The Lamborghini Diablo was a devilishly fast vehicle when it had its run from 1990 to 2001. The word "Diablo" in Spanish, in fact, means "devil". As a high performance supercar, the Italian Lamborghini Diablo had but a few rivals during its run.

The Lamborghini Diablo was the replacement car for the Lamborghini Countach, which itself had about a 20-year run with little competition. In fact, many were skeptical that the Lamborghini Diablo could fill the lead-footed shoes of the Countach, which had developed a spectacular following.

When the Diablo rolled out, it had a 5.7 litre, 48 valve V-12 engine with 492 hp and 579 Nm of torque. The Lamborghini Diablo sold for a base price of approximately $240,000, which included only a basic radio as a CD player was optional.

The earlier Lamborghini Diablo could reach 0 - 60 mph in just over 4 seconds and a top speed of 202 mph, which for its time, made it one of the quickest off the block production cars in the world. Today, in order to qualify as a supercar most vehicles need to make this sprint in under 4 seconds, and reach top speeds in the 220 - 260 mph range.

Throughout its run, different version of the Lamborghini Diablo were introduced including the VT, VT Roadster, SE 30, SE 30 Jota, SV, GT and VT 6.0. The last version of the Lamborghini Diablo to be introduced to the public was the VT 6.0. This version could reach 0 - 60 mph in just 3.95 seconds, with a top speed of 205 mph.

The Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 also featured many improvements over earlier models such as a carbon fiber body construction, 6.0 liter engine, lighter crank shaft, improved exhaust system, new air conditioning system and a new 32-bit microprocessor for engine management. The Lamborghini Diablo's new 6.0 liter engine was able to crank out 550 hp and 620 Nm of torque.

The Lamborghini Diablo would eventually give way to its worthy successor, the Lamborghini Murciélago in 2002 just like it had overtaken the Countach some 12 years before.

The Lamborghini Diablo was one of the favorite exotic cars for film and TV for many years, appearing in movies such as Bedazzled, where Elizabeth Hurley played the devil who liked to drive the Diablo, thus an obvious connection from the name of the vehicle to the character in the movie. Other movies in which the Lamborghini Diablo appeared include the Boiler Room, Die Another Day, Dumb and Dumber, Exit Wounds and Gone in 60 Seconds.