LONG Lambo review and pics

[Dan!]

As you are all now probably aware, I took delivery of my new car last Thursday, a stunning Lamborghini Gallardo.

However, this one is different from most in that it is the limited edition “Valentino Balboni†LP550-2. For the initiated here's a copy and paste from Wikipedia:

This is a limited (to 250 units) version named after Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni. The engine was rated at 550 PS (405 kW; 542 hp). The vehicle has dry weight of 1,380 kg (3,000 lb). Unlike the contemporary line-up, this model is rear wheel drive (because the standard all-wheel drive system was removed). It is the first Gallardo ever to use 2 wheel drive.
The CORSA ESP setting allows greater drift angles over regular models.
Other features include re-calibrated optional e-gear transmission, redeveloped 45% limited slip differential, full leather black upholstery with white colour strips, Polar white centre console, a stripe down the centre of the car, and a badge in the side window bears the signature of Valentino Balboni and the production number of the car.
The Lamborghini LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni can reach a top speed of 199 mph and reach 0–100 km/h in 3.9 seconds.

So the story begins on Friday the 2nd of March…
Mrs GTDan had gone away to the outlaws with little one the previous day and so I had a nice leisurely start to the day and went for a haircut. The barber's just happens to be next to the Meridian Modena showroom. Having heard about the recall on the GT-S rear lights I thought I'd pop in and ask them about whether my car would need the work done… it was then that I saw it sat there. 10 mins later I was heading out for a test drive.

My first impressions of the car were that it was very low; I literally fell into the driver's seat when it was my turn to drive. It also has the strangest pedal set up I've ever experienced. Being the E-Gear ‘box, Lambo's version of an F1 ‘box, there are only two pedals of course, but the brake pedal is where the clutch pedal would be in a manual car and so close to the foot rest on the left that your redundant left foot hangs about 1cm over the brake pedal. This was not only mildly disconcerting but also physically unnatural to use the brake pedal with your right foot. It was at this point that it was evident that, as nod to Valentino Balboni, this car is set up for left foot braking. It was also evident that left foot braking was a talent that I was yet to master!

The uncomfortable feeling of the brake pedal resting under part of my left boot resulted in my left knee being raised into the path of my hand rotating around the wheel on left hand bends which became even more restricting. I really wasn't bonding with this car.

For those of you that don't know where the Meridian Modena showroom is, it's in the middle of the New Forest, National Park… or 220 square miles of 40mph zone, wild Ponies and Deer. So opportunities to give it a foot full are limited to say the least. However, a long, Pony free, straight, relatively smooth, stretch of road finally presented itself and I threw caution to the wind and floored it.

The rear end squirmed, the engine howled and the car rocketed toward the horizon. It was awesome… Right up until the point where I reached for the up change lever and a couple of milliseconds before I pulled that lever it changed up for me! I felt robbed. This it the two wheel drive nutter special Lamborghini, why the **** is it nannying me as I approach the redline? If it were to do that half way around a bend whilst the car was being balanced on the throttle it could catch the driver totally unaware and throw him off the road. Was this a fault, I asked the salesman? He said he'd call Lamborghini to find out. At that point I lost all interest in pushing the car and headed back to the showroom.

So what did I think? Asked the salesman. My response was that I really wanted to like the car, but it was uncomfortable, weird to drive and that bloody up change had really put me off. Slightly disappointed I arranged to come back the following day to try a F430 instead, and finally headed off to work for the day.

The following day was a Saturday, when I arrived at the showroom there were all kinds of exotica arriving and leaving like bees around a hive. The salesman said he'd never seen it so busy and hadn't had a chance to get a F430 out for me, but I was welcome to take the Lamborghini out again.

So that's what I did. However, this time I had come equipped with driving shoes rather than the Terminator style biker boots I'd been wearing the previous day. I spent time to adjust the seat and steering wheel to get myself comfortable.

I'd done some research on Pistonheads to find out that the auto up change happened 500rpm before the rev limit in Sport mode, but not in Corsa mode. I selected Corsa mode. This time I chose the route for this test drive, and took the shortest route to the nearest Pony and Deer free bit of NSL road. This road, coincidentally, I drove every day for 6 months when I previously lived down here and so I know it quite well.

