1992 Lamborghini Diablo

Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale this stunning 1992 Lamborghini Diablo. This factory right hand drive example was delivered new into Hong Kong and sold by the Lamborghini dealer Kingsway Cars.

In 1996 the car was returned to the Lamborghini factory in Sant’ Agata Bolognese in Italy to undergo some upgrades.  Whilst there it received some cosmetic upgrades from the later VT model. The instrument binnacle was replaced, engine bay panels were fitted and also power steering. Whilst the car was at the factory it also underwent a major service.

Most of the ownership history of the car is known. In the late 1990s it was owned by an expat British police officer living in Hong Kong. In 2003 he sold the car to an expat Australian working in Hong Kong. The Diablo changed hands again in 2006 when it was ‘opportunistically sold’ to another Australian, an airline pilot working for Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong. Whilst in Hong Kong the car was registered as JN2812. In his ownership the car underwent some significant mechanical work. This included an engine rebuild, a suspension overhaul, refurbishment of the brake calipers and a repaint. All that work was completed in November 2008. There is an invoice on file for it totaling HK $395,000 which is approximately $77,000.

In 2009 the owner relocated back to Australia and he brought the car with him. He imported the car as a personal import and it was subsequently registered in NSW. Shortly after arriving in Australia the car was given a service and at that time the mileage was noted as 21,720 km.

A year later, in August 2009 the gearbox was overhauled by Mike Roddy in Moorabbin, Victoria.

The owner enjoyed the car on the wide open roads in country Australia and eventually sold the car in 2015. The car was then purchased by a well-known car collector in Adelaide. In his ownership the car had a major service done by Italian car specialists Veloce Motorsports.

This car is well known to Oldtimer Australia, having been sold by us for its Adelaide based owner to the current owner back in May 2017. At that time the odometer read 32,755 km.

The current owner, who is major Lamborghini enthusiast and collector has used the car and travelled some 4,500 km in his seven years of ownership. In his ownership the car has been maintained by Melbourne based classic Lamborghini specialist Sports & Classic Car services. The most recent annual service and safety check was performed by them on 10^th June 2022 and at that time the odometer read 36,866 km.

Today the odometer reads 37,256 km and the car still presents exceptionally well.

It has been 15 years since the car was repainted but the paint is still in excellent condition and one has to look closely to find any imperfections. It retains a strong depth of colour and a deep gloss finish. Probably the most noticeable imperfections are a small crack in the paint on top of the grill panel at the rear of the car and one on the rear of the engine cover. Both are very minor and could easily be touched up. The front bumper is also not a perfect fit.

All the glass on the car is in good condition with no stone chips or cracks visible. There really isn’t much brightwork on the car other than the batches which are all in good condition.

The trademark Diablo wheels are in excellent condition with no kerb rash evident. They are shod with Kumho Ecsta tyres, size 245/40/ZR17 at the front and Michelin Pilot Sport tyres. size 335/35ZR17 at the rear. The front tyres are date stamped 4808 (week 48, 2008) whilst these still are in good condition, they should be replaced based on age. The rear tyres are date stamped 2821 (week 28, 2021).

Open the scissor doors and you are welcomed by a very well presented interior. The beige coloured leather seats in combination with the red carpets and the black top of the dashboard really suits the car and perfectly complements the exterior paint. The seats are in good condition with no rips, tears or cracks evident in the leather. The same can be said for the door cards. The carpets are also in very good condition, the dashboard presents well and all the instruments appear to be in good working order. The only exception is the display for the climate control system, where not all the digits are fully displayed. The other small defect we noticed is a tear in the lower door rubber, most likely caused when people got in and out of the car. In October 2011 the sound system in the car was upgraded to an Alpine digital media receiver with a 4 channel amplifier and a Pioneer subwoofer.

The seats look inviting and comfortable, which is confirmed once you slide in behind the steering wheel. Getting into the car is relatively easy due to the access provided by the scissor doors. This is a big car and unlike the Countach, the cabin feels quite spacious. Visibility is surprisingly good especially when you are considering that you are driving a Lamborghini supercar!

Once familiar with the car and after getting comfortable behind the wheel, it is time for our eagerly awaited test drive.

At the turn of the key, the massive V12 engine burst into life with a guttural growl. First impressions are good, the car starts easily even from cold and then settles into a smooth idle. From cold the engine will initially idle with higher revs until it completes its startup checks and begins to warm up. Once done, it’s time to go! With some trepidation we inch the mighty Diablo through our front gate and out on the open road. The car is extremely low at the front and you have to be very careful when you exit a drive way or go over any significant bumps.

After a few short miles you quickly forget that you are driving such a big car. This Diablo is an absolute blast and it is surprisingly easy to drive. The more you drive it the better it gets and the more comfortable you feel in the car! The engine has almost unlimited power on tap and it will push the car to warp speed in the blink of an eye with neck snapping acceleration. The gear changes both up and down the box are easy and smooth. The car is very tight on the road with no obvious rattles. Reversing a Diablo is not for the faint hearted and it is then you appreciate the size of the car! You sit so far forward with that massive longitudinally mounted engine behind your head.

