If you had ever wondered why Lamborghini went to the trouble of dedicating a special edition, rear-wheel-drive version of the Lamborghini Gallardo to its most revered test driver, wonder no more.

In this clip, Valentino Balboni himself explains the history and pedigree of the rear-drive Lamborghini – most of which he had a great deal of influence over – from the Miura, to the Countach and the poster-child Diablo.

All the while, Balboni slides his Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 across the frozen Italian country side with exact precision, demonstrating the knife’s edge driving style enjoyed only through a rear-wheel-drive supercar.

“The two-wheel-drive car is a car, with this kind of power, that needs to be driven. You need to control the car – the car doesn’t control you.”