Talented Artist Gives Lamborghini Diablo a Modern Makeover
Bringing back beloved automotive models rarely works out well, but this modernized Diablo is a rare exception.
We often struggle with the idea of bringing back classic car models from the past. It’s somewhat like that great movie that you enjoyed all those years ago. What if producers decided to revive it, and it was just terrible and unwatchable? We certainly don’t want to soil the memory of something great, and that has happened all too often in the automotive world, too. But we must admit, YouTuber and artist The Sketch Monkey did the Lamborghini Diablo justice in this fascinating video.
It’s been roughly 20 years since the last Diablo was produced after a decade-plus run. It was the first production Lamborghini to break the 200 mile-per-hour mark. And to this day, many enthusiasts feel that it was the last “real” Lambo ever built, before Audi came into the picture. Regardless, to modernize this classic, it means applying today’s Lamborghini styling cues to a fairly old car. And that’s always a somewhat risky move.
In this case, The Sketch Monkey focuses on the rear three-quarters of the Diablo. There are some parts of the design that are off limits, however. “There are very distinct lines in every Lamborghini,” he says. “That specifically is this shoulder that that dips right here. We also can’t change the side view of this car, which means that we have to have this continuous line and not have any weird proportion changes.”
That leaves the rear end as the major focus, and it’s a part of the Diablo that does admittedly look a little dated. “I want to have some cool new lights in here,” The Sketch Monkey says. “Ones that resemble the new Y-shaped lights that are part of Lamborghini’s DNA nowadays. I also want to work on this lower part because we have some sort of step here. I want to integrate this better and have a cool modern looking diffuser and bumper.”
After some work, the resident artist does some pretty amazing work. And hes’ clearly impressed with it as well. “What’s really cool about Lamborghinis is that this is a 20-year-old car and it could still basically be a modern car. That’s how strong the Lamborghini design DNA is. I can’t think of another company where you can take a car from the ’90s or even the ’80s, apply some graphics, and release it today.”
Bringing an old, beloved car model back to life is rarely a good idea. But with the Diablo, The Sketch Monkey proves that in this case, perhaps dipping into the automotive graveyard is actually a good idea.
Join the 6SpeedOnline forums now!
