Valentino Balboni

Valentino Balboni
Valentino Balboni (middle), Mike Gulett and his silver Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada in Monterey at Concorso Italiano in 2011.
Born	Valentino Balboni (1949-05-13) 13 May 1949 (age 76) Casumaro, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Chief test driver of Lamborghini
Years active	1968–2008

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni

Valentino Balboni (born 13 May 1949) is the former chief test driver of Lamborghini, a manufacturer of sports cars in Italy. He retired in October 2008 due to Italian government work regulations, after having served the company for 40 years. ^[1] To pay tribute to him in occasion of his retirement, Lamborghini had labeled a 2009 edition to the Gallardo line-up, the LP550-2 Valentino Balboni. ^{[2] [3]}

Valentino Balboni outside the Isle of Man Motor Museum, June 2025

Biography

Balboni started working for Lamborghini on 21 April 1968, as a mechanic apprentice in the company. ^{[1] [4]} Eventually, he was personally asked by the company's founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, to test-drive the newly built cars alongside Bob Wallace. Valentino Balboni has reportedly driven about 80% of all Lamborghinis ever built. Among the marque aficionados, Balboni has risen to cult status. In 2008, Balboni was still active for the company as the chief test-driver and ambassador. Fluent in English and German, he often appeared at different Lamborghini-related events, such as new models' unveiling.

In July 2009, Lamborghini announced a special edition run of 250 Gallardo LP550-2 "Valentino Balboni edition" supercars; the company stated that the new car was rear-wheel driven in accordance with Balboni's preference for the thrill of cornering a rear-wheel driven vehicle. These vehicles were also made special with a white and gold stripe that runs the center of the car, inspired by sports cars of the 1970s.

Balboni, even though officially retired as chief test driver, has signed a two-year contract with Lamborghini as a consultant through 2010 that can be renewed multiple times. ^[1]

Valentino Balboni said that the first car that got him excited about cars was a silver Bizzarrini GT 5300 that he saw at the Turin car show in 1966. ^[5]

Media

Valentino Balboni has made several appearances on television in different documentaries related to Lamborghini such as Top Gear , Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld , Rides , as well as an episode of 60 Minutes from 1987. ^[6] In the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty , one of the characters asks a salesman at a Lamborghini dealer "...is that a Balboni?", referring to the special edition vehicle.

References

1. Matt Davis (3 August 2009). "2010 Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni First Drive". InsideLine.com. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
2. Luke Madden (1 July 2009). "Lamborghini LP550-2 'Valentino Balboni'". evo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
3. "Balboni honored with two-wheel drive Gallardo and Aston city-car ..." ultimatecarpage.com. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
4. "Legendary Lamborghini Test Driver Valentino Balboni Celebrates 40 Years with the Bull". italiaspeed.com. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
5. "Valentino Balboni And The Silver Bizzarrini GT 5300 - MyCarQuest.com". Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
6. "1987: Lamborghini on 60 Minutes". YouTube . 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2013.