Lamborghini Gallardo special edition

Lamborghini is going ahead with a plan to build 250 limited edition rear-drive V10 Gallardo supercars, bearing the retiring chief Lamborghini test driver's name.

The rear-wheel drive LP 550-2 will be based on the all-wheel drive Gallardo.

However, for those who miss out on the Balboni car, a lower cost rear-drive Gallardo is in the wings, he says. "However, there won't be a Spider version of it," he says.

The regular rear-drive Gallardo could land here around $435,000 and go head to head with the Audi R8, Ferrari 430 and upper end Porsches. Removing the all-wheel drive system out of the car shaves off about 120kg in weight.

The car will hit 100km/h in 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 320km/h.

To make sure the rear-drive Lambo loses none of the grip or performance of its all-wheel drive brother, it gets different springs, dampers, stabiliser bars, different aerodynamics and new tyres.

The robotised sequential E-gear transmission has been upgraded to cope with the torque through the rear wheels alone, along with a stronger rear axle. The rear axle also gets a 45 per cent limited slip differential and modified electronic stability control, which enables great drift angles in the car's Corsa performance mode.

Power comes from a naturally aspirated 405kW 5.2-litre V10, down 7kW from the all-wheel drive model.

Visually the limited edition car gets different front and rear bumpers, a more aggressive rear diffuser and a retro white strip across the roof, bonnet and boot.

Inside the Gallardo gets black leather upholstery, a badge bearing Valentino Balboni's signature, a transparent engine cover, and navigation system with Bluetooth connectivity.

Balboni joined Lamborghini in 1967 and has driven about 80 per cent of all Lamborghini cars.