18 WHEELS OF STEEL PEDAL TO METAL

The Lamborghini Diablo was a high-performance mid-engined sports car built by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1990 and 2001. It was the first Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess of 200 miles per hour (320 km/h). After the end of its production run in 2001, the Diablo was replaced by the Lamborghini Murcielago.

The car became known as the Diablo, carrying on Lamborghini's tradition of naming its cars after breeds of fighting bull. The Diablo was named after a ferocious bull raised by the Duke of Veragua in the 19th century, famous for fighting an epic battle with 'El Chicorro' in Madrid on July 11, 1869.

After Audi AG took over Lamborghini from its former South East Asian owners in 1998, Mycom and VPower, they set out to modernize and refine the Diablo, while its replacement, the Murcielago, was developed. Audi tasked Luc Donckerwolcke with designing a more refined, more civilized, and more modern Diablo. The 6.0 VT was the result of that design. It featured heavy styling changes both inside and out; the front bumper now featured two large air intakes and the nose was flattened. It sat on large 18 inch monoblock alloy wheels reminiscent of the five hole dial wheels of the Countach. Significant changes were made to the interior too, the drivers seat was moved in line with the pedals, and climate control air conditioning was standard. There was a much larger use of carbon fibre too, to the point that only the doors and roof were metal. (alloy and steel respectively) Magnesium was used for the wheels, cylinder heads and inlet manifolds, and the con-rods were made from titanium. The centre console was one large piece of carbon fiber.

The 6.0 VT featured the new 6.0 litre V12, based on the motor that powered the Diablo GT (which in itself was essentially a modified version of the 5.7) The motor had updated ECU software in addition to new intake and exhaust systems and a refined variable valve timing system with slightly less aggressive camshafts than had been used in the earlier versions. With a power output of 550 BHP directly from the factory, the Diablo VT 6.0 was again to be considered a major competitor in the super car league, and Automobili Lamborghini SpA focused all their resources on this final Diablo model and the successor, all other models in the range were halted, no more Roadster or SV models were offered. The 6.0 VT had higher comfort levels, came with air conditioning as standard, the seats were much improved and the interior draped in glistening carbon fibre. The build quality was superior to any previous Diablo model. These improvements would make the 6.0 VT the most practical of all the Diablos.