Lamborghini People - Bob Wallace

Bob Wallace
1938 -

Bob Wallace was Lamborghini's development test driver for 10 years from 1963 until 1973, helping perfect every model from the GT350 to the Countach. He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, where he runs an bespoke engine shop which works on, among other cars, classic Ferraris.

The Lamborghini Miura is the undisputed grand-daddy of supercars; the first V12-engined GT with an engine mounted longitudinally and in the centre. Of the first cars, 475 were made between 1966 and 1969, when a much-improved Miura S (140 built) was released. The final model, the 1971 SV (150 built), was better still, with 385bhp on tap. Every one could top 170mph but it was really the gorgeous looks that made it every schoolboy's bedroom pin-up in the late 1960s.

TOP GEAR copy from Giles Chapman
subject: Front End - I Was There: Bob Wallace

Without the car-handling skills of gravel-voiced Australian Bob Wallace, the Lamborghini Miura, unveiled in Geneva 37 years ago this month, might never have hit the road.

"I was a race car mechanic when I joined Ferruccio Lamborghini's tiny company in 1963. I'd known the chassis designer Giampaolo Dallara from way back on the circuits from his Maserati days, and he talked me into going there. I figured that here was an opportunity to do something really interesting."

"The chassis for the Miura was unveiled at Turin in 1965. Nuccio Bertone saw it and put his young designer Marcello Gandini on to designing a body for it before even speaking to us. It was on spec and the early work was all done for free, I believe. Gandini was very, very bright, and the styling was dead right - spot on."

"A team of three of us worked night and day to get the car ready for Geneva at Bertone's design department. We half-killed ourselves, and the show car wasn't even a runner! But the public's reaction to it was fantastic; there was a book-full of orders and its layout, which, really, was based on the Mini's, changed a lot of people's thinking. Ferruccio was very pleased with the praise, especially when Ferrari or Agnelli or someone brought a load of engineers over to the car and said: 'Gentlemen - wake up!'"

"To hell with it: I hated standing there in a stuffy hall. My job was to drive the car and improve the thing. And it might have been a commercial success but the early cars were horrible. We really had to do the whole damn thing again from scratch. About two months later I had to drive the first road-going car to Monaco for the Grand Prix. It was good for publicity and I enjoyed it. There wasn't much traffic in those days. I was young and stupid, and I didn't know what would fall off. In Italy at the time, a set of test plates was like a gift from God. You never got a ticket, probably because old man Lamborghini had bribed the local police to leave us alone. It was insanity: only after a few accidents did I calm down."

"The production car had a lot of shortcomings. It was reasonably well-built but not very rigid and the electrical and oil systems were problematic. Fortunately, only about 10 per cent of our customers noticed. It was crude, hotter than hell, and a lttle cramped. You couldn't sell a car like that today, what we did back then is no longer acceptable."

"I drove literally every one of the early cars, taking them out from Sant'Agata, along the freeway, up into the mountains - anything from 150 to 200 miles each. The cars did improve; we got a lot done because we were young and energetic. But there are still too many myths about all these cars and how great they were."

"I would have loved to race the Miura. I even built a lightweight one in my spare time. But Ferruccio was absolutely against it. He realised he couldn't afford to do two things at once, like building road cars and running a race team. He was an extremely intelligent manÉand that was an intelligent business decision."

	*Bob Wallace*		Last updated Nov 14, 2004
	Bobo Wallace's last days with Lamborghini were spent developing the production version of the LP400Countach. Seen above is 1120001 while still painted red. Bob Wallace 1938 In 1938 Bob Wallace was born outside Aukland, New Zealand. 1948 Since the age of 10 he had dreams of joining the Italian auto racing world. 1959 At the age of 21 he hopped a boat out of New Zealand for Italy. For the next few years Bob worked as a factory racing mechanic for both Ferrari and Maserati and a few smaller private teams. 1963 Bob was offered the opportunity of rejoining Ferrari. It was about this time that he also received the offer from Ferruccio to take on great responsiblities as a mechanic and test driver. In this position he would assist in creating a new automobile. 1973 Leaves Lamborghini. Moves to Phoenix, Arizona, USA, where he started and continues to run a bespoke engine shop called Bob Wallace Cars, Inc., which works on, among other cars, classic Ferraris and Lamborghini. Wallace's shop specializes in engine work and does not do routine repair work. Wait to get your car in is usually several months long.		Bob Wallace 1938 - Bob Wallace was Lamborghini's development test driver for 10 years from 1963 until 1973, helping perfect every model from the GT350 to the Countach. He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, where he runs an bespoke engine shop which works on, among other cars, classic Ferraris. The Lamborghini Miura is the undisputed grand-daddy of supercars; the first V12-engined GT with an engine mounted longitudinally and in the centre. Of the first cars, 475 were made between 1966 and 1969, when a much-improved Miura S (140 built) was released. The final model, the 1971 SV (150 built), was better still, with 385bhp on tap. Every one could top 170mph but it was really the gorgeous looks that made it every schoolboy's bedroom pin-up in the late 1960s. TOP GEAR copy from Giles Chapman subject: Front End - I Was There: Bob Wallace Without the car-handling skills of gravel-voiced Australian Bob Wallace, the Lamborghini Miura, unveiled in Geneva 37 years ago this month, might never have hit the road. "I was a race car mechanic when I joined Ferruccio Lamborghini's tiny company in 1963. I'd known the chassis designer Giampaolo Dallara from way back on the circuits from his Maserati days, and he talked me into going there. I figured that here was an opportunity to do something really interesting." "The chassis for the Miura was unveiled at Turin in 1965. Nuccio Bertone saw it and put his young designer Marcello Gandini on to designing a body for it before even speaking to us. It was on spec and the early work was all done for free, I believe. Gandini was very, very bright, and the styling was dead right - spot on." "A team of three of us worked night and day to get the car ready for Geneva at Bertone's design department. We half-killed ourselves, and the show car wasn't even a runner! But the public's reaction to it was fantastic; there was a book-full of orders and its layout, which, really, was based on the Mini's, changed a lot of people's thinking. Ferruccio was very pleased with the praise, especially when Ferrari or Agnelli or someone brought a load of engineers over to the car and said: 'Gentlemen - wake up!'" "To hell with it: I hated standing there in a stuffy hall. My job was to drive the car and improve the thing. And it might have been a commercial success but the early cars were horrible. We really had to do the whole damn thing again from scratch. About two months later I had to drive the first road-going car to Monaco for the Grand Prix. It was good for publicity and I enjoyed it. There wasn't much traffic in those days. I was young and stupid, and I didn't know what would fall off. In Italy at the time, a set of test plates was like a gift from God. You never got a ticket, probably because old man Lamborghini had bribed the local police to leave us alone. It was insanity: only after a few accidents did I calm down." "The production car had a lot of shortcomings. It was reasonably well-built but not very rigid and the electrical and oil systems were problematic. Fortunately, only about 10 per cent of our customers noticed. It was crude, hotter than hell, and a lttle cramped. You couldn't sell a car like that today, what we did back then is no longer acceptable." "I drove literally every one of the early cars, taking them out from Sant'Agata, along the freeway, up into the mountains - anything from 150 to 200 miles each. The cars did improve; we got a lot done because we were young and energetic. But there are still too many myths about all these cars and how great they were." "I would have loved to race the Miura. I even built a lightweight one in my spare time. But Ferruccio was absolutely against it. He realised he couldn't afford to do two things at once, like building road cars and running a race team. He was an extremely intelligent manÉand that was an intelligent business decision."