The Lamborghini Diablo Coatl - The variant of the Diablo which you've probably never heard of

This is the 2000 Lamborghini Diablo Coatl, a car, I think, doesn’t look particularly pretty from the front or from the rear. This car was built in Mexico by Automoviles Lamborghini Latinoamérica S.A., a company which in 1995, actually received permission from Automobili Lamborghini SpA, under control of Michael J. Kimberly at that time, and Robert A. Braner, President of Automobili Lamborghini USA, to both distribute and build Lamborghinis in the Mexican United States and all the Latin American States including the Caribbean.

The very documents that were given to Automobiles Lamborghini Latinoamérica S.A. for permission to produce their new supercar can still be shown on display on Automobiles Lamborghini Latinoamérica S.A’s website.

Lamborghini Latinoamérica S.A. we’re even allowed to build a limited series of special track-oriented models and even create an own concept with Lamborghini components, which would then go on to produce the Lamborghini Coatl model, keeping in mind the hand finished feeling these special cars would have to offer, each and every Coatl would be finished according the tastes and requirements made by the fortunate buyer, note the Coatl was not a factory prototype but, according to the workers at Automobiles Lamborghini Latinoamérica S.A, it was built with permission from the factory.

One of the most special ways that they produced the car and made it unique was the fact that the special steering wheel used would be carved by a single craftsman and within exact measurements taken from the hand and fingers of the future owner, the pedals and seat would also be custom made to fit the actual owner. This seat would be made from a mould taken from the person who would be driving the Coatl, while his weight would also be taken into account when finishing the driver’s seat. I’ll be surprised if this procedure of options is taken in account for even future Chiron owners!

The paintwork on the exterior wouldn’t be from the factory’s menu, but from the owner’s demand, making no two Coatls the same. The paint, specifically, was made up of 14 coats of owner-selected shades, and, depending on where the sun was in the sky at the time of day, the tint of the paint could shift from an orange to a red colour with a brown highlight.

The leather interior would also be dyed on the owner’s demand and Lamborghini Latinoamérica would even go to such lengths as to stitch his name or initials onto the carpets and the seats.

The very strange and alien headlights were covered units, while on the roof a single air intake was mounted to pull air into the engine compartment, a treatment also used on the Diablo SV and the limited edition Diablo GT, giving it a rather track-focused appearance. At the rear the design was rather cool and sporty, the entire rear bumper unit became a rather different looking mould, with large twin exhaust pipes embedded into the bumper at the right and left outer sections, while a single center bumper was also in place.

The taillights use a similar design and colour scheme that Lexus used on the IS series, a design that became notorious on the tuning market in Japan a few years later, seen today on all kind of JDM tuners. Also a third rear brake light was built into this rear part, a big spoiler was mounted at the rear on this extremely revolutionary design. With all these special body panels and personalized interior, it was very strange the wheels became the standard 17 inch units taken from the Diablo SE30 model, it should be no problem to install 19 or even 20 inch wheels underneath this space age body design, but probably the owner who ordered this specific car probably liked it this way.

It took four years to design and built the first Lamborghini Coatl, from 1996-2000, which was finally presented to the public during 2000 when it was called the Lamborghini Eros 2000, but the results were worth it, a top speed of no less than 385 Km/h (234 Mph) and an acceleration figure of 3.54 seconds to reach 100 Km/h (about 61 Mph) from a stand still, naturally the engine was tuned to obtain these numbers, a power output of 635 Bhp and an enlarged displacement of nearly 6.3 Liters were needed! This was huge performance 20 years ago! The chassis was modified from the normal Diablo VT and SV to cope with this much power, it was upgraded by using Chromium Molybdenum steel, note that both the engine and chassis had been designed in England by none other than McLaren, a company which you can trust.

The initial intentions were to be able to offer and start building the first customer’s cars in the middle of of the year 2000, at this moment there is a new website for Automoviles Lamborghini Latinomérica S.A. on-line, and interest is high according to the people behind this project, whose design is patented.

The car, when officially released, caused quite a stir along the Puritan Lamborghini fans, and was seen as a love-or-hate design. It was really surprising to them that Lamborghini Latinoamérica had turned their precious Diablo into some weird blob of metal, the term which they probably used to describe the Coatl.

Design has always been a vital necessity for hardcore Lamborghini fans, and if you have a bit of money left over and want to stand out against regular Murcielago and Huracan owners, this is surely the way to go.