Lamborghini Diablo SV-R Breaks Necks on Street Drive
Recently posted for auction, gawk as #16 of 31 of this extremely rare 1996 motorsport legend cruises Melbourne’s city streets.
Many of us have had a Lamborghini poster on our bedroom walls while growing up. If you grew up in the 90’s, well that Lamborghini would have been a Diablo. Even if you had never seen one before, you dreamed about it, and always wondered what it would be like. Living in Southern California, you might assume we see Lamborghinis on the street too regularly and get bored of them.
Well, it’s been a couple decades seeing these and I’m still not bored. Not to mention, cars like these even in a place like this are extremely rare. So could you imagine what it would be like to see a Diablo SV-R race car, of which only 31 were made ever, cruising your local streets? Absolute awe. We thank the good folks at Hartnett Media for getting the footage of this stunner. Check out their YouTube for some more stunning cinematic 4K shots.
Lamborghini’s First ever motorsport-only vehicle
For those unfamiliar with this particular model, the Diablo SV-R was built as the motorsport-only, lightweight version of the facelifted Diablo SV. About 400 pounds lighter than a regular SV, this vehicle had a sole focus: go fast on a race track.
Yes, this vehicle is not street legal. You can’t even register this one either folks, it only has a motorsport chassis number, no VIN or license plate to be found.
At the time, founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, had no interest in building street legal race cars like their rivals at Ferrari. He hated the idea so much actually, that he built this specific vehicle to avoid having to sell these vehicles to the public.
You see, normally a new vehicle built by a manufacturer has to be homologated, which allows implies they must sell a certain amount of the vehicle publicly to qualify for specific racing series or class. Lamborghini had zero interest in doing that, so they built their own racing series based around this vehicle, the Diablo SV-R.
This racing series is known as Lamborghini Super Trofeo, a series that continues to this day and is now an integral part of the company’s motorsport focus. The opening Super Trofeo race was held at the 1996 24 Hours Of Le Mans.
No parking brake, no keys, no problem
Yes, this Lamborghini is the real deal. No interior, no A/C, plexiglass windows, pneumatic air jacks, center lock wheels, and a 7,700 redline 5.7-liter V12 ripping a serious 533 HP.
If you bought a SV-R to race back in the ’90s, included in the purchase price was a full season of support from the factory, entry to the series, along with all repairs and maintenance dealt with by Lamborghini as well.
So you might understand the literal mind lapse that would occur if I saw this passing me on the freeway. The SV-R is without a doubt one to remember.
This beautiful model, number 16 of 33 will go is currently up for auction. Those interested can find more information here.
Join the 6SpeedOnline forums now!
