Lamborghini Diablo SV Review | Revisiting a Need for Speed Legend!

A couple of weeks ago, right before I was supposed to go on holiday, I got a message saying, would you like to come and drive a car and make a video on it? It was pretty short notice. We wouldn't have long to film the car. We wouldn't have long to put the edit together either. Doesn't sound like an ideal opportunity, but when the car in question is one of your all-time heroes, then there's only one answer. Welcome to the Lamborghini Diablo SV. First launched in 1995 as a back-to-basics purist's take on the Lamborghini supercar, it not only provided a much-needed shot in the arm for the Diablo's struggling sales figures, but it also became a poster car for millions of petrolheads around the world. Rear-wheel drive only, five-speed dogleg manual gearbox, and well over 500 brake horsepower from its 5.7 litre V12, it was wrapped up in some of the most iconic bodywork of all time. I remember playing this car on Need for Speed 3 when I was six years old. What I loved about that game, for those that remember it, was that you didn't just drive the car, it also gave you facts and history and a slideshow all about it, so you'd know why it was special. And all of that was narrated by a chap with a really silky American accent called Al Murdoch, who interestingly is now the stadium announcer for the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team, for those that are interested in that. But the point is that because of that, I feel like I know this car even before getting in it. It feels almost familiar, I just know all the stats and figures. And yes, it hasn't got the yellow paint job like it did in the game, it hasn't got the big SV decals along the side, and this one's got the spoiler delete, but even so I can use my imagination. And here I am driving the car I always played in video games. I mean, I want to just try and describe what it feels like to drive this thing, because I'm sure you know a lot of the stats, but what does it actually feel like? Well, the first thing that hits you is the smell, and a lot of that smell is because of this air freshener, which they've kindly included with the car. But beyond that, you can smell the Alcantara, for example, and the SV had the Alcantara rather than the leather, so it's just plastered in it. It's absolutely everywhere, and it feels nice and tactile and detailed underneath your hand. You've also got the white back dials rather than the black dials like you got on a regular Diablo. And then the sound. Oh wow. It's not the kind of sound that you really hear in there, the kind of sound that this is. You feel it in your chest, it's got that really deep bassy roar to it, and it builds up and you can just feel it vibrating all the bones. Wow. It really gets you inside. Visibility out front is actually really, really good. Visibility out the back, less so, especially over my left and right shoulder driving a left-hand drive car in the UK, but no matter. The one thing that's getting to me about the driving position isn't so much that the pedals are a little bit offset. That's not the end of the world. The steering wheel's actually in a nice place, but it's this headlining here. I'm kind of bashing my head against it if I want to sit upright, so I have to sort of lean over a little bit. Again, not the end of the world, but it tells you that you're in a 1990s Italian supercar. It's also very wide, but the visibility out front means that you can pick out where you're going quite nicely. The clutch pedal's light, it's easy to get off the line. The steering, it's got power steering, so no issues there. And the gearbox, surprisingly nice. It's a dogleg gearbox. It's got a nice, hefty, physical feel. You've got the gates, which you can see with your own eyes, and it's got very, very tall gearing as well, but it really is a nice box to use. I mean, you'll have to forgive me. I do keep looking down to check it because it's not every day I drive a dogleg box, and I don't want to put it in the wrong gear. That could be very expensive, but it is a nice gearbox to use. Diablo SVs are super rare in the UK. This is one of around 30 in the country, and if you're interested in buying one and you're watching this video as it goes live, then you're in luck because this exact car is currently for sale at the Carhuna online auction house, to which you'll find a link in the description box below. Now, those that know their Diablo SVs will probably have spotted that this isn't one of the earlier models. It's a later version that was produced after the back end of 1997. This car in particular was built in 1998, and that means that it's got a few key differences, and one of the most important was that it's got a new variable valve timing system, which allows the engine to use different camshaft profiles at high and low revs, that means more power and also less emissions. Yes, emissions were a thing on 1990s Lamborghini supercars. Who knew? The important thing about that, apart from getting extra power, was that it allowed Lamborghini to sell this car efficiently in the USA, which commercially is a big deal. The changes meant the later SV made 530bhp and 446lb-ft of torque at 7,100 and 5,500rpm respectively, with a top speed in excess of 200mph and 0-62mph in less than 4 seconds. Other modifications included the introduction of ABS and larger 18-inch front wheels to accommodate the bigger brake discs, as well as optional electrically adjustable KONI dampers and an axle lift system. I really love this engine because you think of an Italian supercar V12 and you think of a high-revving, screaming, spine-tingling sound, but this, it's different to that because it's got so much grunt low down and you can hear that brawny sound that it's got and the brawny gearbox, but then when you do actually rev it a bit higher, it doesn't run out of puff, it still goes, it still pulls, it's like a very strange combination of muscle car and Italian exotica, and it's a combination that you don't get anymore, this is unique. It's just got power absolutely everywhere and it's usable power as well, it actually feels nice and linear, it's not spiky, it's predictable, gives you a bit of confidence which I wasn't expecting, I thought I'd be terrified. Now the engine and the powertrain lead you to believe that this is a heavy car and actually by the standards of the day, 1530 kilograms which is what this weighs and I think it's about 40 kilograms less than a regular Diablo, that was a little bit hefty but now, especially when you compare it to like the hybrid Revuelto which we've got coming soon, it's featherweight but the way that the powertrain behaves and the heft and the muscliness of everything, it makes the car feel heavier than it perhaps is and it's only when you get to a corner that you realize, no, it can still move, it still rotates really nicely. I mean you can completely forget 50-50 weight distribution, this is 41-59 so it's a little bit all over the place but it doesn't feel like it, at least not at these speeds. It's got a limited slip diff, it's got independent double wishbone suspension, it's got ABS, you can get it with electronic dampers or you could get it with electronic dampers, even a nose lift, that was an option. It's in that era between retro and modern Lamborghini but for me the biggest difference is that compared to a modern car you need to work this a lot harder. Despite the creature comforts it's still a lot less delicate, you've got to grab it by the horns a bit more and I've got no problem with that in a Lamborghini. I may have mentioned it earlier but my expectation of the Diablo SV before driving it was that it would be very difficult to drive and heavily flawed in 2023 and while I may have experienced some issues including the visibility and the turning circle, the general experience was hugely fulfilling. For the most part it felt like I was driving the car and enjoying it properly and that I was only slightly scared of it, which in my opinion is how it should be. The old saying that you can apply to many things, don't meet your heroes, is often true with people, with cars. I've driven cars that I've completely adored when I was younger and now you drive them and you just think it's not quite what I wanted it to be, whether that's because of the context of time or just that it worked better in your head, in your imagination, but this thing, no, this lives up to it. This is a case of meeting your heroes and not being disappointed. I've had such a wonderful day.