5,707cc DOHC V12 Engine
Electronic Sequential Multi-Port Injection
492bhp at 7,000rpm
5-Speed Manual Transaxle
4-Wheel Independent Suspension
4-Wheel Brembo Ventilated Disc Brakes

*Striking Blue Chiaro paint scheme
*Single owner for the last fifteen years
*Over $163,000 in receipts
*One of only 200 first generation VT Roadsters built

THE LAMBORGHINI DIABLO

After 17 years in production, the legendary Countach was replaced by the Diablo, which on its arrival was the fastest, most advanced and most expensive Lamborghini ever built. First exhibited publicly at Monaco in January 1990, the Diablo improved on its illustrious predecessor in every way, setting a new benchmark in supercar design. It came as no surprise to learn that it had been styled by Marcello Gandini, the man responsible for the Lamborghini Miura and Countach, for the family resemblance was obvious.

Beneath the skin there was a steel spaceframe chassis, developed from the Countach's, but constructed of square-section rather than round tubing and incorporating 'crumple zones' at front and rear. The use of carbon fiber composite panels, first seen in the Countach Evoluzione model, was extended to the Diablo, which also featured revised suspension capable of accommodating the envisaged future developments of four-wheel drive and active suspension. Stretched to 5.7 liters for the Diablo, Lamborghini's 48-valve V12 engine gained fuel injection for the first time, producing its maximum of 492bhp at 7,000rpm. Of equal, if not greater significance, maximum torque went up to 428lb/ft, an improvement of 55% over the Countach. Catalytic converters were standard, enabling the reworked V12 to meet emissions requirements worldwide.

With more power and a lower drag coefficient than the Countach, the Diablo easily eclipsed its forebear, exceeding 200mph (322km/h) on test. More importantly, its acceleration and top speed figures were marginally better than those of the Ferrari F40. Although one of the world's most expensive cars, the Diablo was not a limited edition model like the latter but a series production car with a luxuriously appointed interior reflecting its designers' intention to produce a civilized Gran Turismo as suited to city streets and motorways as the racetrack. Four-wheel drive Diablo VT, with 'VT' standing for Viscous Traction, and Targa-style open roadster versions soon followed and then came the Diablo SE (Special Edition.) Only 150 examples of which were built to celebrate Lamborghini's 30 years as a car manufacturer.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

This Diablo VT Roadster left the Sant'Agata factory at the end of 1996 in the striking color scheme of Blue Chiaro over cream white bolsterS with matching blue center leather seats and was delivered new to California in the summer of 1997. Remaining out West between California, New Mexico and Nevada for the first five years of its life and accumulating a under 2000 kilometers a year (all Diablos have odometers in kilometers, even US market cars such as this one), it would head to the East Coast in August of 2002, residing in Virginia and Florida until 2004 when it was acquired by its long-time Virginian enthusiast.

The owner of the car for the past decade and a half has been a careful and meticulous custodian. While records from the first three owners and seven years of the car's life are scant, the subsequent 15 have seen regular and systematic maintenance performed with receipts of file totaling over $163,000. In addition to regular service, the Lambo has been subject to a selection of performance and cosmetic enhancements including color-matched three-piece 19" HRE wheels, Sebring Tuning exhaust, carbon fiber instrument cluster and center console covers, upgraded Pioneer sound system with head unit mounted screen and back-up camera, and a screen mounted in front of the passenger. A set of blue fire extinguishers, matching the rest of the color scheme, have also been mounted just behind the passengers.

The extensive CARFAX report records the history of the vehicle from new. It should be noted that, as with many Diablos with odometers that read in kilometers, confusion as to the actual mileage thanks to incorrect readings by the DMV and flip-flopping conversions from kilometers to miles and back again has rendered the car to be titled as "true mileage unknown" with the odometer showing 37,788km at the time of cataloging.

This all-wheel drive, 200mph monster of the 1990s is complete with its owner handbook and leather folio as well as heaps of receipts. The subject car of innumerable posters that hung on the walls of thousands of teenage enthusiasts in the mid- to late-1990s, these Diablos are being rediscovered as one of the most exciting supercars of its era. And rest assured, despite being two decades old, it'll still turn heads where ever it goes!