Whereas Ferrari prioritized elegance and prestige, Lamborghini’s cars have always been over-the-top — the raging bull went straight for the shock and awe factor right from the get-go. Head-turning designs, ear-tickling exhaust notes, and speed are all on-par for the course here.
Some of the best examples of this philosophy include the Miura, Countach, and, of course, Diablo. The Diablo, Spanish for ‘Devil’ was the very last Lamborghini created before the Volkswagen Audi Group took control of operations, with Audi doing most of the work.
Don’t get me wrong, every gearhead praises Audi for keeping Lamborghini’s head above water with the likes of bestsellers like the Huracan and Urus. However, the cars produced under the VAG ownership didn’t have the same pizzazz and personality as the old models.
Today’s Lamborghinis are filled to the brim with tech and space-age engineering, making them superior in every single way. And yet, I struggle to resonate with them. Out of all the modern Lamborghini supercars, the Murcielago is my favorite, but even the ‘Bat’ can’t hold a candle to the ‘Devil.’
The Last Of The Untamed Bulls
According to Motortrend, the Diablo was the last truly hand-built Lamborghini before corporate powers took over and turned the brand into a money-making machine. Designed by Marcello Gandini, famous for imagining some of the most beautiful cars in the world, including the Lancia Stratos, Lamborghini Countach, and Miura, the Diablo is everything you’d expect from a ‘90s Italian supercar.
Actually, Gandini was responsible for the prototype. Chrysler — who owned Lamborghini at the time — took his design and watered it down slightly. Fortunately, it retained most of its Italian flair.
On the outside, it looked bonkers with a classic wedge shape, butterfly doors that open upwards, and plenty of ‘look-at-me’ presence. That’s not even to mention the factory colors, which seemingly included every shade of M&M.
On the inside, the Lamborghini Diablo is hilariously impractical with seatbelts mounted between the two seats, a plethora of switches that do, erm, things, there’s no glovebox, and yet, a it has a holder for your sunglasses like one you’d find in a Japanese off-roader.
It’s worth noting that the Diablo underwent a facelift in 1999 that took away its pop-up headlights in favor of ones stolen from a Nissan 300ZX. Alongside the facelift came a few different trim models, resulting in the Diablo coming in nearly 10 different flavors, with my favorite being the lightweight SE30.
A V12 Symphony Accompanied By A Gated Shifter
For as long as I can remember, teenage boys’ rooms have been adorned by posters of V12-powered Lamborghinis. From old legends such as the Countach to modern icons like the Aventador, these flagship models were the staple of the raging bull, and the Diablo is no exception.
Behind the cockpit sat a naturally aspirated V12 engine that came in two different variants. From 1990 to 2000, a 5.7-liter V12 engine that punched out 529 hp was offered in the majority of the Diablos, and from 1999 to the end of its production run in 2001, the Diablo GT and VT models had a 6.0-liter V12 capable of 575 hp.
Regardless of the engine, all the Diablo models featured a 5-speed gated manual transmission. In typical supercar fashion, this wasn’t an ordinary gearbox, though, as Lamborghini chose a dogleg configuration, making the shift from 1st to 2nd gear especially tricky.
Reviews across the web say in unison that the Diablo is one of the last truly terrifying Lamborghinis. In addition to being manual transmission-only, the Diablo also lacked modern safety equipment like traction control and stability control. Fortunately, some models were equipped with ABS.
All Diablos, apart from the VT, were rear-wheel-drive too, making it difficult to keep this mid-engined 500+ hp supercar in a straight line. It may have been the very first Lamborghini to break the 200 mph benchmark, but keeping the throttle floored for that long takes some guts.
The Evolution Of Excess
Lamborghini has always been about more. More power, more weight savings, more technology, more flashing gimmicks, more special models, more sales, and so the list goes on and on.
However, my granny used to say, ‘Too much of anything is never good.’ While many may argue that there’s no such thing as too much power, I’d like to argue that, at a point, a boatload of power becomes borderline unenjoyable.
Take, for instance, the latest Lamborghini Revuelto, which has more than 1,000 hp at the touch of the throttle. While it’s an absolute rocket ship with a 0 to 60 mph time of less than 2.5 seconds, it doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat like the Diablo.
Objectively, a newer Lamborghini will always be faster, more comfortable, more usable, and better in every way, and that’s exactly where the problem lies. The Diablo is a dangerous machine – a complete contrast to today’s user-friendly supercars.
Across its 10-year lifespan, 2,903 Lamborghini Diablo models were made. Out of the bunch, the most common one to find is the original Diablo, with 873 units produced, the rarest examples being the GTR with 32 examples, the SVR with 34, and the 6.0 SE with 44 models.
According to Classic.com, the base model Lamborghini Diablo sells for around $220,000 on average. This brings me to my next question. Why would you consider a mainstream supercar like the Lamborghini Revuelto when you can buy two Diablos and have enough change for eight brand-new Toyota Camry models, too?
