The 'exclusive' flag says it all -- notebooks don't come much more exclusive than this. Asus and Lamborgini have teamed up and added the VX1 to an impressive stable which already includes the 10-cylinder Gallardo, the 12-cylinder Murcielago and the Socket 775-compatible P5ND2-SLI Deluxe motherboard.

It's a very well built notebook - possibly the most solid we've ever seen. Both the lid and the main chassis are slim, very stiff and contrive to make the modest 2.7kg weight seem lighter than expected. The lid replicates detailing from the supercars themselves with our model resplendent in Lamborghini yellow, though a more sober black is also available. It does look very good indeed and will certainly satisfy those who value appearance, though Acer's Ferrari notebook (September 2005, page 37) looks good too. However, the performance yardstick has moved considerably since the Ferrari notebook was launched, and it now resembles a knackered Holden Ute in the wake of this supercar.

Indeed, a fast dual-core T2500 is under the hood and production models will sport 2GB of RAM (our review model had 1GB of PC2-5300). This, combined with a biggest-we've-ever-seen 160GB hard disk, scored 1.06 in our 2D tests - six percent faster than our fast Pentium D 840 V8-like reference desktop, but still only two percent ahead of Dell's D620 deluxe, corporate saloon. We're also disappointed with the Geforce Go 7400 graphics which seem to be highly thought of among manufacturers, but aren't actually very fast. As such we only saw framerates of 13.2 and 11.1 in our Half-Life and Far Cry benchmarks respectively. You'll only be able to play games with settings heavily reduced. All things considered, the VX1 is not actually that fast, really.

We were surprised with the standard aspect glossy LCD as most manufacturers are pushing the benefits of widescreen now, but at least the 1400 x 1050 resolution gives you plenty of desktop real estate to play with. It's also very sharp and well lit. At its brightest, though, detail in highlights can be lost and colour reproduction got a little washed out at times. We were also a little disappointed with lag when watching movies too, as fast-moving areas smeared a little uncomfortably at times. We like the 30-day zero bright dot guarantee though. The speakers are quite loud for a notebook but, unsurprisingly, lacked punch.

The keyboard was good if a little stiff and we liked the mouse pad. However, the buttons weren't well balanced and proved hard to press where they met compared to at the sides.

It's not short of connectivity features with 802.11a/b/g WLAN and BlueTooth radio both included. There are also four USB ports but they're all on the right, which may hinder peripheral positioning for some. A media card reader is supported but it only covers SD/MMC and MemoryStick formats. Only D-Sub video out is included too whereas more-modern notebooks include S-Video or even DVI. We can't fault the inclusion of a dual-layer DVD writer, though. Other connections include a Type II PC Card slot, mini-FireWire, two audio jacks, 56K modem and Gigabit Ethernet.

In our battery tests it scored a decent three hours 23 minutes in our light use test so you'll be able to watch a film on it. One hour 51 minutes in our intensive use test is also pretty good considering the spec.

A few neat accessories come bundled including a swish, part-leather bag. If this is too bulky there's also a tight-fitting zip case which takes up less space. Also included is a black BlueTooth mouse which sports a possible-record Lamborghini, Asus and Logitech combination of branding. Software includes Asus-branded CyberLink products, PowerDirector 3 DE; PowerDVD, Media@Show 2 SE and Nero for watching, creating and burning discs. Asus includes an attractive global two-year collect and return warranty should anything go wrong.

It's all good, but it's not great. Acer's great-looking Ferrari might be old but it's some $500 cheaper, has a widescreen LCD and may appeal more to those unbothered by performance. Those who are bothered may lament that the VX1 could have been faster with a T2600 processor and a better 3D chip. As such, all three models from Dell, though un-sexy, manage to beat the VX1 this month, albeit for different reasons. However, if money is no object, you like your notebook to look the best, and you're not fussed with widescreen, you'll be happy with this -- it's the cheapest Lambo you can buy for under half-a-million dollars.