Lamborghini Diablo GTR (2000)

Feruccio Lamborghini remained at the helm of his company for just nine years, selling a majority stake in 1972 and departing Sant’Agata Bolognese entirely in 1974. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1978, although in true Lamborghini fashion, production of their ageing Countach continued. Finally, in 1984, the company was purchased by two French brothers, Jean-Claude and Patrick Mimran.

The brothers immediately identified the need for a long-overdue Countach replacement and in mid 1985, work commenced on “Project 132”. Entering production in 1990, appropriately dubbed the Diablo, the new car featured a square-section spaceframe chassis, aluminium bodywork and a 5.7-litre V12. Now producing a little under 500 horsepower, its 202 mph capability momentarily rendered it the fastest production car in the world. However, the Diablo’s size and weight, initially 1,580 kilograms, made the original iteration somewhat unwieldly.

With “first generation” production spawning a variety of derivatives, such as the four-wheel-drive VT, high-performance SV and lightweight SE30, the Diablo received a substantial makeover in 1999; a power increase to 529 horsepower, revised dashboard layout and the introduction of fixed-lens headlights being the most significant changes. Notably, the introduction of the second-generation Diablo was accompanied by that of the Diablo GT; a track-focussed, road-legal model partly inspired by the GT2 racing iteration developed just the year before.

Nevertheless, the factory would go on to produce a number of competition variants; First, at the request of the Japanese Lamborghini Owners Club was the Jota. The initial foray into motorsport was limited, and only three were made, followed by two of the GT1 Stradale.

Reviving the ‘SV’ badge that had graced the Miura some 25 years early, 1996 saw the introduction of the Diablo SV-R at the Geneva Motorshow. 1996 also saw the introduction of the one-make, Philippe Charriol Supertrophy race series for which 28(+4) ‘SV-R’s were built. This series which would immediately captivate its audience at its opening round as the support race for the 1996 24h Le Mans. The European series would see the racing continue at the Nurburgring, Anderstorp and Spa Francorchamps to name but a few. The SV-Rs would compete for four years and would demonstrate the somewhat remarkable and unexpected durability of the V12; designed for road use, they had only been fettled to a minor degree for competition.