Needless to say, the car attracted plenty of attention during our photo shoot. The car has an incredible presence and we received a lot of positive comments.

The Diablo has aged well and incredibly this car is now 32 years old.

Accompanying the car is a good history file, an original owner’s manual, a sales and service organisation booklet, the original tyre inflator bottle, the bag with the tow hook and a tool bag with the spare belt and light bulbs.

What a car!

Highlights:

• Well presented example of an iconic Lamborghini.
• Factory RHD.
• Cosmetically upgrade with some VT features by the factory.
• Fabulous original colour scheme.
• Low mileage
• Ready to use and enjoy.

Price –

 

Background

The Lamborghini story is fascinating in itself but for the company to have survived all these years and indeed celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2013 is quite amazing. Ferruccio Lamborghini was an entrepreneur, a very successful businessman and a lover of the finer things in life, including sports cars. He was fortunate enough to own some wonderful cars including Ferraris, however, he found fault with them all. According to the legend, following a meeting with Enzo Ferrari to discuss some of the shortcomings of his cars, Enzo dismissed Ferruccio and he subsequently decided that he could and would build a better car.

Not long after, in May 1963, Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini SPA was established and the small town of Sant’Agata Bolognese, located between Modena and Bologna, was chosen as the location to build the factory. Born under the Zodiac sign Taurus, Lamborghini chose the raging bull as the emblem for his sports cars.

Lamborghini knew what he wanted and he put together a highly skilled team. His first car, the 350 GTV, was shown at the Turin Motor Show in October 1963. This car received mixed reviews, however, Lamborghini was not deterred and made a number of improvements and design changes to the original concept. The first Lamborghini production car, the 350 GT, left the factory in 1964.

The 350 GT evolved into the 400 GT 2+2 and later the Islero. In parallel to building these classic front engine V12 GT cars, Lamborghini wanted to build a supercar. Enter the Miura, which was first shown as a rolling chassis at the Turin Motor Show in November 1965. Fast track to the 1966 Geneva Motor Show and the stunning Bertone designed Miura was officially released to critical acclaim. The Miura is considered by many to be the first real ‘supercar’. The first model was known as the P400, followed by the P400S introduced in 1969 and the P400SV which was introduced in 1971. Even though the Miura was a great success it was starting to show its age.

Under the project name LP112, chief engineer Paolo Stanzani and his staff began working on a successor to the Miura in 1970. For this project, he collaborated with test driver Bob Wallace, assistant engineer Massimo Parenti and designer Marcello Gandini of Bertone.

Ferruccio Lamborghini had a preference for Grand Tourers, but he recognized there was a real market for uncompromising sports cars. He gave the development team his approval to push the boundaries even further than what they had done while designing the Miura.

The first prototype, designated LP500, was first shown to the world at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. The prototype Countach shocked the world. Surely ‘just another show car’ they said. The Miura was a tough act to follow and Bertone’s design team pushed the boundaries to create what is today one of the most recognisable shapes on the planet! The word ‘Countach’ is a slang exclamation of astonishment in Piedmontese, a northern Italian dialect. This expletive was uttered when one of Bertone’s design team members was building a scale model of the car . . . and it stuck! The Countach became reality when the first production car rolled off the Sant’ Agata production line in 1974.

The original LP400 was replaced by the LP400S in 1978. The “S” model had the wide wheel arches and uprated suspension to accommodate the massive Pirelli P7 tyres / Campagnolo wheel rims along with other subtle improvements. In 1982 the LP500S (also referred to as the LP5000S) was introduced. The major change here was the increased engine capacity from 3929 cc to 4754cc. The Countach continued to evolve and in the 1985 the LP5000 Quattrovalvole (or “QV”) was introduced. With the “QV” the engine was improved again, bored and stroked to 5.2 litres (5,167 cc) and given four valves per cylinder (quattrovalvole in Italian). The final variant of the Countach, the 25th Anniversary, was released in 1988.

What an impossible act to follow, but Lamborghini was up for the challenge and development of the successor to the Countach, code named Project 132, commenced in the mid 1985 whilst the company was under the control of the Mimram brothers. It was a difficult time for Lamborghini and whilst the sale to Chrysler in 1987 pushed the project backwards because the bosses in Detroit were not happy with Marcello Gandini’s proposed design, the end result was no doubt worth the wait. The Diablo (or “Devil”) is an illustrious breed of Spanish fighting bull and it was the name given to Lamborghinis new supercar. It was first shown (formally) at the Chicago Auto Show in January 1990 and with a claimed top speed of 202 mph was to be the world’s fastest production car.

The Diablo entered production by mid 1990 and evolved through a number of different models including the VT (all wheel drive), Roadster, SE30, SV and the 6.0 being the final iteration of the eleven year production run.

 

 

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