Lamborghini’s first chief test driver Bob Wallace passed away late last
week.

Sant’Agata Bolognese, 24 September 2013. Statement by Stephan
Winkelmann, President & CEO of Automobili Lamborghini:
“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.”
Bob Wallace was the chief test driver for Lamborghini for twelve years
from 1964 to 1975 and his competence and passion strongly supported
the rapid growth of the company founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, in the 1930’s, at the tender age of 21
he moved to Italy where he worked for racing teams such as Ferrari
and Maserati. Following on from his stint in motorsports, he moved to
Automobili Lamborghini where he served as a mechanic who played a
pivotal role in creating Lamborghinis range-top V12 engine.
Before long, he was road-testing Lamborghini’s developmental
prototypes under the cover of night, where he’d frequently drive to
170mph on the Autostrada. However, Wallace’s influence at
Lamborghini went much deeper than simply testing each car to roll off
the production line, he also helped develop the Lamborghini Miura, a
car many consider to be the world’s first supercar.
However, Wallace’s most infamous vehicle he helped
develop was the 1971 Lamborghini Miura Jota 4, an unique
piece which was destroyed during a test drive and which
served as a basis for the production of the Miura SVJ at the
factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese.