javier romagosa
The fabulous Lamborghini Countach It was launched in 1974. Just a year earlier, Valentino Balboni, the brand's historic tester, had become what he has been for 40 years and has become a legend.
As it counts in this ADIEX In which it shares the limelight with a 5000 Countach 1986 QV, it started in Sant 'Agata Bolognese in 1968, after finishing school. One day, as he passed the factory, he witnessed the unloading of several Miura bodies from Bertone and he simply fell in love. It was a crush.
Valentino He entered as a mechanic's apprentice, scrubbing floors and tools. Among his attributions was that of taking the Miuras out to the patio and putting the Miuras back in the workshops when he played, and that was precisely what he lost ...
The young Valentino was overreaching in his work and circling the facilities of Lamborghini before parking or stowing cars.
That was not allowed but he was lucky: At the height of 1972 the brand needed a fitting room and the CEO, who was well aware of the sin of balboni, invited him up to his office. There he set out to become the man who, over time, would develop some of the most legendary racing cars in the history of motorsport.
Obviously he accepted (imagine the reader what a dream!), And for a year he thoroughly prepared himself to, in September 1973, officially get behind the wheel of one of the last Miura manufactured. As stated in the Video, you will never forget it, and certainly not for less!
Lamborghini Countach, a dream car
Nowadays it may seem like a hackneyed phrase, but let's do the mental exercise of going back to 1974. The Miura had lifted the ban on central engines and had an amazing aesthetic; the Countach was something else, an absolutely groundbreaking design. It was the definitive definition, worth the redundancy, of what we know today as supercar: A car with a beastly look, an inordinate power and a highly effective and disdainful architecture of the slightest functionality.
balboni He presents the model with a 5000 QV from 1986 and tells us how the Lamborghini Countach speaks in a language that must be understood. Listen, listen to drive a machine that represents a constant struggle between its chassis and the available power; dance with her to do her best. It is the magic of commitment. Without further ado we leave you with the video, watch out for Balboni's face and the Countach's 5-liter V12 ...
