Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni
At 10.30am it’s already pushing 40 degrees at Bologna airport, and it is with some trepidation that I find myself trotting through the arrivals hall, trying my best not to sweat. I’m nervous because I’m here to meet a man I’ve admired for a long time, and I really don’t want him to be, well, an arse. You should never meet your heroes, lest they turn out to be arrogant, petty or fond of towelling socks and sandals. That is to say that, against expectation, they turn out to be a bit rubbish.
The man in question is called Valentino Balboni. And, as you might imagine of a man named like a character from a Martin Scorsese film, Balboni has a very cool CV. He has been a Lamborghini test driver for 41 years, so he is a man who has helped to shape Lamborghini into a company that makes some of the most thrilling supercars on sale today. A man whose link with the factory has lasted longer than I have been alive. I’m here to drive a very special Lambo that bears his name: the Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni, a tribute to the man as he retires, of which only 250 will be made, each bearing his signature on the left-hand window. In my world this is like meeting Eric Clapton, and then him lending you his guitar and inviting you to jam. No pressure, then.
Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni review | New Car Reviews - Times Online
The man in question is called Valentino Balboni. And, as you might imagine of a man named like a character from a Martin Scorsese film, Balboni has a very cool CV. He has been a Lamborghini test driver for 41 years, so he is a man who has helped to shape Lamborghini into a company that makes some of the most thrilling supercars on sale today. A man whose link with the factory has lasted longer than I have been alive. I’m here to drive a very special Lambo that bears his name: the Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni, a tribute to the man as he retires, of which only 250 will be made, each bearing his signature on the left-hand window. In my world this is like meeting Eric Clapton, and then him lending you his guitar and inviting you to jam. No pressure, then.
Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni review | New Car Reviews - Times Online
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