Valentino Balboni article in Forbes | FerrariChat
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Valentino Balboni article in Forbes

Discussion in 'LamborghiniChat.com' started by mozola, Mar 31, 2006.

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  1. mozola

    mozola Karting

    Oct 4, 2005
    82
    Ohio
    Full Name:
    John
    #1 mozola, Mar 31, 2006
    http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0417/214b.html

    You have to register to read Forbes online but it is free.
    Here is the article:

    Who ya gonna call when your 'Ghini's on the fritz? Valentino Balboni, fix-it man supreme.
    Only the lucky few have the privilege of meeting Valentino Balboni, head of Lamborghini's VIP customer service and the Houdini of car repair. A gifted improviser, he can (and once did) fix a broken distributor cap with a Popsicle stick plucked from a roadway.

    Balboni, 56, who started with the company in 1968, is also Lambo's senior test driver. I rode with him while he blasted a 571hp Murciélago ($288,000) around Pennsylvania's Pocono Raceway at 2004's Le Belle Macchine d'Italia exotic car show. Nonchalantly he took laps at 160mph with a cell phone tucked between his thighs, checking it periodically for messages as we squealed around the corners. "I would go faster," he said, "but we're not allowed to pass."

    No one surpasses him in appreciating the nuances that make a car classy or that distinguish it from another. His favorite Lamborghini is the Miura, built from 1968 to 1973. "It stays in my heart--the power, the noise," he says. It was a thrill to drive, "even if when you hit the brakes it didn't stop and the steering was like a truck."
     
  2. silvergts1998

    silvergts1998 Formula 3

    Apr 10, 2005
    2,426
    ky
    Full Name:
    Adam
    #2 silvergts1998, Mar 31, 2006
    This guy sounds like a real cool car guy! It would be nice to meet him someday!
     
  3. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast
    #3 MarkPDX, Mar 31, 2006

    Met him a couple years ago and he is a nice guy.
     
  4. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

    Nov 1, 2003
    35,532
    Victory Circle
    Full Name:
    HUBBSTER
    #4 WILLIAM H, Mar 31, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  5. Cajun

    Cajun Formula 3

    Mar 20, 2004
    1,618
    Da BY-U
    Full Name:
    MJG
    #5 Cajun, Mar 31, 2006
    Ahhh yes...

    I remember back in junior high we had to do a paper & presentation about our "dream job"...needless to say mine was about him & his job. No one in the class knew who he was, but as soon as I started talking about him, everyone listened!!!

    I will be sure to pick that issue of Forbes up...thanks for the heads-up!!!
     
  6. ClassicFerrari

    ClassicFerrari F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 7, 2004
    16,798
    Toronto
    Full Name:
    Vasco
    #6 ClassicFerrari, Mar 31, 2006
    I have read articles on him in the past. Always a true gentleman. What a life he must have. He has become a celebrity for sure!

    Vasco
     
  7. wheelhor

    wheelhor Formula Junior

    Feb 20, 2006
    683
    Cheyenne, WY most of the year
    Full Name:
    Eric
    #7 wheelhor, Mar 31, 2006
    i'll be picking up the magazine as well. Sounds like a cool guy!


    E
     
  8. ghost

    ghost F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Dec 10, 2003
    10,046
    Singapore
    #8 ghost, Mar 31, 2006
    One day you're just a guy that just likes driving fast cars fast. The next, the world is at your feet. - :D

    J/k - From everything I've seen and heard, V's a great guy. I look forward to the opportunity to meet him soon.
     
  9. McLaren_boy

    McLaren_boy Formula Junior

    Nov 21, 2003
    358
    ATL but NOLA is home
    Full Name:
    Jonathan
    #9 McLaren_boy, Mar 31, 2006
    Definitely a really cool guy, although I've never gotten to meet him. What an amazing job he has, and dang he started working at a young age. Has anyone seen the Top Gear vid of him driving J. Clarkson around like a bat out of hell? That's a good one.
     
  10. MuJo

    MuJo Formula Junior

    Jan 5, 2004
    373
    Toronto, ON
    Full Name:
    Joel R.
    #10 MuJo, Mar 31, 2006
  11. DetroitDetomaso

    DetroitDetomaso Formula Junior

    Mar 6, 2006
    455
    Las Vegas
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #11 DetroitDetomaso, Mar 31, 2006
    I've driven with him at 170+ and I have a countach wing hanging in my house that he signed for me. Great guy.
     
  12. italiancars

    italiancars F1 Rookie

    Apr 18, 2004
    3,453
    Hershey, PA
    #12 italiancars, Mar 31, 2006
    If you would like a chance to meet and get a ride with Valentino, he will be again giving rides for charity during the Lamborghini Owners National Meet at Le Belle Macchine d'Italia.

    www.italiancarsatpocono.com

    Joe
     

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