What a difference. The gear change in Corsa mode is brutal, the steering is precise and communicative. Although nowhere near a Lotus in the handing it did feel a bit like a (very) big Elise. The power really is something else. It is relentless in its constant acceleration. As I have mentioned, this is a road I have driven many times, but never at such speed. Fortunately, the brakes are very good too. Albeit that they are a bit grabby; basically there's a bit of pedal travel during which nothing happens and then they're either on or off, but they do work! Which is a vast and welcome improvement over the Maser's brakes.

After around 40mins of test driving we were back at the showroom and I got my card out and gave the nice man a deposit.

Fast forward to Thursday the 8th March. The day of collection. It was a day of mixed feelings as it meant saying goodbye to the GT-S; the first and only car I've ever bought brand new. A car that I'd had for 21 months, covered 16,000 miles and had bonded with. It had its foibles, but all in all a great car that I was very fond of. But it also meant saying hello to the new mistress and beginning the fun of exploring all the things that she likes, the things she'll let you do to her and the things that she'll kill you if you even think about doing…

Paperwork done, keys and V5 docs swapped and I was out on the road in my Lamborghini. I was probably about 200m from the dealers when I looked down at the black and gold badge on the steering wheel and giggled to myself. It was a very strange, yet quite euphoric feeling of it all being a bit naughty. May be I should remind you at this point that Mrs GTDan was still away at her parents, maybe that had something to do with it ( ) or maybe it was just the realisation of a childhood dream that one day I'd own a Lamborghini.

After picking the car up I headed to the office. The following day I used it to commute to work, and the day after, and the day after… Not only because it was a new toy but because a few months ago I'd booked myself on a track day at Spa in the GT-S. Seeing as I no longer had the GT-S the Lamborghini was now going to Spa! I thought it would probably be best to get acquainted as much as possible before then.

 

[Dan!]

Fast forward to Thursday the 15th of March. I boarded the Eurotunnel carriage for cars, this was a mistake. Inside the carriage there is a roadway with metal kerbs that have serrated metal edges. This roadway is approximately 4 inches wider than the wheelbase of the car – I now need to refurb 3 of the 4 alloys.

The journey from my house to the circuit at Spa is about 7 hours. This is where I discovered another quite surprising side to this car, when you take it out of Sport or Corsa, select Auto and cruise it’s actually a very quiet and comfortable Grand Tourer. It even managed 25mpg on the motorways.

There is something else that I’ve not yet mentioned about this car, and I’m sure comes as no surprise, it gets quite a lot of attention. So far 99% has been positive. Kids go berserk, grown men mouth the word “Lambo” as you drive past, girls quite like it too
The only bit of negative response I’ve had was from the passenger in a white van. We were both approaching a mini roundabout from opposite directions and as he saw me and/or the car he placed his head in his hands, then quickly looked up whilst letting out a scream and extending both hands to “flip me the bird” with each hand. I was quite stunned (and mildly amused) that someone’s immediate reaction was to do that, how much aggression must that person have?! Very bizarre.

So, we arrived at Spa. I met a load of my Lotus forum friends there as it was a track day arranged by Lotus on Track. They all asked how long I’d had the car and then pretty much every one of them congratulated me on having the balls to take it on track… which was slightly worrying.

After the briefing it was time for the sighting laps. With my helmet and driving shoes on and my first passenger of the day strapped in we headed out on to the track.

For those of you not familiar with the layout of the circuit at Spa, you exit the pits on the straight that leads to the infamous Eau Rouge / Raidillon combination that launches steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left collection of corners with a blind summit. It is possible to take this combination flat out, I think I did it at around 40mph this first time

Once over the left handed blind crest the track opens to a long straight, this was a sighting lap and so we were not meant to exceed 70mph or so, but of course boys will be boys and we cruised down there at about 120mph. Fortunately my passenger was an experienced Spa driver and so explained the lines as we went. Once the sighting laps were over it was back to the pits top allow the next group to go out and after that it was an open pit.

