Gianfranco Innocenti's family built an industrial empire after World War Two, manufacturing the Lambretta scooter, which was inspired by the Cushman scooters used by American troops in the liberation of Italy.

Later, Innocenti built English Austin Minis under license. Anyone who has visited India will be familiar with the three-wheeled scooters that have crowded streets for decades. Those are Lambrettas.

It was in the early 1970s that Innocenti sold rights and tooling for its three-wheeled scooter to the Indian government.

For his twentieth birthday, Gianfranco Innocenti was given a black Lamborghini Miura, quite an indulgence.

The black Miura  was test-driven by a young Lamborghini mechanic whose name has become synonymous with the little factory in Sant'Agata. Valentino Balboni is the Lamborghini test driver who rode to work on a bicycle each day.

He retired, mostly, in 2008. Lamborghini even issued a special model of the Gallardo named after him.

If you love the singularly beautiful culture of northern Italy, fast cars, and impeccable design, you will watch this short film at least once.

The black Miura running through the streets and over the autostrada at night is cinematic poetry.

The first few minutes ably juxtaposes the lives of a wealthy young man, heir to an industrial fortune, and a man who truly has the heart of a bull.

It also expresses the real magic of these cars, and why grown men foolishly spend so much money to own them.

The film stirred many thoughts for me. The scene in the cafe reminds of my first boss at Ford SVT, who worked for Fiat as a young man. He would always complain of the food in Michigan, and would relate frequently that any roadside cafe in Italy could serve up minestrone soup or tortellini so good you'd weep after finishing the bowl.

Most of my dealings with Lamborghini involved their PR man, Sandro Munari, also known as  il Drago, the three-time world rally champion. That Balboni's image began to rise in that same period of the early 1990s is a measure of Balboni's importance to the brand.

At that time I assigned a Lamborghini story to my best adventures writer, a retired captain of the Coldstream Guards, Chris Bibb, who now manages a racetrack.

Christopher went on in his own right, relaunching the McLaren F1 into the market in 1995, then working at ProDrive on the Subaru rally program, then developing his own Dakar buggies, which he ran for two years, with every vehicle finishing the brutal event. My own work prevented me joining him for the Dakar, which ran through South America those two years.

When Christopher visited Lamborghini, Valentino Balboni presented the test car, and provided Chris with a quote that I have used for years, in one form or another.

Balboni said the all-wheel drive Lamborghini was good "in the big power bends."

Lamborghinis remain very capable in those high-speed sweeping corners.

The car won its class at Pebble Beach two summers ago. As a run-up to Pebble Beach next month, and for a wider audience, here is the reunion of Gianfranco, Valentino and the black Miura.

Story from Forbes Magazine

Comments:

wolly speed

perhaps one of the most beautiful Miura ever built????

Andy Ydna

it has been very emotional, thank you for this great sensual film

Jordi Perez

I agree ..... sometimes you meet in your life a car that never will forget, and you don't know untill lose him

indigoblue555

When dreams come true or,if you like better,when reality turns into a dream. In one word: Miura.

Jordi Perez

La Miura Nera, mamma mía !

Alessandro

Questo video ti emoziona

Gabriele Candusso

Bellissimo e emozionante

MannAutomotive

Never sell your dream car, or you will cry later.

dimi 911

What a car!