When the news of the Lamborghini LP550-2 Valentino Balboni dropped last summer it quickly became the talk of the town, an impressive feat for what essentially was many felt was a budget version of the LP560-4. Luckily, those of you in the know understood the significance of some of the changes made to the Gallardo. All of the 550hp went into the two rear wheels, a first since 2001 for Lamborghini. In fact, a more accurate way of describing the “Balboni” is that it’s just a scaled-down, no-nonsense monster, free from wimpy features such as traction and stability control. Who needs all of that stuff anyway?
Valentino Balboni test-drove for Lamborghini for almost the duration of the company’s existence before retiring in 2008. A pretty sweet gig truth be told, and a rather palatable leaving gift as well, when Lamborghini gave the new model his name. Pictures don’t do this beauty justice, so let’s spend a few minutes with Mr. Balboni himself.
The Valentino Balboni reaches 100km/h in 3,9 seconds (compared to its big brother which is just 0,2 seconds quicker) before hitting its top speed at 320km/h. Only 250 were made, a low number of which have turned up on JamesList. I picked some of my favorites.
We’ve got two different examples, 2009 and 2010, in the striking “Verde Ithaca” paintjob. The 2009, currently listed at €165,000, is located at Lamborghini’s Geneva office, while the 2010, at €180,000 (VAT included), can be found in the UK. A very sexy beast.
We’ve also got two of the more commonly known orange-yellowish variant – with a twist. The “regular” version, a 2010 for sale by the The Source Luxury Group, is currently going for a little over €210,000. However, the people over at Lamborghini’s Sarasota dealership, has something extra in store. Their car is actually signed by Mr. Balboni himself for the opening of the store. We’ll see who is willing to fork over the premium – the autographed Gallardo has a few more miles (very, very few, though) but is actually cheaper – it’s listed at just shy under €179,000.
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