1993 Lamborghini Diablo Test Drive

To create a successor for the legendary Countach was a tough job for Lamborghini It would have to be faster, ore practical and comply with tougher safety and emission regulations. Yet the basics of the car – launched in 1990 – remained much the same. The engine was still a quad-cam V12 but all new and bigger now, its capacity increased from 5167 to 5729cc for an excellent output. Like before it was laid out longitudinally, with the gearbox in the front and the cooling radiators in the rear. Double wishbone suspension was used all around, again classic supercar hardware.

The hardest part was designing the bodywork, which had to out-wow the wildest looking car of them all. Marcello Gandini, the man who had styled the Miura and the Countach, was hired again for the new car and created a cleaner, longer shape, though perhaps it was not such a memorable one as the Countach had been in 1971. Where it did score over the Countach was in aerodynamics. The combination of a low drag factor and more power pushed the top speed over the impressive 200mph mark.