It’s the end of an era. Lamborghini finally confirmed the rumors that the Gallardo, which has been going strong since the 2004 model year, will disappear after 2013. The Gallardo going out of production coincides with Lamborghini celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2013.

The Gallardo will go out with a bang though. The 2013 model year coupe and open-air Spyder variants will see a face lift that features an angular restyled front end, additional rear engine cooling vents, and a Style Package that includes gloss black paint on the front spoiler lower, front and rear grilles and rear trim. The Edizion Technica option will add a new rear wing, carbon ceramic brakes and unique paintwork with contrasting roof arches and intakes.

We still don’t know much about the Gallardo successor except for a few design details. No name has been confirmed yet but it is speculated that the Gallardo successor will share details with the next-gen Audi R8 across the same Volkswagon platform.

The platform was developed for Porsche and will be lighter than the previous Gallardo.

The Gallardo successor is expected to have the trademark normally-aspirated V-10, and a paddle-shifted, dual-clutch automatic. RIP manual transmission.

The Gallardo’s successor is scheduled to debut in late 2013 or early 2014.