Interestingly so many of these so called sports and super cars complain bitterly when pushed on a track. After my first 4 laps in anger I boiled the standard brake fluid. Fortunately the lads of Back on Track that normally look after my Lotus were on hand to swap the fluid to racing fluid.

I’ll give the Back on Track boys’ full marks as they managed to do the fluid change and bleed the system without taking the wheels off! Why didn’t they take the wheels off I hear you ask. Well, the Lamborghini has its own special star drive for the wheel nuts, which of course is not included in the “tool kit” as mere mortals do not need to remove the wheels. So I rang Meridian Modena and asked them how they had got the wheels off when they inspected it before handing it over to me. Their answer surprised and disappointed me… they didn’t take the wheels off when they did the inspection. Half a job in my opinion.
So the tool is now on order so that I or anyone else can take the wheels off!

As the day went on my confidence in the car grew as did my ability around the track. Even though there was the constant nagging in the back of my mind that I was tracking my new £120,000 car, I was pushing it pretty hard by the end of the day.

The final few laps saw 165mph on the speedo and a few cheeky drifts out of the bends. This car really is like a big Elise when you get to know it. However, like many supercars of today in the nanny state, it’s set up for understeer. Once my confidence had reached a level that I was happy to give chase to the super charged Exiges and Honda powered S1 Elises I was pushing wide on all the corners. Even coming off the throttle mid-bend to get the weight to move from back to front and lighten up the back end still wouldn’t get it to turn it or step the back out. Had this been the 4wd version I can only imagine that this would have been even worse.

Where it really came into its own was on the straights of course. Not a single car on track could keep up in a straight line, although a very powerful Caterham managed to come very close to sticking with it up to about 150mph! Under braking even the slowest, lightweight, cars would catch up as they were able to slow down in half the room and take the corners at higher speeds. This lead to some great tussles with some very mismatched machinery and some great war stories for some of the other drivers about how their little plastic car is quicker than a Lamborghini.

So to sum up. As track car this needs quite a bit of work to the brakes (needs carbon ceramics), tyres (stickies like the Lotuses were wearing would help), Suspension (stiffer anti roll bar, adjustable dampers) and a more aggressive geo. That little lot would transform the car into very capable track weapon. But it would ruin it as a road car. And that is what this really is; a very fast and quite comfortable road car capable of covering decent distances at speed, putting a smile on the face of 99% of the people that see it pass by and even bigger smile on the person sat behind the wheel.

 

[Andyk]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant....Great write up Dan and great pics.......Lots do say it's like a big Elise and you have felt that to........Thats for taking the time to put the thread up Dan...

 

[lozcb]

Yeps agree, and as usual Dan excellent precise prose , now the big decision do you leave it as is , or are those devil horns going to come out at some stage and search out the upgrade catalogue,either way looking forward to meeting the new lady in your life soon as



regards loz

 

[BennyD]

What not leave it as standard? After all, Balboni drove Lambos for years and this was his ultimate version so is it wise to presume we know better? Great review though Dan, nice work.

 

[ENZ525]

Excellent Dan can't wait to see her up close

 

[Yeti]

Very well written and thoroughly entertaining review, thanks for sharing that - lucky barsteward! (-:

 

[OzzieAl]

Balboni LP550-2

Well Dan,

What a surprise, I remember we both commented on this model sometime back and it was clear then we both had an eye for a lambo or two or three.. !!

All I can say is my mouth went dry when I saw the pics of your car and read the right up...!!

You clearly have taste, and balls of fire to put such a new car on the most serious race track anywhere in the world, (my personal favourite) well done and congratulations by the truck load..

Please post another article one day, once you have done a longish trip and tell us how you are finding her to live with, emotionally and practically, this is an outstanding car to buy and I just adore the manner in which you went about it. It was love and hate in the same breath from the first moment. You almost planned not to buy her, and yet somthing intangible told you that you should try just once more....and after that it was heaven.

I hope one day to see her in the flesh, and please please stay in touch with this community on this board... I will turn up one day at one of the christmas gigs,,, just to meet you all ...

