very early diablo are some of the quickest: Myth or Truth?

My friends current 96 Vt/2wd
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Correct, the 6-liter 2001 is signficantly quicker than the early 1991 Diablo, all the road tests clearly demonstrate this both in 0-60 times and top speed, this makes absolute sense as the later variant has a significantly more powerful engine. Basically the earlier car does 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds, whereas the later car is almost a full second faster, this may not sound like a lot but in the road it translates to multiple car lengths over a quarter mile.

Sometimes a car doesn't 'feel' faster because it's delivery of speed is less dramatic and more efficient, but the 6.0 is definitely faster.

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I've driven both, 2 separate 1991 Diablos, and owned 3 F40s, so I have plenty of experience here and I can say without any bias that the F40 is significantly faster than an early Diablo.

Perhaps the most respected performance tester of sports cars is Car & Driver magazine, and they performed a thorough comparison of the 1991 Diablo and a 1991 F40 in their April 1992 issue in a piece called 'Judgement Day'.

Diablo
Zero to 60 mph: 4.4 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 9.4 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 15.4 sec

F40
Zero to 60 mph: 4.2 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 8.3 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 13.5 sec

On the road the Zero to 130 mph tells the real-world story and the 2 seconds difference @ 130 mph is almost a football field ahead. However, the most telling test was around Moroso Raceway track because life is not all in a straight line and the track is a true measure of overall handling, braking, shifting, power-delivery etc and the F40 averaged 1:29.4 whereas the Diablo trailed in a full 5 seconds slower per lap at 1:34.8

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Financial points considered, in the super car world, we should probably all buy the Absolute best 6,0 Diablo possible. It is(imho) the last of the bad boys. 80/90s wiff but comfy and quality feeling.

 

Sorry - it's already mine. 6.0 VT in Rosso Vik. All others pale in comparison! < flameSuit />
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Lucky you.

 

You compare US spec cars...Since these cars were made in Europe, we should compare the original intended cars...Also the 6.0 is not faster than a 5.7. I drove side by side with a 97,5 VT Roadster against a 6.0SE on the german Autobahn and there was no difference.
Exact the same performance, and the Roadster is heavier. The main difference was the fuel consumption, which was suprisingly very different. The 5.7 needed much more fuel than the 6.0.

F40-Diablo 2wd.
acceleration the F40 is slightly quicker, but after 250km/h and on top speed, the Diablo is faster.

 

my 91 Diablo was shaved off everything not needed, no mufflers or cats,straight pipes after headers, uppgraded ign coils(MSD) not any different from a Euro car,afaik, dont get me wrong,it was quick and loud, but 6,0,felt faster/quicker in different way, it also had the big muffler box removed(still sits at the plant) and my own tail pipes innstalled,we supplied custom exhaust for Diablo and first gen Murcielago to Ultimate motorworks in Orlando(now Lamborghini Orlando) probably 20 or so cars, but ended when Lamborhini factory Pulled the warranty on the Murcielago,once you tampered with the factory Exhaust. all this beeing said,i enjoy my Countach much more than the 91 Diablo,why i still own it after 16 years,just a completely different personality and charm, the 2001 6,0, i really miss,it was an fantastic car,i will say this to everyone out there,the ride,fit finish,the way the body was cleaned up, just the perfect super car,if you own one,do not sell it, i sold mine for the simple reason i needed a back seat, Ella was born nov 03,and the Diablo was sold and i bought the first gen Bentley Continental GT, wich was nothing but a pile of crap,always recalls and stupid stuff wrong,no wonder you can get one today for 25$k, as they say,dont walk away,RUN away, its a nightmare,also heavy felt like driving an suv with a lowering kit,anyway, we live and learn,hopefully, i am sure the current Continental is a much better car.

 

A comparison of USA F40 vs USA Diablo is perfectly legitimate and conclusive, as would be the case with a Eu F40 vs Eu Diablo, same thing.

Faster over 250 kph based on what? Regardless, the real world for most drives so 0 - 130 mph is more important. As the title of this thread suggests, there are lot of myths being propagated based on seat-of-the-pants testing.

Some good points but AFAICS the claims the early Diablo is faster than the 6.0 are mostly based on lots of inconclusive and non-scientific theories, if someone claimed the early Countach LP400 was faster than the QV Downdraft despite all the years of development and a more powerful engine, I wouldn't buy that either.

 

Early Diablo vs late Diablo, Diablo vs. F40, QV vs LP400...
All that sounds like a discussion on a schoolyard...

 

It lasted 4 years and all of 8 pages so it was worth some factual input

 

Based on what i have experienced in person! Anyway this topic does not matter for you, because the german Autobahn is too far away for you!

 

I drove 2wd, VT 93 and VT6.0 SE, also Murci LP640, was passenger with Vale in some hot rides (VT and Murci 1st series).
The VT6.0 was the best of the Diablos, it accelerates that easy and smooth that you think its slow but it's damn fast.

 

Only a few hours away actually!

I'm glad you mention this on balance, just read all the things that went wrong with the Diablo on the C&D test (scroll down to read 'Diablo's fix-it diary') https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15141339/judgment-day-ferrari-f40-meets-lamborghini-diablo-archived-comparison-test/

I didn't have time to engage yesterday as we were very busy closing out an auction https://www.sackeyandco.com/results

Discussions comparing sports cars are the very essence of the passion that drives many to aspire to these dream cars as captured by magazines, books and films, so the notion that ongoing discussion about them is somehow juvenile is redundant. Comparos are as old as the hills since Dioceles raced his chariot.

The F40 vs Diablo comparison is one of the best not only because of the data to produced but also because it revealed how poor early Diablo build quality was, and provided very useful tested & documented information [link above]. Publications spend millions of dollars getting all manner of classic, sports and Supercars together for comparative testing, the net result helps the public evaluate and establish what the cars really are and make choices for different reasons.

Do adults care about the difference between an early Diablo and a later 6.0? You bet they do.

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A few other entities amongst many who cared about comparing the F40 with the Diablo.

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This F1 pilot helped a publication compare them and others besides.

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"Competition between Ferrari & Lamborghini is always red hot", and always will be if you ask me.

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Always an interesting comparison, and with the other variants also.

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Back on topic, recently Top Gear tried to compare the F40 and XJ220 with a Diablo, but it met with an unfortunate demise.

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Ooph, imagine lending your car for a TV show and receiving it back like that...