini Gallardo. It's a nice touch, giving the laptop a sleek overall look. Unfortunately, the 'spoiler' section of our review sample was a slightly different shade of yellow to the main body of the laptop -- a flaw which Asus says won't be present on final retail models.
Look closely at the spoiler section and you'll see a set of lights hidden behind fine meshing. These three indicator lights are of little use, but make a nice talking point for anyone who loves fine details. We'd hoped the sea of yellow would flow onto the inside section of the laptop, but Asus has chosen a contrasting black. This isn't such a bad thing, but the effect is spoiled by a row of stickers advertising the quality of the laptop's TFT panel and its interior components.
This is a shame, as the stickers take your eyes away from the Lamborghini logo on the palm rest, which also has hundreds of tiny drilled holes, two of which hide power and hard drive access lights. There's also a vertical blue LED strip between the mouse buttons, which is a nice touch. The base of the laptop plays host to a business card holder which can accommodate a couple of ordinary size cards, but again we were disappointed by the lack of a yellow finish.
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James Kelly 28 June 2006
Good: The fact I have a matching car and laptop
Bad: All the bad press it has for being yellow
Comment: It is a stunning laptop, however there is only one complaint - I wish that I could have got a better processor in it before I bought it. But I have now, and 2.33GHz is stunning, with 2GB RAM, it's probably one of the best laptops ever.
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