Valentino Balboni started working for Lamborghini on 21 April 1968, as an apprentice mechanic working his way up through the company until his retirement in 2009. In the 1980s, he was the only test driver who was simultaneously employed in prototype development, production and customer service at Lamborghini becoming the face of the brand and an ambassador for the company. In the 1990s, SantAgata began production of the Diablo and prominent customers in the USA, Japan and the Arab states often insisted on meeting Balboni in person, to hear about their new car directly from the chief test driver. Today, Balboni leads the life of an elder statesman and, despite retiring, he is still proud to be known worldwide as Mister Lamborghini, a witness to both the founding era of Ferruccio Lamborghini and to the age of carbon fibre. Anyone who has ever sat beside him in the passenger seat, their palms sweaty and their heart pounding, will never forget the experience. At the time of his retirement, the factory honoured their main man with a personal limited-edition of 250 that offered him a free hand to encapsulate all his favourite driving characteristics in one model. Based on the Gallardo 550, the LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni is rear-wheel drive, reducing the curb weight by 30 kg to 1,470 kg. The engine is rated at 542bhp and Lamborghini claims the Balboni can reach a top speed of 320 km/h (199 mph) and despatch 0-62 mph in 3.9 seconds. Upon its release in 2009, the vehicle was sold out immediately as, apart from being a stunning limited-edition celebrating a much-loved man, the Balboni was the first rear-wheel drive Lamborghini model for over 10 years and a unique opportunity to option a manual gearbox car. This, UK-supplied, right-hand drive car is one of only three UK-supplied Balbonis with the desirable manual gearbox finished in Nero and just 16,800 miles have been covered from new in the hands of its five careful owners. The specification for this particular example includes 19" Scorpius Multi-Spoke Alloy Wheels, Gloss Black Calipers, Satellite Navigation, Lifting Kit, Reversing Camera, Multi-Function Flat Bottom Leather Steering Wheel, Dual Climate Control and much more. It benefits from a Lamborghini service history completed at the following intervals: Lamborghini London: 03/09/10 at 3,454 miles 24/11/11 at 5,832 miles 09/01/13 at 6,188 miles 27/01/14 at 7,940 miles 12/03/15 at 10,856 miles Lamborghini Manchester: 24/02/16 at 11,924 miles Lamborghini London: 24/04/19 at 16,200 miles Lamborghini Birmingham: 16/03/2021 at 16,648 miles Finished in Nero Noctis with full Nero Perseus leather interior with Balboni signature stripes and a centre console in Bianco Polar, this Special Edition is now ready for its next owner to join the very exclusive club of manual-gearbox Balboni ownership. A manual, rear-wheel drive, normally-aspirated, V10 is one for the pure driving enthusiast. It is also important to remember that this car was the last chance for customers to own a normally aspirated, rear-wheel drive, manual gearbox Lamborghini - the ultimate drivers experience from Sant'Agata. NB: The car has been the property of Silverstone Auctions Managing Director, Nick Whale, for the last two years.