Valentino Balboni has been ripping around in Lamborghini’s since the late 1960’s. He’s driven every model there is and his input to the factory has helped make the raging bull what they are today. You see Balboni has the greatest job in history as he is Lamborghini’s top test pilot. Maybe thats why the new Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 is such an amazing automobile. Lamborghini went back to basics by offering only rear wheel drive as an option, a proper 6-speed manual and an engine that sounds like a symphony. This is something that the guys at Motortrend Magazine found out first hand when they had the chance to take this new bull for a spin.
Things are tough all over these days, including things at Lamborghini. Hit hard by the global recession, the companies sales plummeted nearly 38% in 2009, resulting in a pretax loss of $47.6 million. Unit sales fell from 2,430 in 2008 to 1,515 in 2009.
Ironically, most of Lamborghini’s customers work in banking and finance. Declining profits (and public outcry) reduced many of the sizable bonuses often paid to senior banking executives, forcing Lamborghini order cancellations worldwide. Not to mention the fact that it’s in poor taste to drive a Lambo when your brother / sister / best friend is being foreclosed upon. Especially when its your bank doing the foreclosure.
So there is a guy who likes Fords, but he also likes Lamborghinis. What else is there to do other than dropping a V-10 and transaxle into a Mustang. Sounds simple right??? Its name is Tractorri, an unappealing name for a somewhat attractive car. This vehicle took one Mustang shell, parts of a must, parts of a Gallardo, and hours upon hours of labor. There isn’t much information about this car other than what the people who posted had to say about it.
The crown jewel of our private collection: The Tractorri. The short version? This is a body-in-white ‘07 Mustang shell with the mechanicals from a Lamborghini Gallardo underneath. From the ABS to the AWD to the E-gear transmission everything works. The long version adds two more Mustangs for parts, thousands of hours of labor and enough one-off parts to make most show cars blush. Oh, and our president drives it around—he put over 1500 miles on it this summer alone! Built and maintained by our own Rick Roush this is a werewolf in wolf’s clothing! Check out the pictures for now and we’ll have a full description of the build and show history up shortly!
I mean a Ford Mustang is far from a sleeper, but if I rolled up next to a Mustang and heard a V-10 roaring under the hood, I would be a little surprised and in shock. What kind of monster will they fabricate next.
Employees of St. Louis exotic car dealership learned the hard way that big hoonage comes at a big cost. A salesman and and another employee filmed themselves strafing local highways, in the slow lane, just north of one hundred and fifty miles per hour. Understandably, this drew the attention of the local police, who arrested the pair on a host of charges ranging from reckless driving to felonious mopery. The video, withdrawn from YouTube, will be used as evidence by the prosecution.
In the event that your billion-dollar corporation was bailed out by the government and as a result your Christmas bonus will be significantly smaller this year, Lamborghini has introduced the perfect gift to supplant that brand new LP560-4 you had planned to buy your trophy wife. Inspired by the Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni, Lambo’s newest limited edition gift set comes with vaguely described “ceramic baubles” and a set of decidedly un-petrolhead slow-burning candles. Colors are limited to Blue Caelum and White Monocerus, which is disappointing to enthusiasts who prefer the more traditional Lamborghini hues such as Epilepsy Orange and Glowstick Green.
For those less interested in Italian kitsch and prefer their Lamborghini merchandise to have a more practical application, Lamborghini is also offering Christmas edition wall and desk calendars and an assorted mix of men’s and women’s clothing.
If a Lamborghini employee called me on the phone and offered me free a behind-the-scenes tour of the Sant’Agata factory, it would take me about 0.00003 seconds to say yes. Unfortunately, I’m in San Francisco and Lamborghini is located in that country shaped like a boot across the pond. Thankfully the National Geographic Channel have solved the age-old conundrum, sending the team from their series called “Ultimate Factories” off to Italy. The new episode that follows the construction (all by hand, of course) of a brand new Murciélago SV from start to finish. I secured a few short clips that speak for themselves, so make the jump for a preview of the episode (which airs October 1st on the National Geographic Channel).
Lamborghini originally denied the development of a Reventón roadster, but these pics surfaced online to prove otherwise. The exterior is crazy, with edges sharp enough to keep away from a depressed emo hipster. Inside, magnates will find loads of alcantara and carbon fiber. Power should come from the same 6.5-liter V12 producing 650hp and 487 lb-ft of torque, so I suggest you avoid the 200+mph top speed with the top down lest you be sucked out of your own whip. Price will be roughly $1.75 mil. FUN FACT: The Reventón’s exhaust system is coated with plasma-sprayed, zirconia-based ceramics, the same material used to protect the insides of nuclear reactors.
Come live vicariously through us as we, the most prestigious automotive blog in the world, grace the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with our stately presences. We’re sure to be the star attractions – forget the live unveiling of several never-before-seen new cars, and the endless rows of priceless works of automotive art sprawled out on the golf course greens like so many unobtanium sandtraps. Surely Jay Leno and the other celebrities will probably manage to jostle themselves into the photos of our expert appraisals of the class frontrunners, but we won’t be too upset. We’ll take a break from being the life of the Concours every so often to update you, our faithful readers. So check back often, and follow us at http://twitter.com/ridelust and in our Pebble Beach live coverage to catch all of the latest updates.
