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Valentino Balboni thinks the Miura greatest Lambo ever

Valentino Balboni spent 40 years at Lamborghini, a few years as a mechanic's apprentice at the beginning, then as a test driver at the request of old man Ferrucio himself. He is embedded in the brand, said to have driven 80 percent of the company's entire production until he retired in 2009. He has ridden and tamed so many bulls that they named one after him, the 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni, and even made it rear-wheel drive because that's how he likes it. Balboni spoke to Road & Track in advance of an auction in New York on November 19 that will see a 1969 Miura P400S go on the block. A fixture from the days when mad men weren't merely characters on a television show, Balboni discusses taking customers for test drives, being sent on warranty calls, his favorite car, and why there will never be another one like it. Head over to RT to read the full interview from the man who helped make the original Countach, and therefore Lamborghini, what it is today. And in case you want in on the action, the pre-sale estimate for the centerpiece Miura is $800,000 to $1.6 million. Related Video:

World's Best Dad invites Lamborghini owners to son's birthday party

The resulting unalloyed joy, as you'll see in the footage below, is priceless.
One of my defining moments as a budding car enthusiast came the first time I got to see a Lamborghini up close. I was out in Los Angeles visiting a relative with my mother and sister, and I took the change of scenery as an opportunity to look for more exotic cars than my middle-class Midwestern upbringing would usually encounter. We were on a walk, when off in the distance I saw - and heard - something extraordinary: An early '80s Lamborghini Countach, black with those bronze five-hole wheels, pulling into a parking spot. My mom still takes great joy in periodically retelling the events of that day, and as the story goes, I joyfully took off without warning, chasing the car down the street shouting "Lamborghini!" "Lamborghini!!" in my best eight-year-old Italian accent.

Reiter Extenso R-EX shows Gallardo's still got it

Lamborghini is moving on from the Gallardo to the new Huracan, and with it, is taking its racing program in house. But the Bolognese marque's longtime racing partner Reiter Engineering has a thing or two to say about that, and is showing what it can still do with an old platform by introducing the new Gallardo Extenso R-EX. Designed to comply with GT3 regulations, you can tell just from looking at it that Reiter's new competition-spec Lambo is meaner and more aggressive than any version it's done before. Reiter widened the rear track by five inches to make it over 80 inches broad (the widest allowed under FIA GT3 regulations), cloaked it in carbon-fiber bodywork (to make it look more like the Murcielago R-SV the company built for GT1), fitted new camshafts (for a fatter torque curve) and Mahle pistons (for improved efficiency and reliability), and retuned the exhaust to give the fans something to cheer for. The result is an even more extreme take on the Gallardo than anything we've seen to date, and promises to give even the upcoming Huracan GT3 a run for its money in series like the Pirelli World Challenge, Blancpain GT Series and SRO GT Sports Club. Privateer racing teams will be able to get their hands on one for ˆ248,000 (a little over $300k) with the full confidence that Reiter's experience has to offer: To date the company has built over 100 racing cars that have gone on to win over 200 races and score some 400 podiums. The Bavarian company further claims that every one of those built since 2012 is still on its original engine. THE NEW REITER GALLARDO EXTENSO R-EX Wider, lighter, more powerful – the new REITER Gallardo EXTENSO Reiter Engineering develops a far-reaching evolution of the proven GT3 car as Lamborghini's official Gallardo GT3 partner and plans to enter the new racecar in the Blancpain GT Series, the US Pirelli World Challenge and the SRO GT Sports Club. The name reflects the aim: the Reiter Gallardo FL2 GT3 receives a far-reaching and comprehensive facelift, 'Extenso', just like the Spaniards would say. The innovations do not only include looks and sound, but also handling and engine: The rear of the Reiter Gallardo EXTENSO is significantly wider. The rear aluminium side panels are replaced by new carbon fibre rear quarter panels. At the same time, the rear axle track width is increased by a whopping 13 cm using new wishbones. As a result, the maximum...