Lamborghini Diablo: 1990-1998

Lamborghini Diablo

The original Lamborghini Diablo for sale, produced from 1990-1998, spanned an eventful period where the Lamborghini company went through three ownership changes. When development of the Diablo first began, under the codename “Project 132” in 1985, the Italian manufacturer based in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, was under the ownership of the Mimran brothers. The company would be sold to Chrysler in 1987, then to an Indonesian holding company called MegaTech in 1994, and finally to the Volkswagen Group in 1998, at the tail end of the Diablo’s lifecycle.

Project 132 – Gandini to Gale

Lamborghini Diablo

Famously, the only requirement for the Countach’s successor was that it had to have a top speed of at least 315 km/h (196 mph). The time period of the Diablo’s development was before the widespread prevalence of carbon-fiber monocoque chassis or driver “cells” in exotic car manufacturing. A tubular steel space frame chassis provided enough stiffness for supercar of that era, but its slightly portly 3,475 lbs. weight, even with the use of aluminum and carbon-fiber in the body panels, shows how advanced the chassis construction techniques of modern supercars really are.

Marcello Gandini, who designed both of the Diablo’s predecessors, the Countach and Miura, was initially asked to pen the Diablo. However, when Chrysler took control of Lamborghini in 1987 midway through the vehicle’s development, they were uncomfortable with Gandini’s “violent” and “aggressive” design and had one of their own, Tom Gale, at Chrysler Styling Center in Detroit tweak the final shape.

Diablo Goes on Sale in 1990

Lamborghini Diablo

After five years of development and a sizable financial commitment by Chrysler-owned Lamborghini, the Diablo was unveiled to the public in early 1990 at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo with an MSRP of $239,000 USD.

The Diablo was able to meet its single design brief, advertised as having a top speed of 325 km/hm, but could go even faster if given enough room, proven by a 340 km/h shakedown run at the Nardo test track. A 5.7-liter V12, an evolution of the Lamborghini V12 used in the Countach, produced 492-hp and 428 lb-ft of torque with the help of a multi-point fuel injection system.

Standard Features and Options

Lamborghini Diablo

Compared to the Countach, the Diablo was relatively well-equipped, coming with power windows, fully adjustable seats (custom-molded seats were available as an option) and steering wheel, and an Alpine stereo system as standard features. A rear wing was a $4,500 option, as were a factory fitted luggage set for $2,600 and a Breguet clock for $10,500. Power steering was not offered as an option until 1993.

Who Wouldn’t Want to Own a Diablo?

Lamborghini Diablo

Journalist’s reviews of the Diablo tend to demystify the aura of the fighting bull, citing awkward ergonomics and unpredictable on-the-limit handling as major negatives. But there isn’t a car lover out there who, if lucky enough to own one of the 900 or so examples produced, wouldn’t spend the better part of his free time in his garage, completely enthralled by the machine before him.

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