Lamborghini’s legendary test driver was granted special permission to push the Countach to its absolute limits on public roads
Published on Apr 11, 2026 at 6:23 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Apr 09, 2026 at 6:24 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
Back in the 1980s, Lamborghini’s most famous test driver did something unprecedented and drove a Lamborghini Countach at 180+ mph on public roads.
This was a one-off situation, and it will almost certainly never happen again; not under the same terms anyway.
It’s just another chapter of a book that car fans have been writing for a while.
For better or worse, the car world isn’t what it used to be.
The world’s most famous factory test driver
In the modern automotive world, the CEO of a company might be a celebrity, and maybe the head of design might also be somewhat famous.
They’re not exactly Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt, but car fans might recognize the names of people like Adrian van Hooydonk (BMW) or Franz von Holzhausen (Tesla).
But you certainly wouldn’t recognize test drivers.
In the 1980s, this was different.
Valentino Balboni – possibly the third most famous Valentino in Italy after Valentino Rossi and Valentino Garavani (the fashion icon) – is Lamborghini’s most famous test driver, and the protagonist of a story that would almost certainly never be written today.
He joined Lamborghini as an apprentice mechanic in 1968 and ended up becoming the company’s chief test driver.
From the Gallardo to the Murciélago, from the Countach to the Diablo, Balboni has test-driven and green-lighted every Lamborghini built between 1968 and 2008.
And what he was allowed to do with the Countach is the key element of this story.
Balboni was allowed to drive the Countach on a public highway that hadn’t even been shut
Back in the 1980s, automakers didn’t have to deal with the endless red tape and health and safety regulations.
Everything was easier, and more dangerous.
The 1987 Lamborghini Countach, for example, was developed in an era when airbags weren’t even mandatory.
In the 1980s, Balboni was allowed to test the Countach’s top speed on a public highway in Italy.
The highway hadn’t even been closed down for the test.
Imagine that.
And the point is, this wouldn’t be allowed today, even if by some miracle you somehow managed to convince millions of Italians to avoid using the highway for a day.
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After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
