1996 Lamborghini Diablo Roadster VT

It was 1990 when the world was introduced to the new model from Sant’Agata, as the successor to the then 16-year-old Countach. In 1987, the development of the model begins to take off, when Chrysler acquires the company for a sloppy $25 million. Marcello Gandini has had an idea ready for some time by then, called Project 132, but Chrysler finds it too dated and too sharply lined at that point and shoves Gandini into the background. Chrysler's own Tom Gale of the Chrysler Styling Centre was allowed to revive the project to come up with a smoother and more subdued version of Gandini’s project.In 1990, the Diablo was ready to be shown to the public during the second Lamborghini Day at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo.The folding headlights, upward-hinged doors and extremely thick rear end make every attendee's lower jaw drop quite a bit, followed by applause.Under the long tailgate a 5.7-liter V12 with two overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and a simple computer-controlled multipoint gasoline injection. The power? An incredible 492 hp plus 580 Nm of torque in those days. With that, the 1,576-pound Lambo races to a hundred in 4.5 seconds. It is the brand's first car to pass the magic 200 miles per hour mark. Only at 202 miles per hour, or 325 km/h, does the porridge run out. Rummaging eternally through the options list is not necessary. Standard features include fully adjustable seats and steering wheel, power windows, an Alpine radio (who needs that in a Diablo?!) and, starting in 1993, power steering. Right, the first three years come down to muscular arms. In 1993 also appears the Diablo VT, which stands for Viscous Traction, Lamborghini's four-wheel drive system. Then in 1995 the open version of the Diablo, the Roadster VT, of which only about 200 were built,that is the variant we offer here, delivered on February 28, 1996 in America and received a Dutch license plate in 2012. Despite its height of only 1.10 meters, you cannot overlook the supercar: bright blue metallic paint, an interior finished in beige leather with lots of carbon parts: an absolute attention-getter, this Diablo. The bodywork is beautiful, the paintwork in very good condition. The Lamborghini looks in één word great, made even more striking by the original chrome multi-piece wheels. What an impressive car it is. Built at a time when consessions for pedestrians, following an "average taste of the target audience" was not yet seen as leading. No, an extremely designed car as it had to be in the eyes of Lamborghini.The interior is also completely uncompromising. The wide center tunnel, the large dome behind the steering wheel that accommodates all the important instruments. The small, almost anonymous steering wheel, inviting to grasp very firmly when the huge V12 is allowed to show what it is capable of. Everything radiates that this car is capable of masterful performance. At the same time, the car also exudes that it has always been cherished. Beige leather upholstery can quickly look used, but everything on this Diablo is still in magnificent condition. If there is ísomething important when buying a Diablo, it is the condition of the technology. Well, with this Lamborghini you don't have to worry about that. Over the past year and a half, the Roadster VT underwent a complete technical restoration at the official dealer. Invoices with the car show that well over €100,000 was invested to get the car back into formidable condition. That restoration included everything that actually comes to light in a car of this age when you look in detail at what can be improved.The result is stunning, a Diablo Roadster VT in fact in new condition, in brilliant color scheme. A beloved open version ready for a new chapter in its exciting boy's book. This boy book comes complete with invoices, original booklets, in the original suède folder. You are unlikely to find a better copy.