1997 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster is Bonkers in So Many Ways
In the 1990s, the Diablo Roadster was an outrageous car. Even after 20+ years, there’s nothing quite like this roof-optional raging bull.
Lamborghini is not known for its subtlety. For decades, it’s been producing cars that instantly draw the eye and show what is possible when designers go to the extreme edges of their creativity. The Miura was a stunner back in the 1960s and continues to be. Its successor, the Countach (an Italian slang word to express amazement) is literally stunning. In the early ’90s, Lamborghini showed it still had the ability to wow people when it released the angular and exaggerated Diablo. A few years later, it made the Diablo even more visually dramatic by creating a Roadster version of it.
YouTube star Doug DeMuro recently got his hands on a 1997 Diablo VT Roadster. As he explains in one of his latest video reviews, “Lamborghini had never done a real convertible version of the Miura or the Countach so when they introduced … the removable-roof Diablo Roadster, it was a pretty big deal.” You might think that after 22 years the car may seem more normal considering exotics such as the quad-turbo W16 Bugatti Veyron and hybrid-V12 Ferrari LaFerrari have come out since it was on the market. If you do, you’re wrong. As DeMuro’s video shows, the Diablo Roadster is still as awesomely odd (or is that oddly awesome?) as it was back in the day.
Just look at it. Even if it was in flat white, it would be impossible to ignore. If its extreme wedge profile and steeply raked windshield don’t catch your eye, its numerous air intakes and massive rear wing will. Even the angled shape of its rear wheel arches stands out, particularly to DeMuro. He takes the time point it out, saying, “That, to me, just made this car look so aggressive, so mean. I really think it was the most aggressive, crazy design of ANY 1990s car.”
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That lunacy extends to the Diablo’s key. There’s no hole at the top to allow you to slip it onto a key ring. Instead, you’re supposed to attach it to a special Lamborghini keyring…that fits around the middle of the key.
Inside, there’s a touch of logic to the sun visors, which were designed with the removable top’s latches in mind. Beyond that, the cockpit is an odd assortment of functionless buttons, nonsensical lighting, almost non-existent storage space, and a passenger-side airbag pod that was clearly installed as an afterthought.
Above all of that is a removable roof panel. Normally, DeMuro demonstrates his review cars’ various features, but he decides not to take the Diablo Roadster’s top off. It’s not because it’s difficult; throwing the four interior latches would be easy. It’s because it’s dangerous – cosmetically. Lamborghini designed the top to fit over the cover for the Diablo’s V12 engine. DeMuro says, “When you remove the roof and put it on the engine cover, you end up damaging the engine cover because it’s a painted surface and if you don’t perfectly line it up, you will scratch it.”
That double-duty panel covers the Diablo VT Roadster’s naturally aspirated 5.7-liter V12, which generates 485 horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque. Those two letters in the middle, VT, mean the Roadster routes its output through all four wheels.
On the road, the Diablo feels super low to the ground. Its suspension doesn’t do much to filter out imperfections in the pavement. Despite its crudeness, DeMuro loves driving the Diablo. “This thing is just the coolest damn car on the road.” We’re not shocked he said that, which is saying a lot considering the Diablo is optical lightning. It could be locked alone inside a windowless room and still stop traffic.
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