During the March 1999 Geneva Auto Show, Automobili Lamborghini SpA showed the limited edition
Diablo GT, only 80 cars were to be made of this special Gran Turismo Diablo, a car capable of
carrying you to a top speed of 338 Km/h.
But on a late 1999 Bologna Motor Show, Lamborghini had an evolution of this GT ready,
the Diablo GT-R was a race-ready version of the street legal GT (although it never was legal
in the United States and Japan). The Diablo GTR production will be limited to only 40 units, but this car was
ready to be raced by a select few in the Lamborghini Supertrophy, organized by the
Stephane Ratel Racing Organisation.
The Diablo GTR was in fact the true successor to the Diablo SVR which was used for four
consecutive years with great success as a true race car in the special Lamborghini Supertrophy,
this GTR has set new boundaries in this Supertrophy, with 590 Bhp the GTR outpowers the SVR by
50 Bhp.
A true race oriented chassis has been created, this time with a fully integrated roll-over cage protecting
the driver in case of a crash, the massive rear wing was actually directly bolted onto this
lightweight chassis. Also the brakes were again upgraded to full Brembo
race specifications, the Lucas electronically controlled ABS was however still mounted.
The top speed of this GTR was set at 348 Km/h., the 6-Litre V-12 engine now produced
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590 Bhp instead of the standard 575 Bhp from the Diablo GT, still using the five-speed gearbox all this power is
transmitted to the light-weight magnesium Speedline 18-inch rear wheels.
The power output of this magnificent V-12 was obtained by using a multi-throttle intake manifold
with an individual intake system, a variable intake valve timing system, dynamic air inlet duct
system upstream of the intake plenum and titanium connecting rods coupled to a lightened
crankshaft. Also responsible for the higher power output was a specially tuned race oriented exhaust
system without catalysts and a new improved programming of the engine management system.
Additional cooling systems were mounted for the gearbox and differential oil to cope with
the higher demands of racing an exotic V-12 engine, last but not least a special racing
type fuel cell was installed replacing the standard tank used on the Diablo GT.
The massive single piece 18-inch lightweight magnesium wheels
used a race type, one-bolt central locking mechanism with an 85mm bolt, these wheels were designed to accept
both standard tires and racing slicks from Pirelli.
The brakes received special racing calipers to match the increase in power, almost the entire
body of this GTR was made of Carbon Fibre, only the roof remained in steel for torsional strength
while both doors were kept in aluminium for safety reasons.
On the inside the Diablo GTR was also stripped of all unnecessary items, the air conditioning
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was gone while the passenger seat was also removed, the driver seat now was a light-weight
Carbon-Fibre bucket seat with a six-point racing harness, also because this seat was wider
than the original seats of the GT, the central transmission tunnel became smaller.
The standard buttons were replaced by racing switches, while an obligatory fire extinguisher
system from Momo was mounted on the right side of the cockpit with the option of turning it on with
a button located on the central tunnel. Also the allready custom steering wheel of the Diablo GT
had been replaced by an even lighter race-type unit.
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To loose even more weight the side windows were replaced with Plexiglass units, incorporating a
small sliding part instead of winding down. Just behind the exterior rear view mirror an air
intake was mounted, guiding fresh air into the driver's compartment which could become rather
warm during a race, since the isolation between the driver and the engine was also removed to
gain even more weightreduction.
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The front hood was now retained by fast opening clips while the suspension geometry was altered
to allow the GTR to be even closer to the pavement than the original Diablo GT. Just in front
of the windscreen an emergency cut-off switch was mounted, flipping this switch cuts the
power to the fuel pumps and the ignition in case of an accident.
Pricing for the Diablo GTR wasn't set at at the time of writing, but the price for such
a great toy shouldn't matter actually... it will however be more expensive than the
US $ 309.000 Diablo GT is was based on.
The first cars should be ready for the opening race on May 28th 2000 in Germany, the actual
races were planned for :
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