Valentino Balboni talks about “his” Lamborghini

After 40 years service for the one company the traditional gift at retirement, supposedly, is a gold watch. Lamborghini, though, do things a little bit differently. Valentino Blaboni, the company’s chief test driver for a total of four decades, was presented with his own Gallardo.

Cool, imagine getting a supercar given to you when you retire. Nice, huh. But, Lamborghini actually went one step further by making a special limited edition run of the Gallardo adorned with Balboni’s name. Just 250 have been made—its full title, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni.

Taking the honour further the Italian manufacturer did away with the Gallardo’s all-wheel drive system and decided to send every one of the car’s 550 horsepower to the rear wheels. Now, that is some retirement present!

The above still is taken from a brief YouTube clip produced by Danish car mag Bil Magasinet. You can see that after the jump, along with more images of Balboni and his car.

In the clip Balboni talks of trying to capture the spirit of the Miura and Countach in “his” Gallardo. He seems like a great guy, as well. The video is available in 1080p, so I suggest watching in full screen with the volume turned up to eleven.

[Thanks to Paul for the tip]

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni

Driving fun with absolute precision

30 June 2009 – He has long been revered as one of the many legends surrounding the world’s most uncompromising sports car brand – Valentino Balboni, a remarkable test driver with his own personal cult status. Automobili Lamborghini now presents a model in his honour and bearing his name – the Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni.

The latest version of the Gallardo, Lamborghini’s most successful model of all time – overall, more than 9,000 units of the model range have already been produced – boasts not only its own distinctive design and exclusive equipment, but its technology is unique too, as indicated by the model badge: the 550 stands for the power output in hp and the 2 is for rear wheel drive. The special exclusivity of the Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni is guaranteed – it is limited to 250 units.

For several decades, Valentino Balboni has had a distinct influence on the character of the super sports car bearing the sign of the bull. With his fine-tuning and testing work, he has helped to shape many automotive legends, from the Lamborghini Miura of the 60s through to the current Gallardo and Murciélago models. Balboni was hired in 1967 by company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini himself. From early on, it was evident that the young Balboni had a special feel for cars, that most sensitive of all instincts that connects to the ‘life blood’ of an automobile and defines the soul of a test driver.

“A Lamborghini must always combine the precision of a race car with the reliability of a good friend,” says Balboni. Since 1973, he has sat at the wheel of every prototype built by the brand, and even most production cars have passed through his hands before being delivered to their customers. This has turned Balboni into one of the most important representatives of the brand, with an outstanding reputation and status among the brand’s fans and customers worldwide. After over 40 years with Lamborghini, Balboni is now officially retired. Yet, Valentino Balboni continues to travel to many countries around the world as an ambassador of the brand.