Automobili Lamborghini is celebrating 30 years of an iconic super sports car - the Diablo. The Diablo was launched in 1990 but it had been under development for 5 years before it set foot into any home. Codenamed Project 132, the Diablo was in fact a replacement for the much loved Countach. The clean and aggressive lines are the result of a project by Marcello Gandini that was partially revised by Chrysler's design centre, which in the meantime became the majority shareholder of Automobili Lamborghini.
The Lamborghini Diablo was under development for 5 years, and it was codenamed Project 132
When the Diablo was launched in 1990, it was officially the fastest production car in the world capable of a top speed of 325 kmph and that was thanks to the 5.7-litre engine with 4 overhead camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder with multi-point electronic injection. It pushed out 485 horses and a massive 580 Nm of peak torque. In fact till about 1993, the Diablo came with no driving aids or a power steering. It's absolute dynamic behaviour was the result of intense development work involving the rally champion Sandro Munari.
The Lamborghini Diablo came with a 5.7-litre engine that pushed out 485 horses and a massive 580 Nm of peak torque
In 1993, Automobili Lamborghini launched the Diablo VT, the first Lamborghini Granturismo to be equipped with four-wheel drive, which also brought a series of mechanical improvements and stylistic changes also to be soon adopted on the two-wheel drive version and then came a slew of special series cars with a bump in power of up to 523 horsepower.
The Diablo remains Lamborghini's most produced car to date with 2903 units made in total. It remained available until 2001, when it was succeeded by the Murcielago, but 30 years later it still remains one of the favourite cars in the world.
For the latest auto news and reviews, follow carandbike.com on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.