Ozzie

Now I need to have a beer... well done Dan

 

[Simon]

Noce report and pics Dan. With regards to Eurotunnel, did you mean track rather than wheelbase? I've been told that if you tell them you're a 4x4 or oversize you can go in with the vans where there is a lot more space.

 

[GransportFan1]

Great write up Dan, very special car the Balboni and so rare. Hope to see it at a supercar event this year.

 

[midlifecrisis]

Good honest appraisal and well written too, but how many cup holders? And why are you getting 25mpg? i nipped to Brighton and back on Sunday and couldn't get more than 20!

 

[Dan!]

Thanks for the feedback lads!

Glad you enjoyed the read, I tried not to prattle on too much as there is so much more to say about the car, but I'll save that for another time.
BennyD, whilst I'm sure Mr Balboni is quite happy with this as a road car, as am I, I'm sure he'd agree that to make it a more track focused car would require the mods that I mentioned... and probably quite a few more in his opinion. But to acknowledge your point, I'll be leaving it as is because it's going to be a road car 99% of the time.
Ozzie, thanks for your feedback too. I'll probably do another report after a few months of ownership and escapades to give more of a long term view. That said after using it to comute last week and the trip to Spa and back I've already put an additional 2,000 miles on it! How the previous owner only managed to put 5,000 miles on it in 2 years I'll never understand. And yes, I'll be hanging around on here. I've made some good mates on here over the last couple of years and expect to meet a load more over the next few years too. Hopefully we'll share a beer or two at some point, either on this side of the world or over your side. (Me and Mrs GTDan are talking about Christmas hols in Oz...)
Simon, yep I meant the track of the car. Previously I'd only ever been in the wider carriages so it didn't even cross my mind until I was bumping off the kerbs. We were in one of the wider ones on the way back, but of course the damage was done by then. Still a valid point whenever any of us take our cars on the Eurotunnel.
MLC, no cup holders! Its a disgrace Yep, 25mpg with a very light foot and constant 70mph is possible.... but it won't happen very often

Thanks again chaps.

 

[BennyD]

Thanks Dan, you got the point I was trying to make. Modifying it could undoubtably improve it as a track car but would, almost certainly, compromise it as a road car. I wasn't suggesting you don't know how to improve it as a track car.

 

[Mr.Cambio]

Very nice write up DanBoni!.. This car is sooo beautiful when running! Enjoy it mate!

It would help if you could give some comments about the tyre performance. I only use P Zeros, and after some laps they get too warm and ASR appears on the dash. This has happened to me in GR, but once i circuited it in Sweden (lower temp), they were ok.

 

[tess]

not sure about all the techy stuff dan but she is very very pretty, im so jealous

 

[Dan!]

Cheers Tess, you can have a proper look at Llandow next week.

Mr Crazy, the tyres performed reasonably well considering that they're road tyres. In fairness it was the brakes that gave up first.
Towards the end of the day the tyres went off quite badly and were really squirming under braking to the point of near loss of control. But I put this largely down to me being impatient and not letting them cool down sufficiently between sessions. With the combination of tyre and brakes fading I never managed any more than 5 consequetive laps.

 

[Mr.Cambio]

I think this is the key to non-destroying a road car on track:warm up, 5-6 laps and calm down...

 

[tess]

Cheers Tess, you can have a proper look at Llandow next week.

Mr Crazy, the tyres performed reasonably well considering that they're road tyres. In fairness it was the brakes that gave up first.
Towards the end of the day the tyres went off quite badly and were really squirming under braking to the point of near loss of control. But I put this largely down to me being impatient and not letting them cool down sufficiently between sessions. With the combination of tyre and brakes fading I never managed any more than 5 consequetive laps.

ooh cant wait to see and hear her..x

 

[dem maser]

Thank you for the write up.....
The precision of your thread makes it seem like i lived it.....

Im happy for you as you know!!

 

[Emtee]

I really enjoyed reading your review Dan. Between your experience of the GT-S and the Lotus, both on the road and on the track, your appraisal reads as informed but not biased. I'll look forward to seeing it in the flesh and also reading your longer term impressions of it as a road car in the real world.