Third LP640 Crashed by Balboni

[a007apl]

Balboni crashed a third one in Car and Driver Test. (http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111393)

[SilviaEvo]

that really sucks so this is the 3rd one ruined? i just read about the 2nd

[nickthaskater]

Jesus, Car and Driver just finished crashing a brand new Ferrari 599 last month, and now they wreck an LP640? :|

[ferrarif1fan89]

lets not forget they wrecked a diablo when they first came out

[nickthaskater]

They should stay away from Italian cars :?

[jorge]

Jesus, Car and Driver just finished crashing a brand new Ferrari 599 last month, and now they wreck an LP640? :|

:shock: :shock: thats unbelievable

[nickthaskater]

Jesus, Car and Driver just finished crashing a brand new Ferrari 599 last month, and now they wreck an LP640? :|
:shock: :shock: thats unbelievable
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/nickthaskater/DSC01484.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/nickthaskater/DSC01485.jpg

[sentra_dude]

Jesus, Car and Driver just finished crashing a brand new Ferrari 599 last month, and now they wreck an LP640? :|

Considering Mr. Lamborghini Test Driver himself (Balboni) crashed this one, I find it hard to believe its somehow Car and Driver's fault. ;)

[nickthaskater]

Well it was still for C&D :P Maybe their curse rubbed off haha.

[Sir_GT]

Maybe they should change the magazine to Crash and Driver!



















Yeah. I know. That was pretty lame.

[yg60m]

Hum, this car seems difficult to handle at the limit ... They should take care of US issues, when you see what happen after the CGT crash :|

[davide]

"The car doesn't handle very well..."

Well, DON'T release the 500bhp under the bonnet a bit too early before you have exited a bend correctly otherwise you're gonna end up in a ditch or mountin wall....

[DeMoN]

OMG, not another one. Would like to see pics, surely, they are soon to follow.

[nickthaskater]

Maybe they've toned down the driving aids on the 640 versus the Murci/Gallardo, or it could just be set-up more aggresively all-around, which would make sense. 640hp is not something to be taken lightly...

[TopGearNL]

Never, the third already :shock:

[saadie]

maybe the new engine overwhelms the old vicous 4wd system :?
this is bad news :roll:

[dutchmasterflex]

You can't expect such a heavy car with that much power to be safe. Why do you think the Veyron is held back by computers..

[nickthaskater]

You can't expect such a heavy car with that much power to be safe. Why do you think the Veyron is held back by computers..
A standard Murcielago isn't that heavy, at 3,600lbs, and the LP640 is supposed to be lighter than that, more than likely putting it in the high 3,500lb region, which isn't that heavy at all for a car the size of the Murcielago with AWD and a 6.5L V12.

[dutchmasterflex]

You can't expect such a heavy car with that much power to be safe. Why do you think the Veyron is held back by computers..
A standard Murcielago isn't that heavy, at 3,600lbs, and the LP640 is supposed to be lighter than that, more than likely putting it in the high 3,500lb region, which isn't that heavy at all for a car the size of the Murcielago with AWD and a 6.5L V12.


Quick google search came up with 3671 lb for the LP640's curb weight..

Now, the regular Murci is just as heavy, but not as powerful.. more Power, same heavy body (yes 3,600lbs is FUCKING HEAVY when you're talking about a sports car).

The only reason the Bugatti isn't so deadly is because of the constant electronic aids.. (putting on the breaks, cutting throttle, shifting the suspension, etc)

[StanAE86]

With the CGT lawsuit, I'll bet Lambo is watching it closely. I wouldn't be surprised if Lambo pulls this car from US distribution. Why bother and take the chance some yahoo wrecks and sues?

I don't understand why they can't put all the computer aids in it, and a dial that allows different degrees of aggression, like Ferrari's newer cars. Normal, Sport, and Race..even more settings might be good, allowing more increments of aggressiveness by the computer.

Balboni might be getting a little old now. I remember meeting him in Monterey's Concorso Italiano, he looked to be in his late 50s to 60s. It might also be that we didn't hear about the cars he wrecked before. Maybe he laid out a few Diablos and Murcs before those hit the market too. With the internet, good news travels fast and bad news travels faster. I hope he's okay.

