HOW TO BUY A L AMBORGHINI DIABLO
SYMPATH Y FOR THE DEVIL
Lamborghini’s Diablo has many flaws, but they’ll all melt away if you drive it properly and extend its mighty V12. John Evans says you’d best choose one with care, though
News of the reborn Lamborghini Countach prompts memories of the original’s successor, the Diablo. Launched in 1990, it was offered in coupé and roadster forms and powered by a 485bhp midmounted 5.7-litre V12. The top speed was 202mph and 0-62mph took 4.5sec, making it, at the time, the fastest car in the world. The Diablo is the archetypal Italian supercar: difficult to drive, impractical – and magnificent.
Happily, prices aren’t as steep as you may think. For example, we found a 1993-reg Diablo with an unusually high 60,000 miles, on sale for £125,000. We tracked it down to a workshop where £11,000 has just been spent making it road-ready.
The example in question is a ‘basic’ 485bhp model. Between the Diablo’s launch and 1998, when Audi assumed ownership of Lamborghini, various versions of the model’s 5.7-litre V12 emerged, ranging in power from 485bhp in regular rearwheel-drive and four-wheel-drive VT models, through 510bhp in reardrive SV versions to 523bhp in reardrive SE30 and 595bhp in SE30 Jota models. The SE30 was a street-legal racer launched in 1993 to celebrate Lamborghini’s 30th anniversary. The more powerful, track-only Jota variant was the fastest Diablo of all.