The 550bhp Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni. Awesome, eh?
We can’t seem to stop talking about supercars on India Automotive today. Earlier in the day, it was the near-700bhp Novitec Rosso Ferrari 16M and now it’s the special edition Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni, just 250 units of which will be built.
As most Lambo fanatics would already know, Valentino Balboni has been Lamborghini’s chief test and development driver for more than two decades and now the Italian supercar manufacturer has launched a special edition Gallardo to honour the man who’s worked on so many Lamborghinis in the past.
Unlike the standard AWD Gallardo, the 550-horsepower LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni is rear-wheel-drive only, just as many purists always wanted it to be. Rear-wheel-drive has a special appeal to expert drivers and despite the car’s hugely powerful V10, controlled oversteer is no problem with the LP 550-2 thanks to its superb chassis and suspension. ‘A Lamborghini must always combine the precision of a race car with the reliability of a good friend,’ says Balboni, who’s now retired after working for around 40 years at Lamborghini.
Balboni went to work for Lamborghini in 1967 and since 1973, he has sat at the wheel of every prototype built by the brand. Even most production cars have passed through his hands before being delivered to their customers. Today, Balboni continues to be one of the most important representatives of the Lamborghini brand worldwide.
With 550 horsepower from its V10 engine, the Gallardo LP 550-2, which weighs just 1,380kg dry, goes from zero to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds and is capable of hitting a top speed of 320 km/h. In the US, the car is priced at the equivalent of Rs 1.1 crore and given the import duty structure in India, it could cost twice as much here. Still, for Valentino Balboni fans who have some extra change lying around in their piggy banks, this can’t be too bad a way of blowing your wad…
Valentino Balboni speaks about Lamborghini...
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