Back in ’10 I went to the Lamborghini dealer in Beijing, where they had some proper metal on show. The shop was in the Jinbao Street in the center of town and also sold Bugatti. There was an Aston Martin shop next door and a Wiesmann dealer a bit further down the road.
Nowadays most of these dealers have moved further out of town and into expensive shopping malls, which is a bit sad. Note the blue Peugeot 206 CC in the foreground. They were sold as imports and thus expensive but Peugeot sold lot of them, much to their own surprise.
Back to the Lamboos! The yellow one was a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, with a 552 hp 5.2 liter V10 under the bonnet. It looked great in yellow with black alloys, yellow brakes, and a yellow-black interior. Price started at 3.88 million yuan.
One of the oddest Gallardoos ever made, a special edition named after a test driver. This then is the Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni, 550 horses and rear-wheel drive! It came with special wheels and striping and sold for 3.48 million. Only 250 cars were ever made and rumors had it that Lamborghini never sold ‘m all.
It is a nice looking thing but a car called ‘Balboni’ should be a bit more flamboyant, with a standard pink paint job for example.
On to the LP560-4 Spyder, again powered by the 552 hp 5.2 liter V10. The Spyder is very rare in China as not many like to drive open cars here. There is simply too much noise, pollution, and difficult weather. It was very expensive too, with a base price of 4.28 million yuan.
Finally, what should have been the most badass car in the shop. A Murcielago LP640! But. It was the feminine Versace Edition, an official collaboration between Lamborghini and the Italian fashion house.
Only 20 examples were manufactured, 10 coupes and 10 roadsters. Each car came with a matching Versace luggage set, driving shoes, and gloves. It has Versace’s signature meander design on the doors and everywhere inside.
The Versace Edition launched in 2007 and I was in the shop in 2010. Was it unsold? It was indeed. Staff told me it was not on sale “anymore”. Perhaps the Versace was a tad too fashionable for the Lamborghini brand. Happily, the engine was all good; a 6.5 liter V12 with 631 hp.