Tuesday 11th April 2017

Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni(s): Spotted

Apparently just three RHD manual Balbonis exist, and two of them are in the PH classifieds!

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That Lamborghini still sees the worth in a rear-wheel drive car with an atmospheric V10 must be seen as good news. The Huracan LP580-2, while perhaps not the best c. £200K supercar, is a deeply likeable and very capable car. Moreover, with the 'Performante' tag now attached to the fastest 4WD Huracan, could 'Superleggera' return for a stripped out, two-wheel drive car?

Maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. And the Huracan isn't the focus here, it's the Gallardo. Specifically the Gallardo Balboni; while the two-wheel drive Huracan was a pleasant surprise, to see a two-wheel drive Gallardo was genuine shock in 2009. There hadn't been a Lamborghini without four-wheel drive since the Diablo SV and, in all honesty, the rear-wheel drive cars didn't look like returning. Why would they? It would be catering to a very small niche of enthusiasts, with cars like the standard all-wheel drive Gallardo opening up Lamborghini ownership to more and more people.

We're very glad rear-wheel-drive did make a comeback. The LP550-2 Valentino Balboni was more than just stripes 'n' stickers special for its legendary test driver; it was a genuinely brilliant supercar, declared by many as the best Gallardo ever. The steering was better without the front drive shafts, it was lighter and, yes, it would do huge powerslides if you were that way inclined.

Perhaps best of all, you could have the Balboni with a manual gearbox. That certainly isn't going to happen again in a Lamborghini, regardless of the rest of the powertrain. And what's better than one mid-engined V10 Lamborghini with a manual gearbox? Two of them!

Yep, what you're looking at here is believed to be two-thirds of the right-hand drive, manual Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni allocation. Three were made, and two are in the PH classifieds! Both the black 2009 car and grey 2010 car look to be in superb condition, each with very low mileage and full service histories. All you need to do is choose your preferred colour...

And spend an awful lot of money. At launch the Balboni cost £137,900, a little less than the LP560-4 variant. Now they'll cost you £350,000 (the black one) or whatever price you're given on application (the grey one, and probably about the same). That does look like lot of money when you consider this Balboni is £160K, albeit with more miles and the e-gear 'box. After that even the very last pre-Huracan Gallardos are £150,000.

Still none of those have manual gearboxes, and we all know how sought after those have become recently. The Balboni was limited to just 250 cars as well, which will appeal to collectors. The dream scenario here would be to find one of the non-Balboni LP550-2s, but they are very hard to get hold of.

So what else is there? Not a great deal, which must play into the hands of those selling Balbonis. There is the odd Ferrari F430 manual around, but they lack the limited edition gravitas. Just finally though, there is one way to get a mid-engined dynamics, a 550hp V10 and a manual gearbox for less £350K. For less than six figures in fact. The first generation Audi R8 V10 Plus. Now this one has recently sold, but it looked incredible value at £80K. It isn't rear-wheel drive, though it's hard to argue with performance-to-pound ratios offered by all the V10 R8s at the moment. So if you can't stretch to a Balboni, wonderful though they are, don't forget about the alternative!

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LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO BALBONI
Engine: 5,204cc, V10
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive 
Power (hp): 550@8,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 398@6,500rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Recorded mileage: 13,000 miles (10,000 miles)
Year registered: 2009 (2010)
Price new: £137,900
Price now: £350,000 (POA)

See the original advert for the black one here and the grey one here

[Eviltad]

I often wondered what happened to the Balboni vehicles in the UK as I've never come across any.

Only 3 sold makes them rarer than I imagined, but my aspiration that they would have depreciated seems unfounded.

Very Strong money on those examples.