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If you've got personal space issues, don't ever think about buying a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

Drive it down any street, anywhere in the world, and you'll be surrounded, clambered over, prodded and poked by throngs of people wanting to get up close to this extrovert supercar.

We should know. We've taken the Spyder around downtown Miami and backstreet Mumbai, and had exactly the same reaction. This is a car that attracts attention like no other.

Lambo's decision to lop the top off the Gallardo - the model known as the baby of the line-up, but never has a term been less apt - makes perfect sense. You never bought a Gallardo to keep anonymous, so you might as well show your face.

If anyone hasn't seen you coming, they'll certainly hear you. The yowl from the Gallardo's five-litre V10 is intoxicating: demanding you hunt down a tunnel or underpass and gun the engine right up past 8,000rpm.

The complete lack of anything between you and 10,000 miles of sky makes the sheer speed of the Gallardo Spyder even more addictive. Dispatching 60mph in 4.2 seconds, the Spyder is a fraction slower than its fixed-top brother, but it's a worthy trade-off for the open-air experience.

Although Lambo has revised the Gallardo's drivetrain for more low-end thrust, burbling the V10 along at low revs is a shameful waste of such an incredible engine. Over 2,500rpm the acceleration arrives like a warp-speed piledriver, thumping through your chest and demanding you push it to the red line.

All that power is useable, too. The Spyder isn't friendly, exactly - this is a Lamborghini after all - but it's not terrifying. The permanent four-wheel drive means you won't fear the first drop of rain, and although the E-drive paddle-shift gearbox slams between the ratios, it's never unpredictable or unmanageable.

The cabin is a treat, too. Lambo's Audi connections shine through in the quality and precision of the detailing, but there's enough leather and carbon fibre to remind you that you're in a real supercar.

And that's what the Gallardo Spyder is - a real supercar. It makes no apologies at all for being brash, ostentatious and incredibly loud. It doesn't try to seduce you with subtle visuals and a nice friendly engine. Plenty of supercars make people stop and stare, but there are not many that'll draw a crowd.

Form an orderly queue.

Don't forget: the only place to get full details of all the winners is in the Awards issue of Top Gear magazine, on sale December 13.