If there’s one thing that feels certain in the collector car market, it’s that the Singer-ization of European performance cars will continue. From optimized Lancia Delta Integrales to updated Porsche 928s, the cars of the ‘80s and ‘90s are going through their own restomod phase. The latest examples aims a little higher by taking an iconic Lamborghini and giving it the Captain America treatment. Say hello to the Eccentrica Diablo.
Eccentrica is the brainchild of Emanuel Colombini, a man who made his name in furniture. That might sound a bit odd, but might I remind you that Christian von Koenigsegg patented click-together flooring before he started making hypercars. In addition to being a furniture magnate and wearer of very stylish suits, Colombini races in Lamborghini’s Super Trofeo series and is pretty quick, having reached the podium in a full third of races entered. With racing experience, a love for Lamborghini, and capital, he seems like the right sort of guy to head up a project like this.
From the outside, this Diablo seems crafted with careful attention to history. The overhangs have been tucked in, the scoops dug-out, and the fenders ever so slightly pumped up. The front bumper takes inspiration from the Diablo GTR race car, the grillework from Lamborghini’s current hexagon motif, and the 19-inch alloy wheels necessary to fit massive brakes from period-correct motorsport five-spokes. While the customization is certainly extensive, I appreciate the level of restraint.
If the exposed headlights aren’t to your tastes, don’t worry. At the flick of a switch, they’re able to hide behind body-color covers to offer the best of both the pop-up headlight-equipped and 300ZX headlight-equipped Diablos in one car.
In this application, the Diablo’s 5.7-liter V12 has been massaged with new valves, camshafts, and a Capristo exhaust system to produce 542 horsepower and 442 lb.-ft. of torque. Not massive numbers, but how much would you really want to mess with Giotto Bizzarrini’s twelve-cylinder masterpiece? Besides, 542 horsepower is plenty in a road car and this thing is said to generate some insane numbers. Sure, zero-to-62 mph in 3.5 seconds is quick, and 208 mph flat-out is fast, but that isn’t the really impressive part. Eccentrica claims that this worked-over Diablo will pull 1.2 lateral g. I’ll give you a minute for your eyeballs to find their way back into your skull.
Although the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R is a heroic tire, rubber compound alone doesn’t explain that astounding figure. We’re talking modern, best-of-the-best trackday-focused supercar grip from a 30-year-old Italian successor to a car with an expletive as a name. That’s like if one of the Gallagher brothers just beat Usain Bolt in a footrace.
If the quoted grip is astonishing, you should see the cabin. I love the Lamborghini Diablo more than I love some of my relatives, but I’ll admit, the original interior leaves something to be desired. On early cars, the steering wheel and instrument cluster are located three-to-five business days away from each other, the switchgear seems to be whatever suppliers had left over in the parts bin, and the upholstery finishing is occasionally on the crude side. Not so with Eccentrica’s restomod. Every single thing you see or touch has been reimagined, from a new gated shifter to the digital dashboard straight out of arcade fantasies. This might be the best interior ever installed in a Lamborghini, which says a lot considering how Audi’s been in charge for decades.
Despite the square footage of synthetic suede and sound system by Marantz, Eccentrica found a way to cut some weight out of its Diablo. The firm quotes a targeted power-to-weight ratio of 2.9 kg per horsepower, or 6.393 pounds per horsepower. If we extrapolate that out, the targeted curb weight should sit at 1,571.8 kg, or just 3,463.5 pounds. That’s 56.5 pounds lighter than a 1992 Lamborghini Diablo as-tested by Car And Driver.
The Eccentrica Diablo doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but instead polishes it to a mirror finish. It’s the poster car that we love, improved with modern technology. As you’d expect, such extensive work doesn’t come cheap, but it’s not hideously expensive either. There’s no getting around that a conversion cost of €1.2 million is a lot of money, but that underwhelming Aventador-based Countach LPI 800-4 carried a price tag of $2.64 million, and it doesn’t seem nearly as exciting as the Eccentrica Diablo. Expect 19 to be built, each using a standard Diablo as a donor car.
(Photo credits: Eccentrica)
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I had forgotten about the Diablo. I guess for good reason. It’s somehow too tame and too much. It just kind of makes me sad.
The quoted horsepower figure is still far more than I’d need to do myself some serious harm given my level of driving talent, so it would suit me just fine.
mhmmmh, I want to like it, but come on – looks too cyberpunkish, and the wheels are basically wrong. Positive offset doesn’t look good on anything. Also, why grey?
You cannot be too cyberpunk.
/Sent from my Ono-Sendai Cyberspace Seven
Hiro Protagonist, from parallel partition of the metaverse, approves.
Where do the pizzas go?
That dashboard looks like a stock exchange display from the seventies.
Isn’t she the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six?
This is what Zaphod bought her after… well, you know…
Mark, you’re a frood who really knows where their towels at.
*double grins in Beeblebrox*
Honestly? Good.
Someone has to take care of the Diablos. Lamborghini dealerships don’t want to go near them, and even independents are aware of the wide variation throughout the model’s production run. I mean, the Diablo was part of the era when Lamborghini was owned by a company called, “Megatech.”
I realize the 19 cars for updating are a different ball of wax, but hopefully this is the start of making Diablo ownership less of a headache.
Weren’t the last Diablos from the Volkswagen times ?
I thought they had as many updates as the Skoda Favorit when VW bought Skoda (which was like 2500+ updates and changes)
Diablo was produced from 1990 through 2001.
1987 – 1993 was Chrysler
1994 – 1997 was MegaTech, under Indonesian conglomerate SEDTCO Pty.
1998 – 2008 was when it was bought and put under Audi AG
So the vast majority of the Diablo’s existence and production numbers was Chrysler and MegaTech. Somewhere approaching 25% of Diablos were under Audi AG.
Born in 92 so the original Diablo is before my time but I think this looks terrific all around
Different generations, the Countach was the Lamborghini on my childhood bedroom wall. By the time the Diablo came out I had moved on from car posters to metal band posters.
Frankly, Singer does it better. The wheels on this look wrong, and the interior, well, lets agree to disagree.
Ok. I disagree
Fine, I disagree as well. I kinda like it.
It’s cool and all, but that grey absolutely ruins it. I’ll take mine in yellow, thanks.
You mean red.
The answer you were all looking for is Purple.
Purple is the correct answer.
Though I may be biased.
You can have yours in whatever colour you want, but when I picture a Diablo it’s always yellow.
You mean orange.
From Mark Tucker’s comment above, it should be a super-intelligent shade of the colour blue.
This is the correct answer to driving, the autoverse, and every color.