It's the first restomod from CAVËN Atelier
The Lamborghini Gallardo might have given way to the Huracan and the Temerario with its many variants, but it is remembered as one of Sant'Agata's most popular models that helped the company break through. The production supercar was introduced in 2003, but its development actually started in the '90s. Now, the designer of the concept — Fabrizio Giugiaro — has teamed up CAVËN Atelier to create a limited-production restomod. You might remember that the Gallardo was signed off by Luc Donckerwolke.
However, its design was an evolution of the Calà concept from 1995, which was penned by Italdesign. Giugiaro had also created an early version of the Gallardo in 1998, which reportedly didn't change much as it transitioned to production. Fast forward to 2026 and CAVËN Atelier has unveiled a reworked version of the Italian supercar, giving its designer access to modern engineering, materials, and technology. The Hommage 26 is based on a Gallardo donor vehicle, adding a redesigned exterior, small interior tweaks, a revised suspension setup, and an upgraded V10 powertrain which is mated to a manual gearbox.
2026 facelift for a 2003 supercar
Visually, the supercar is instantly recognizable as a Gallardo, although most body panels are new and made of carbon fiber. The highlight is the connection between the headlights and the front bumper intakes, something that was not technically feasible at the time. Other notable changes include the pop-down headlight units, 20-inch alloy wheels, redesigned taillights with modern LED graphics, dual active rear spoilers, and dual exhaust pipes above a body-colored diffuser.
The interior looks similar to the donor vehicle, but gains small touches like Alcantara upholstery on the dashboard, a rear window that opens to enhance the audio experience, and a hexagon motif on the door cards with red stitching. Predictably, upgrades go deeper than skin. As reported by Classic Driver, CAVËN Atelier will offer the naturally-aspirated V10 engine with two different outputs, producing 540 and 560 horsepower, respectively. This is more than the 493 hp of the standard Gallardo but significantly less than the 907 hp of the electrified Temerario. More importantly, the engine is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, which is not available in the Gallardo's successors.
Targeting buyers with deep pockets
The Hommage 26 was unveiled at the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas, as the first chapter of the brand's Designer Series. CAVËN Atelier will build 25 examples, with a starting price of €900,000 ($1,008,800) excluding the donor vehicle. The latter currently ranges from around $75,000 to more than $500,000 depending on condition, meaning that the total price of the restomod could reach $1.5 million. The company has confirmed that similar projects are already in the works, with original designers revisiting models from the late '90s and early '00s.
The conversions will target collectors, given the steep pricing and limited production, but CAVËN Atelier insists they are intended to be driven rather than preserved in climate-controlled garages. What's interesting is that the Hommage 26 is not the first Gallardo restomod out there. The Etna supercar, from Tedson Motors, arrived in 2025 with modern design features and suspension components from the Super Trofeo racecar.
