A DREAM COME TRUE - LAMBORGHINI DIABLO

LAMBORGHINI DIABLO

Lamborghini Diablo SV

It was time when Lamborghini started feeling the need of a legendary supercar that can exceed speed of 200 mph. That was the time when Lamborghini Diablo came to life. It was like a dream come true for Lamborghini. After it’s predecessor – The Countach, Diablo also continued the legacy of beating it’s rivals to death. Diablo is Spanish for “Devil”, and the name clearly suits the car. The car became known as the Diablo, carrying on Lamborghini's tradition of naming its cars after breeds of fighting bulls. The Diablo was named after a ferocious bull raised by the Duke of Veragua in the 19th century. Development of Diablo began in 1985, it took 5 years to develop this legendary beast. It was introduced in 1990. It was the first Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess of 200 miles per hour.

The car was originally designed by Marcello Gandini, who designed two of lamborghini’s previous cars. When Lamborghini was owned by Chrystler in 1987, Chrystler changed some of Gandini’s design and softened the edges. They changed the design to something more human, more practical, but also less violent, less aggressive. Gandini was so disappointed by the change that he later applied his original design in Cizeta V16T.

Diablo was produced from 1990 to 2001. A total of 2884 units were ever produced.

Lamborghini Diablo has appeared in many racing video games. It appeared in almost every game of Need For Speed since Need For Speed 3 Hot Pursuit. It has also appeared in games Forza Horizon, Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo.

Lamborghini Diablo in Need For Speed : Hot Pursuit (2010)

Lamborghini Diablo in Forza Horizon

PERFORMANCE

Diablo’s power came from a 5.7 L , 48-valve version of the existing Lamborghini V12 featuring dual overhead cams and computer-controlled multi-point fuel injection, producing a maximum output of 485 bhp and 580 Nm of torque. It could reach from 0-100 kmph in just 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 325 kmph. The Diablo was rear-wheel drive and the engine was mid-mounted to aid its weight balance.

DESIGN

The body design no longer suffered from the big air intakes on the rear shoulders as on the Countach, now these intakes were neatly incorporated into the lines, and supplied air to the radiators, which were placed at the far rear of the car. A rear bumper with integrated spoiler kept the engine compartment cool by pulling out the hot air, while a big rear wing could still be ordered as a $4,500 option. An air intake on each side in front of the rear wheels cooled the big rear disk brakes, while in the front spoiler, next to the flashing lights, an extra intake was mounted to cool the front brakes. These brakes were covered with massive 17-inch wheels with big Pirelli P Zero's mounted on them.

INTERIOR

Diablo was a well equipped car. Standard features included included fully adjustable seats and steering wheel, electric windows and an Alpine stereo system. A few options were available, including a custom-molded driver's seat, remote CD changer and subwoofer, factory fitted luggage set (priced at $2,600) and an exclusive Breguet clock for the dash (priced at $10,500).

Lamborghini Diablo's Interior

DIABLO VT

The Diablo VT was introduced in 1993. VT featured power steering and and all wheel drive system which were not present in standard Diablo. This provided the new nomenclature for the car (VT stands for viscous traction). The new drivetrain could direct up to 25% of the torque to the front wheels to aid traction during rear wheel slip, thus significantly improving the handling characteristics of the car. Other improvements included front air intakes below the driving lamps to improve brake cooling, larger intakes in the rear arches, a more ergonomic interior with a revised electronically adjustable dampers, four-piston brake calipers, power steering, and minor engine refinements.

Lamborghini Diablo VT

DIABLO SV (SUPERVELOCE)

Diablo SV was introduced in 1995. SV was actually based on standard Diablo, so it did not feature All Wheel Drive. But, SV had more power, now producing 510 bhp. An adjustable rear spoiler was installed as standard equipment and could be color-matched to the car body or formed from carbon fiber. Other exterior changes included black tail lamp surrounds, repositioned rear fog and reverse lamps, dual front foglamps , an extra set of front brake cooling ducts, a ducted engine lid, and optional "SV" decals for the sides of the car.

Lamborghini Diablo SV

FACELIFT (1998 -2001)

A facelifted version of Diablo was launced in 1998, wliminating the base version and making SV a standard version and VT was also available with same changes. The most notable change was fixed headlamps borrowed from Nissan 300ZX instead of the foldable ones. The Diablo range also received an updated interior. Instead of the traditional flat dashboard with a separate upright instrument binnacle, as in many Italian sports cars of the era (and the previous Diablo), the new dash was an integrated wave-shaped design. A thin strip of black glass ran the length of the dash and contained various instrument indicator and warning lamps. This aesthetic design was inspired by Bang & Olufsen Hi-Fi products. The power was bumped up to 529 bhp and 605 Nm of torque for both SV and VT units.