1997 Lamborghini Diablo

The Lamborghini Countach was in production for 17 years before it was replaced by the Diablo, which upon its arrival was the most advanced, most expensive and fastest Lamborghini ever built. It was first shown publicly in Monaco in January of 1990 and set a new benchmark in supercar design. It wore styling by Marcello Gandini, whose resume included the Miura and Countach. It had a steel spaceframe chassis developed from the Countach but fitted with square-section rather than round tubing with 'crumple zones' in the front and rear. Lamborghini had used carbon fiber composite panels on the Countach Evoluzione model, and selected this technology to cloth the Diablo. The revised suspension system was built for future four-wheel drive and active suspension. The heart of the Diablo was the 5.7 liter 48-valve V-12 engine fitted with fuel injection for the first time. It produced nearly 500 horsepower and torque reached 428 ft-lb, an improvement of 55-percent over the Countach. To comply with emissions requirements worldwide, the V12 was fitted with catalytic converters.

The Diablo had more power and a lower drag coefficient than the Countach. Its top speed exceeded 200 mph. The Targa-style open roadster version, the four-wheel drive Diablo VT ('VT' represented Viscous Traction), and the Diablo SE (Special Edition) soon followed. A total of 150 examples of the Diablo SE were built in celebration of the company's three decades as a car manufacturer.

Approximately 200 first-generation VT Roadsters were built worldwide between 1995 and 1998. The Diablo VT Roadster was introduced in December of 1995 and was given an electrically operated carbon fiber Targa top which was stored above the engine lid when not in use. This was the company's first production convertible. Along with the roof, the body was altered from the fixed-top VT model in several ways. They received a revised bumper, replacing the quad rectangular driving lamps with two rectangular and two round units. The rear ducts had the vertical painted design seen on the SE30. The brake cooling ducts were relocated inboard of the driving lamps and changed to a straked design. The 5.7-liter V12 engine offered 485 horsepower and was concealed by an engine lid cover that was changed substantially in order to vent properly when the roof panel was covering it. Revised 17-inch wheels were placed at all four corners. The air intakes on the top and sides were larger than the coupe versions.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2019