LAMBORGHINI

Diablo

The Lamborghini Diablo was unveiled in January 1990 as the long-awaited replacement for the legendary Countach, taking its name, Spanish for "devil", from a ferocious 19th-century fighting bull. The project began under Lamborghini's own designer Marcello Gandini, the man behind the Miura and Countach, but after Chrysler bought Lamborghini in 1987 his angular shape was softened by the American company's studio, producing the smoother, more aerodynamic body that defined the Lamborghini Diablo. At its heart was a mid-mounted 5.7-litre V12 producing around 485 horsepower, enough to make the Diablo the first production Lamborghini capable of exceeding 200 mph. The range expanded rapidly: the rear-drive base car was joined in 1993 by the all-wheel-drive Diablo VT ("Viscous Traction"), Lamborghini's first four-wheel-drive road car, followed by the lightweight SE30 anniversary special, the hardcore rear-drive SV, the open Roadster, and finally the 6.0-litre VT of 2000-2001 with revised Audi-era styling. Built in Sant'Agata Bolognese, the Lamborghini Diablo remained in production until 2001, when the Murcielago took over, with 2,903 examples made. The Lamborghini Diablo is now a celebrated 1990s icon and the last analogue, Gandini-rooted Lamborghini supercar.