Cheaper Diablo Chases Ferrari In Sports Market
The Age
Thursday August 6, 1998
The local importer of Lamborghini has slashed $64,000 off the price of its entry model in a bid to move the brand into the mainstream super sports car market.
The cheapest Lamborghini, the Diablo SV (Sport Veloce), is now priced at $399,153 compared with $463,554 for the superseded model. No doubt the price drop will impact on used-car values.
A Roadster version of the SV, which offers open-top motoring with its centre roof section removable, is being offered for the first time at $439,650.
The sales and marketing director of local importer Monarch Motor Imports, Mr Chris van Wyk, said the price cut was achieved after a long consultation with the Italian company and in the face of recent currency movements.
Negotiations on the repositioning of the brand began as long ago as last year.
Mr van Wyk said Monarch was keen to lift Lamborghini sales and could only do this by moving the base Diablo to within $50,000 of the top-spec Ferrari F355.
Mr van Wyk said even with that price gap, buyers would now consider the V12 Diablo as a competitor to the V8 Ferrari.
Last year, four Lamborghinis were sold here. Monarch, which has held the distribution rights since 1994, has sold 18 cars in total.
With the price reduction, it is likely that 10 to 20 Diablos might hit our roads for the first time in the coming 12 months.
Production of the cheaper Australian-spec SV models will not start until September, so deliveries are unlikely until November.
Previously, Lambo sales were focused on the all-wheel drive VT models, which are now priced at $599,610 for the Coupe and $639,431 for the Roadster. These prices represent a jump of $14,669 on the Coupe and of more than $40,000 on the Roadster.
The SV models do without the all-wheel drive, which is standard on the VT versions and some creature comforts, but still come with air-conditioning, dual airbags and ABS brakes.
The mechanical specification of the Diablo reads a bit like a Boys' Own adventure with the 5.7-litre V12 blasting out 390kW and 605Nm of torque, which is 28kW and 25Nm up on the previous specification cars. It rides on massively wide but wafer-thin 235/35 ZR 18 front and 335/30 ZR 18 rear tyres.
All Diablos can hit 100kmh from standstill in less than four seconds and, where possible, can run flat-out at 335kmh.
Almost 300 Diablos are expected to roll out of the company's Sant' Agata Bolognese factory this year, making it a record sales year for the V12 monster.
Within the next few years, new Lamborghini owners Audi plan to add a cheaper sports car to the lineup to better tackle the Ferrari F355 and a more expensive model to sit above the Diablo.
© 1998 The Age