A decade disappears quickly in Sant’Agata Bolognese. One moment a V12 crackles awake across the courtyard, the next its echoes are already part of history—another note in Lamborghini’s symphony of speed. Protecting those echoes is the quiet mission of Polo Storico, the factory program created in 2015 to preserve, document, and—when necessary—re‑animate the brand’s past.
To mark its tenth birthday, Polo Storico has produced a quartet of short films that peer behind the workshop doors and into the archives. The second episode spotlights a remarkable clique inside Lamborghini known simply as the Comitato dei Saggi—the “Committee of Wise Ones.” Their job description is as succinct as it is priceless: remember everything the rest of us have forgotten.
Living Libraries on the Factory Floor
Unlike the engineers and stylists whose signatures grace coffee‑table books, the Saggi are rarely photographed and almost never quoted. Yet without them Miuras would idle poorly, Countachs would stare ahead with crossed headlights, and Sesto Elementos might remain perpetual prototypes.
Walter Rinaldi started at Lamborghini in 1966, shepherding parts from receiving dock to production line. Over 44 years he watched every model from the 350 GT to the Murciélago find its first heartbeat. His recall of part numbers and supplier quirks is a Rosetta Stone for restorers.
Giancarlo Barbieri speaks the language of homologation—a dialect equal parts engineering and diplomacy. He guided every Countach and Diablo variant through emissions and safety labyrinths worldwide, occasionally capping paperwork with a spirited road test alongside the late Bob Wallace.
Massimo Pizzi wired power through the lineage. From laying harnesses on the Countach line to leading R&D electronics teams for one‑off marvels like the Veneno, Pizzi can still picture every relay in his mind’s eye. When modern technicians confront a 1980s gremlin, Pizzi often supplies the cure from memory alone.
Together the trio bridges half a century of Lamborghini lore. Their institutional knowledge, much of it never formally documented, underpins every Certificate of Authenticity Polo Storico issues and every concours‑level restoration that leaves the facility.
The Road Ahead for Polo Storico
Polo Storico’s tenth‑anniversary tour began last winter amid the snow‑dusted glamour of St. Moritz. Next stop was Pebble Beach (16–18 August), where the Monterey crowd studied freshly restored icons alongside Lamborghini’s current range. The celebrations conclude on home soil at Bologna’s Auto e Moto d’Epoca show (23–26 October), a fitting venue to honor machines that still smell of Italian leather and warm Castrol.
Why It Matters
Lamborghini has always thrived on forward thrust—louder, faster, wilder. Yet any brand approaching its diamond jubilee must safeguard provenance with the same zeal it expends on lap times. Polo Storico and its Committee of Wise Ones ensure that future generations hear the full story, unabridged and uncorrupted.
Ten years in, the department has proven indispensable. It validates barn‑find Espadas, resurrects tired LM 002s, and hands owners paperwork as carefully considered as the cars themselves. Most of all, it reminds us that innovation and heritage are not opposites; they are successive chapters of the same V12‑powered narrative.
On a quiet morning in Sant’Agata, a newly restored Miura fires to life. Somewhere nearby, a Wise One smiles—another echo saved, another legend secured.
