Where It All Began

The Lamborghini Diablo’s historic roots can be traced back in June 1985. Under the codename Project 132, Lamborghini sought out to craft a worthy successor to the legendary Countach, the brand’s flagship car. The aspirations were high, with the mandate demanding a minimum top speed of 315 km/h (196 mph). However, the minimum speed requirement shouldn’t be a problem, given Lamborghini’s automotive prowess and ingenuity.

Marcello Gandini, the creative mind behind its two predecessors, was entrusted with shaping the car’s design. However, when Chrysler Corporation bought the company in 1987, but there were some conflicts in the development process. They still continued to fund the project, but Chrysler wanted to implement a new dimension to the model’s body style. The management had a different direction in mind with Gandini’s aesthetics, and so the design reins were handed over to their Detroit-based design team for a complete redesign. This led to a third iteration of the design, smoothing out the distinctive sharp edges and corners of Gandini’s original concept. This new transformation left Gandini far from impressed, prompting him to later resurrect his original vision in the form of the Cizeta-Moroder V16T. The pursuit of this automotive marvel came at a steep price, with the development believed to have incurred costs totaling 6 billion Lire (about $3.5 million), a remarkable sum for a remarkable creation that would eventually etch its name in the record books of auto history.