www.QV500.com - Lamborghini Diablo Part 14: Diablo 6.0 GTR
 
The Lamborghini factory's second Diablo competition car made available to customers was based on the limited production 6-litre GT that had been introduced at the Geneva Salon in March 1999. Debuted soon afterwards at the Bologna Motor Show, the GTR would be Lamborghini's Supertrophy offering for the next three seasons. It replaced the 540bhp SVR that had proved so reliable since 1996, Lamborghini maintaining each car that ran in the series back at Sant' Agata. Just 40 of these potent GTR's were ever manufactured and they became the most sought after batch of Diablo's ever.
   
Upgrades included an integrated roll cage and dropped ride-height (145mm and 150mm at the front / rear respectively). There was fully adjustable Koni suspension and a competition-spec Brembo brake system with bigger calipers. Weight was cut from the GT's 1460kg to 1395kg while Lamborghini also fitted a hydraulic air-jack system and custom fuel cell. Lightweight one-piece 18-inch Speedline wheels were manufactured from magnesium and normally shod with slick Pirelli tyres. Mechanically, the GTR featured a hot new motor with 590bhp at 7300rpm, yet it retained the 10.7:1 compression of regular GT's. Instead, the 15bhp increase over standard was attributable to a competition exhaust with no catalytic converters, a re-mapped engine management and a specially tuned LIE 'Speed Density' electronic sequential multi point injection with variable valve timing. Several bodywork changes were also made like Plexiglas side windows, a rear wing bolted directly onto chassis and several supplementary air ducts. The heavily ventilated front lid was kept in place with retaining pins and there was an emergency cut-off switch located at the base of the windscreen.
 
Cabins were stripped of all bar the most necessary equipment, the air-conditioning, passenger seat and trim all being discarded in favour of an integral roll cage and carbon seat with six-point harness. The extra width of this racing seat and a desire to move the driver to a position more in line with the central axle dictated the transmission tunnel be made a little smaller. A remotely operated Momo fire extinguishing system and new lightweight steering wheel completed the specification of what was probably the most powerful one-make racing car. Just 40 were built, only a handful of which never raced.