Lamborghini’s first testcoureur, Bob Wallace, has died

Posted on 24-09-2013 at 21:17 by sir_smokalot – 10 Comments”

Everyone knows Lambo’s legendary former test driver Valentino Balboni, but for him there was still one test driver, New Zealander Bob Wallace. Last week died the man who Balboni the tricks of the trade learned at the age of 75.

Wallace came as a very young 21-year-old to Europe, where he began working as a mechanic for several Italian car manufacturers. Eventually kicked it in 1963, fifty years ago, to hoofdtestrijder at Lamborghini. This function would he to 1975 to fulfill, and then he by Balboni relieved.

Wallace returned to New Zealand, but moved soon to the US, where he is in Phoenix (AZ) also worked on cars. Last week, he died there from a cardiac arrest. Lamborghini’s CEO Stephan Winkelmann said in a statement to know the following:

The news received today of the death of Bob Wallace hit me and all of us at Lamborghini and leaves us with a great sorrow. As the first test driver of the company, Wallace has played a key role in the early years of Lamborghini and strongly contributed to the birth of the myth of the Bull. We were sorry that he could not accept our invitation and come to celebrate the 50 anniversary at our factory in May due to health reasons, but his words in a video message impressed all of the thousand guests. Automobili Lamborghini is close to his relatives and friends, and will honor his memory.

The crown on his work was perhaps the 1970 Lamborghini Miura Jota, a car that unfortunately was lost in a crash. More on Wallace, read here.