This 1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV is finished in the unique color scheme of Paris Blue over a light blue leather interior and shows 70,514 km at the time of cataloging. This Diablo was delivered new in October of 1998 at the Lamborghini factory in Sant Agata Bolognese and comes with its original stamped service booklet. The yellow “SV” graphics down the side of the car immediately tip you off to what variant of Diablo this is. Still, the discerning enthusiast will also be able to pick up on a few other visual cues. The twin roof scoops emerging from the engine bay and the front fender top vents are both elements taken from the ultra-limited SE30 but are done differently on the SV. Additionally, a unique set of OZ Racing 5-spoke multi-piece wheels with black centers are an SV signature item. This car is from the Diablo’s first facelift, where Lamborghini swapped out the pop-up headlamps for a set of fixed glass lenses that improved lighting and aerodynamics while driving at night. The visual impact of this car in its bright blue with the scrawled SV graphic along the side makes it, without a doubt one of the most attention-grabbing cars on the road, even 25 years after its production.
The interior of this Diablo is equally as eye-catching as the exterior, with bright blue leather covering the seats, center console, and dashboard. A 4-spoke airbag steering wheel sits in front of the driver and frames a simple set of white-on-black gauges, with a speedometer that goes all the way to 360 km/h. In the center stack sits an original Alpine “3D Shuttle” stereo head unit, a top of the line unit when this car was new, with a 3 disc changer in dash. Additionally, a digital climate control system is fitted as well as a button set with numbers 1-4, that is there to adjust the firmness of the suspension.
Powering the Diablo is a 5.7-liter V12, a heavily revised version of the V12 found in all of Lamborghini’s previous V12-powered cars. Although this engine produced 485 horsepower in VT form, for the SV, that figure grew to 530 horsepower, which was sent through a 5-speed gated “Dog leg” manual gearbox to the rear wheels. In SV guise, the Diablo is capable of 0-100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds and tops out in excess of 328 km/h. The Diablo SV is a car for the true driving enthusiast- with so much power going to just the rear wheels, it became well known for its tail-happy antics and having difficulty putting all the power down on anything but the perfect road surface. That being said, few cars can provide the same sort of thrills for those who enjoy excitement in their drive. Notably, the Diablo was the final V12-powered car from Lamborghini to be available as rear-wheel drive, and the final produced exclusively with a manual gearbox.
In recent years, collectors have begun to appreciate Lamborghini as the ultimate in Italian supercar excess, and prices have begun to skyrocket. Outside of the ultra-limited production variants like the SE30 and Diablo GT, the Diablo SV represents the pinnacle of driving excitement from the Diablo range, and values are only just beginning to catch up. If the idea of a limited-production V12 Italian supercar with a manual transmission appeals to you, look no further.
