Donald Trump’s custom Lamborghini Diablo sells at auction for a whopping $1.1million

A special Lamborghini Diablo custom-built for Donald Trump nearly thirty years ago has sold at auction for more than five times the car’s estimated value.

The limited-edition 1997 Diablo VT Roadster – one of only 132 made for the US market – sold for a whopping $1.1 million (£870,000) at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, this weekend.

Having the 77-year-old Trump as the first keeper in the owner’s manual sparked intense bidding, which ultimately saw the hammer fall at a price well above what experts say the car would be worth without the former president’s name attached to it.

This weekend’s auction provided an extremely rare opportunity to own a piece of automotive and presidential history.

The Diablo – a poster supercar from the 1990s – was delivered to the former US president in 1997 and even has a ‘Donald Trump 1997 Diablo’ plaque mounted on the inside of the door.

The Lamborghini has only 24,431 miles on the odometer and has had two owners since Trump retired in 2002.

The auction house did not set a pre-sale target price for the Lambo, although there was an indication of its value based on the last sales figure seven years ago.

When the Italian supercar was purchased by the seller in 2016, they paid $460,000 (approximately £360,000 at the time).

However, the sale – which incredibly took place on eBay – took place in September of that year, four months before his presidency began.

That’s why we predicted earlier this month that the price would be well above the previous sales price when the gavel fell this weekend. And our prediction was correct.

John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty Price Guide — which measures the value of classic and collectible vehicles based on auctions and private sales — said the winning bid is five times what the Diablo VT is worth without a POTUS name in the history file .

“This car was unusual anyway as it was a rare VT Roadster model with only three owners from new and 15,000 miles on the odometer,” John told us.

‘But the sale price of $1.1 million (£870,000) is five times the Hagerty Price Guide ‘excellent’ value of £174,000, meaning Donald Trump’s property had a huge impact on value.

“Every year, Hagerty publishes the Power List, which shows how much luxury celebrities have on the value of cars.

“This sale puts Trump just below Jay Leno but above Simon Cowell on that list.”

When Donald Trump ordered this car, he had already built a 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 as the successor to the Lamborghini Countach and was offered as a coupe or roadster. The VT (stands for ‘Viscous Traction’) arrived in 1995.

It was distinguished from other Diablos by its four-wheel drive, which was controlled by a viscous center differential – hence the nameplate.

This was a modified version of the four-wheel drive in Lambo’s LM002 SUV.

It was officially the first Lamborghini that could reach a speed of more than 200 miles per hour, and is thus fondly remembered and prized by collectors.

This scissor door VT model is powered by a mid-mounted 5.7-liter V12 engine, producing 492 horsepower and mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

0 to 100 km/h takes just 4.1 seconds and top speed is said to be 322 km/h.

This VT was one of the rarest derivatives 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.

Included in the lot were the car’s manuals, original books, a few tool bags and a rain cover.

History files sold with the beloved motorcycle will also likely include the former POTUS’ name.