Valentino Balboni with “his” Gallardo LP550-2.
Q1. First time in Singapore? What are your impressions of this island?
Yes, yes, this is my first time here. It’s beautiful, nice, more than I expected. The place is very pleasing, the people are very nice. I hope to come back for a holiday!
Q2. What’s your favourite Lamborghini model of all time and why?
I would say the Miura [pictured below]. Because it’s the original Lamborghini, because it reminds me of when I started working with Lamborghini, and especially because it was the first car I took out as a test driver. I remember the date, September 5 1973!
Q3. Do you prefer to test drive on open roads or a closed circuit?
At the beginning, we always tested the cars on mountain roads and public roads. Later, because of traffic and other conditions, we had to move to the development track. In the past 10, 15 years, cars are tested and developed more on proving grounds than on public roads. Of course, the open road is always the place where we make the last finetuning.
Q4. What are the things you look out for when test driving a new Lamborghini for the first time?
Developing a prototype is the most important task of a test driver. Every day you have to build the car, every day you have to improve it. It’s a slow process. You have to concentrate on different aspects, to see how things go or perform. [Dr Andre Lam test drives the Lambo Aventador LP750-4 Superveloce.]
Q5. What do you think of the Audi R8 V10?
Well, the car is very nice. It has character. I think it’s a good compromise between quality performance and Audi style.
Q6. What’s your favourite F1 team? And who will be in the final match of the 2010 World Cup?
Unfortunately, the Lamborghini F1 team doesn’t exist any more. I would say, being Italian, well, you know… World Cup final? Italy, I hope! Against Germany, ha-ha. [Click here for our editor’s idea of football.]
The lovely Lamborghini Miura, which looks even lovelier in yellow.