[nickthaskater]

Ah yea you're right, it is 3670, I didn't realize the final weight had been published (didn't come across it in my initial search).

Regardless, that's still not horribly bad. Look at the Merc McLaren SLR for example: 3734lbs, 617hp, 575lb-ft. The current range of Lamborghinis have electronic aids as well (thank you Audi), so really, who knows what's causing these crashes. The LP640 does have a retuned suspension system in it, maybe there's a flaw in there? I really don't think you can put the blame on it weighing as much as it does though.

[dutchmasterflex]

Man, it's amazing that the SLR weighs that much and it doesnt even have AWD or a V12.

Reviewers of hte LP640 do say it is a very different beast from the Murci.. So maybe they were just going for that cut throat driving experience..

Call me old fashioned, but I'm just sick of these new exotics. With technology these days auto manufactures are straying away from the idea of driving as an emotion, being apart of the car.

I'm sure a lot of you can agree with me that a 2,000lb RWD car with 400hp(give or take) would be way more fun and safe..

[nickthaskater]

Jesus, Car and Driver just finished crashing a brand new Ferrari 599 last month, and now they wreck an LP640? :|

Actually "they" didn't wreck it, if y'all read the original post you'd know it was balboni who wrecked it
I did read it, though I guess I missed the part where it said who Balboni was, because to be honest, I have never heard of him until this point, so I figured it was just someone driving for C&D.

[nickthaskater]

I did read it, though I guess I missed the part where it said who Balboni was, because to be honest, I have never heard of him until this point, so I figured it was just someone driving for C&D.

Balboni has been the Lamborghini tesdriver for ages... and if I'm not mistaken - he started in the company as a mechanic - being now the most important figure in Lamborghini's history after Ferruccio Lamborghini himself :D
From the mail room to management eh? That's pretty cool, thanks for the info :)

[chest3r]

:slap: Man, this guy really should learn how to drive :lol: I'm available to give him some lessons :mrgreen:

[dutchmasterflex]

^ LOL

Yeah I think it's time for Lamborghini to let him go and hire me as his replacement ;)

[nickthaskater]

/sends in application

[RC45]

I did read it, though I guess I missed the part where it said who Balboni was, because to be honest, I have never heard of him until this point, so I figured it was just someone driving for C&D.

This is possible?

Car ethusiasts who don't know who Mr Balboni is?

[nthfinity]

I did read it, though I guess I missed the part where it said who Balboni was, because to be honest, I have never heard of him until this point, so I figured it was just someone driving for C&D.

This is possible?

Car ethusiasts who don't know who Mr Balboni is?

i didnt' think it was possible!

honestly, i guess i didnt know til i was about 16; but, before then i didn't really care much about cars

[sentra_dude]

All the talk of three crashes being excessive for a new car before being released...hmm, I think if we could get a more inside look at car testing in general, and specifically sports/exotic-car testing, we'd see a lot more crashes...we just don't hear about them, because its obviously really bad press. As someone already said, we have the internet now, and with that we have very extensive networks of insider information, that give us news that normally wouldn't become public for along time, if ever (obviously not in this case). Bad news travels really fast.

Just because Balboni crashed one car doesn't make him a bad driver or the car dangerous/bad, he was after all pushing the limits of the car. I would venture to guess he has crashed at least half a dozen Lambos in his career (probably more). Maybe not, but its not unlikely, and Lambo hasn't fired him yet. Driving a car, ANY car, fast and on the limit, is inhertenly dangerous.

I've heard the great Walter Rohl tanked three CGT's during testing, and that's a much more limited production car than the LP will be... I'm sure plenty of Diablos and Countachs and Miuras were crashed during testing as well, its a fact of life.

ANY car with ANY driver can crash, no matter how good the car is, and no matter how good the driver is...

No way. This has to put a lot of people thinking of buying one off. I mean if three have already been crashed before its release....and one by the official test driver.

Seems like the Lambo "safeness" that appearad with the original Murci and the Gallardo is going away again. :D

I doubt it will put too many people off, how many people were put off by the crashes of the CGT during testing?