By Cam Tait \/ Tuesday, 12 September 2023 \/ Loading comments<\/p>\n
Anticipation must’ve been sky-high when the first drives of the Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 took place. This was the first release under Audi ownership, and while there\u2019s only so much the German car giant could do with existing models, the company was keen to prove that it\u2019d be taking a hands-on approach. How could Audi, a company synonymous with sensible saloons, improve on a car as unhinged as the Diablo without watering down the silliness?<\/p>\n
As we now know, Audi came out of the gate swinging. The fastest way to a Lamborghini owner\u2019s heart is to always offer more power, preferably with twelve cylinders arranged in a V. So Audi decided to lump in the 6.0-litre V12 from the ultra-rare Diablo GT, albeit with tweaks to the variable valve timing and ECU, as well as a new exhaust and intake, resulting in a 558hp output just shy of the 7,500rpm redline. Audi stuck with the Diablo\u2019s five-speed manual, too, saving the more \u2018accessible\u2019 automated transmission for the Murcielago \u2013 and even then it arrived a couple of years down the road.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the styling was given a refresh to bring the very-’90s design into the Millennium. The last time Lamborghini gave one of its models a significant mid-life facelift it was the Countach 25th Anniversary, styled by Horacio Pagani no less, which didn\u2019t quite live up to the reputation he enjoys now. The Diablo refresh, however, would be far more successful. Audi-appointed Luc Donckerwolke was tasked with restyling the VT 6.0, smoothing off some of the Diablo\u2019s edges for a look that \u2013 very loosely \u2013 previews the design language Lamborghini would carry for over a decade. Perhaps not quite as intimidating as earlier models, but it was still more ludicrous than anything else on the market at the time.<\/p>\n
The interior was given a major overhaul, too. While a refreshed cabin design had been introduced on the 1998 facelift, further changes were brought in for the VT 6.0 \u2013 namely a better seat position to open up more legroom, plus a repositioning of the pedals so they were no longer comically off-centre. Of course, there\u2019s an appeal to an Italian supercar with wonky ergonomics, but Audi tried to prove a point with the VT 6.0 that driving a performance car doesn\u2019t have to be a chore.<\/p>\n
Being an embryo at the time, PH didn\u2019t get around to driving the VT 6.0 back in the day, but, if we had, there\u2019s a good chance we\u2019d have driven this very car. It\u2019s the old Lamborghini demonstrator, the very machine that showed journalists first-hand that the company\u2019s future was in safe hands under Audi ownership. It doesn\u2019t hurt that it spent its early life being thrashed by legendary Lamborghini test driver, Valentino Balboni, who was reacquainted with chassis 12408 in 2020 and gave it an \u2018inspection\u2019. Who knows what that entailed, although here\u2019s hoping it was a good hammering through the hills of Sant\u2019Agata.<\/p>\n
Naturally, a Lamborghini with this sort of heritage commands a value of such magnitude it can only be displayed with a trio of letters: POA. If, however, you\u2019d prefer to forfeit a little prestige for one with a steering wheel on the correct side, then there\u2019s this 22,000-mile example for \u00a3349,990. That\u2019s a hefty premium for a Diablo, and a good chunk more than most of its successors. But the VT 6.0 was something special; turning apprehension into excitement as Lamborghini moved into a new era that it has never looked back from.<\/p>\n