Donald Trump’s custom Lamborghini Diablo is up for auction
Donald Trump once said, “The 1990s are definitely not like the 1980s.”
Perhaps it was the bright pop colors of the 1980s that the nostalgic former US president turned to when he custom ordered this 1997 Lamborghini Diablo VT roadster in the company’s highlighter ‘Blu Le Mans’ paint.
More than twenty years later, his custom-made Diablo will be offered to the highest bidder by auctioneer Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona.
An extremely rare opportunity to own a piece of automotive and presidential history; the Diablo even installed a ‘Donald Trump 1997 Diablo’ plaque on the door.
The Diablo has only 24,431 miles on the odometer and has had two owners since Trump retired in 2002.
Donald Trump’s 1997 Diablo is one of only 132 produced for the US and the only one customized in this blue paint color
The auction offers an extremely rare opportunity to own a piece of automotive and presidential history
Trump made special requests when he ordered his Lambo, including a plaque on the inside of the car door with the inscription “Donald Trump 1997 Diablo.” The seller added a “Trump 2016” motif to the outside
Barrett Jackson will offer the Diablo to collectors on January 27.
The auction house has not set a target price for the 1990s poster supercar, although there is an indication of its value based on the date the car was last sold more than seven years ago.
When the Lambo was purchased by the seller, they paid $460,000 (approximately £360,000 at the time).
However, the sale – which incredibly took place on eBay – took place in September 2016, about four months before his presidency began.
As such, it’s likely that Trump’s desirable Italian motorcycle will exceed its final retail price when the gavel falls later this month.
The Diablo succeeded the legendary Countach, which also had supercar scissor doors
The VT variant of the Diablo was launched in 1995 with four-wheel drive to improve handling and cornering
Only 132 Lamborghini Diablo VTs were produced for the North American market between 1997 and 1999, and this is certainly the only one owned by a former – and possibly future – President of the United States of America.
It is a long-standing tradition for American presidents to maintain an Anglo-American special relationship.
But before he became POTUS, Trump also enjoyed another special relationship with Lamborghini.
In the late 1990s, the Italian brand loaned him Diablos for brand and model promotion purposes.
Lamborghini allowed Trump to uniquely customize his Diablo and turn it into the striking Donald version.
The Diablo supercar was first introduced in 1993 and was offered as a coupe or roadster. The VT arrived in 1995.
It was the successor to the Lamborghini Countach, a car now infamous for the Wolf of Wall Street scene when an off-his-face-on-Quaaludes Jordan Belfort (Leonard DiCaprio) tries to clamber into his white Countach and drive away to ride.
The VT had a variable all-wheel drive system unlike the Base Diablo (VT stands for a viscous traction center differential that limited wheelspin and improved handling).
It was the first Lamborghini that could reach a speed of 320 km/h.
The 1997 Lamborghini Diablo VT roadster is finished in the brand’s ‘Blu Le Mans’ paint. It’s tailor-made for Trump
This Diablo combines celebrity and supercar culture with presidential power and is expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars
With a 5.7-liter V12 engine, the Diablo VT was the first Lamborghini to exceed the 320 km/h limit
Trump had a special relationship with Lamborghini, which allowed him to customize his Diablo
The interior is finished in cream on black leather with a retro CD player and a 5-speed gearbox
This scissor door VT model is powered by a mid-mounted 5.7-liter V12 engine, producing 492 horsepower and featuring a five-speed manual transmission.
0 to 100 km/h takes just 4.1 seconds and top speed is said to be 322 km/h.
As such, this is not a car for the slow road of life.
This VT is part of the first generation Diablo.
The second generation version ran from 1999 and Diablo production ended in 2001.
With the Diablo, Lamborghini continued its tradition of naming its cars after fighting bulls; the Diablo takes its name from a legendary bull that fought matador ‘El Chicorro’ in the 19th century.
The car’s manuals, original books, a few tool bags and a rain cover are included in the lot.
The no-reserve auction style follows Barrett-Jackson’s tradition of not providing estimated values for its cars.
Non-presidential Diablos sell for several hundred thousand, so expect large numbers of Lot 1407.