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ThomasM
[PuristS]
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You really have my curiosity piqued now, BDLJ...

Hi,

I'm not sure if I'm reading your words correctly, or their "tone..." (obviously, text loses lots of "context")

Hopefully you've read enough of my posts and have gotten to "know" me well enough to know that I am very much against blind fan-boy fanaticism of a brand or its "official" line on things - history in particular.

Bob Wallace, from the unpolitical enthusiasts standpoint, as much as Stanzani and Dallara, was a critical player in the history of Lamborghini and the development of the cars that are the substance behind the brand mystique.

That said, I am scratching my head why you are so sure he is "more deserving" than Valentino Balboni to have a Lambo model named after him? Such a statement says as much about how you feel about Balboni (I get the feeling from your comments you are grossly underestimating Mr. Balboni's role in the history of Lamborghini...) as it does about your feelings about Wallace.

You mention Lamborghini would likely not name a model after Bob Wallace, one reason being most people have not idea about his involvement; do you think many more people know about Valentino Balboni's involvement?  Yet, 40 years is a HELL OF A LONG TIME, and quite admirable, frankly, given

a. how little loyalty individual employees have to their companies today;

b. how little loyalty companies have to their individual employees, today;

c. how quickly the "latest and greatest stars" flame out in today's work world.

And he's a damned good driver (and from what I've heard, good at giving development feedback as well) besides (read: he's good at his job.)

Also keep in mind that the Balboni Edition is primarily a gesture of respect by current Lamborghini management to Valentino, at his retirement, for a 4 decades long loyal employee who did his job well throughout. It is pretty amazing to me that they actually took some serious steps BACKWARDS in terms of absolute tech (detuning the powertrain, two wheel rear drive vs 4WD) out of respect for Valentino's personal preferences for handling and driving dynamics, absolute "numbers" be damned. As watch guys, I think we can all understand that for those that "get it" we know that it is more (much more) than the numbers - whether horsepower, timing tapes, amplitude stability, or "accuracy on the wrist"

Afterall, it it were only about numbers, the world would only consist of Corvettes and Cobras...

;-)

As a sentimental and nostalgic old fool, I actually am quite smitten with the Balboni Edition (so much so that...    - it is much more workable, nimble, "old school" compared to the latest models. I feel I can make this car dance much more than I could with the earlier Gallardos or even current 560-4 (I haven't had equal time in  all variants, of course, so my feelings are intuitive and extrapolated from what experience I have had. I did have about 45 minutes with the Balboni, and over an hour each with both the Superleggera and the 560-4; and days with the earlier Spyder...)

Admittedly, it also felt "lighter" and looser than the Superleggera, for example...don't know why, the chassis and suspension rates aren't supposed to be "looser..." and I think I'd need longer to feel comfortable to really push it, but I also suspect that when I do, I can make it do more things, on demand, than...

I'm not disagreeing with your point of view regarding Wallace and Balboni, BDLJ, just curious to understand more clearly the context for your perspective. Afterall, context can make the difference between a murderer and a hero protecting the weak and abused, right?