When purchased: May 2013
From: HR Owen Lamborghini London
Price: £108,000
Ext colour: Black
Int colour: Black
Engine: 5.2L, V10, naturally aspirated
Gearbox: Manual
This deal happened so quickly. The moment I saw this car in the Lamborghini London showroom, it was love at first sight! Before I knew it I was picking it up and threading the Gallardo through late afternoon traffic on its way to TheCarGuys HQ.
The 550-2 Valentino Balboni is such a stunning looking car, especially with the white and gold stripe running down the entire length. It turned out the first owner of this car was a personal friend of Mr Balboni, but he had become too old to handle a manual gearbox low-down supercar. It was a regretful sale, but what made it fortuitous was that in 2014, no-one seemed to know just how special or rare this example was.
It is believed that less than 10 Gallardo Valentino Balbonis were RHD manuals, out of the limited 250 run. That makes it one of the rarest modern supercars.
And it’s been an utter joy to drive and own ever since. With the only negative being the cost of servicing and parts (extortionate), and the location of the dealer (nr Reading). Its only covered 8,000 miles since 2010, and its a bone fide head-turner.