The Lamborghini Diablo was introduced in 1990 as a replacement for the long lived Countach, which had first been seen in 1971, and in production since 1973. Stylistically the Diablo shared many features with it's predecessor, including upward opening doors, a characteristic wedge shape and a mid-mounted V-12. This was no surprise as Marcello Gandini designed both cars. In fact, at the time of the Diablo's launch, Gandini had also styled another Italian supercar, the Cizeta V-16T, which looked very similar to the Diablo. Lamborghini and their then owners, the Chrysler Corporation were not pleased by the similarities between the two cars, but the Cizeta never made it into full production and only a handful of cars were built before the project folded.
Most Lamborghini's prior to the Diablo were named after famous fighting bull's, which went with the logo on the Lamborghini badge. (The Countach being an exception, "Countach" being a local expression for astonishment in the region of Italy where Lamborghini's are built). Although it also means "the Devil", Diablo is the name of a famous fighting bull.
Throughout the 1990s, Lamborghini constantly improved the Diablo. A four wheel drive version known as the "Diablo VT" was introduced in the mid-1990s, along with a new Targa roofed version known as the Diablo Roadster. Ownership of Lamborghini itself changed first from Chrysler to a Malaysian consortium and then to current owners Audi. The cheapest (by Lamborghini standards!) model became the lightweight rear wheel drive only SV, which was not only the cheapest, but also the fastest, as it had an uprated engine and was lighter mainly due to the removal of the extra components required for the four wheel drive system.
In 1998, the pop-up headlights were replaced by flush fitting headlamp units from the Nissan 300ZX (in the belief that pop-up headlights were soon to be banned in the all important US market). Engine size also grew to 5.7 litres, with a corresponding increase in power.
By 1999, the Diablo was due to have been replaced, but new owners Audi did not like the planned replacement, and hence started a re-design which will meant the Diablo stayed in production until 2001 (when it was replaced by the new Lamborghini Murcielago). To keep it fresh in the marketplace, a special new model, the lightweight and extra powerful Diablo 6.0 was introduced in 1999. Contemporary road testers loved it as they felt it represented the last of it's kind in brutish mid-engined Italian supercars. It was certainly not a user friendly car, with heavy steering, poor visibility and a tricky clutch, not to mention an uncomfortable off-set driving position, but the motoring press loved it's "character" and uniqueness in the marketplace. By contrast, Ferrari went back to a front engined layout for it's latest range topper, the Maranello. This makes it easier to see out of and Ferrari have also made it's controls smoother and lighter, so that trundling around in traffic is no problem.
This model is by AUTOart, and it was one of the first models they released. Since 1999, they have quickly established themselves as making some of the highest quality models available. The fit and finish are generally good, and the red paintwork looks great. The interior is well detailed and carpeted, as is the front luggage compartment (which also contains the amplifier for the cars standard Kenwood hi-fi system). The engine bay is nicely replicated, and the trademark V-12 firing order is visible on the internal engine cover. AUTOart also make a Diablo SV Coupe and a VT Coupe in a variety of colours, and both are also in my collection! The Diablo GTR is also made by AUTOart, but they cancelled plans to make the 6.0 end of the line Diablo, which was a shame.
The only gripes I have are the left hand side door mirror which is loose (but luckily sits in the correct position), and that the roof panel which was supposed to be easily taken on and off, was glued in place, and consequently I broke some of the locating pins for it when trying to take it off while photographing the model! Luckily it sits in place correctly without the pins, but it was a fault nonetheless.
Below is a link to a sound file which allows you to listen to a Diablo start up and accelerate away. The V-12 engine sounds superb! Be sure to listen.
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Diablo starting up and accelerating away (WAV file)
