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Jose Canseco’s Awesome Acura NSX-Based Lamborghini Diablo GT Is Up for Grabs

It will cost you at least $350,000 to treat yourself to a real Lamborghini Diablo GT, and that’s only a starter investment if the vehicle still needs stuff done. However, you could get the Lamborghini Diablo GT package with reduced maintenance and running costs, celebrity pedigree, and 1-of-1 enviable status at a fraction of the price.
Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000 17 photos
Photo: eBay.com / SellFriendly
Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000Acura NSX-based Lamborghini Diablo GT built for Jose Canseco and asking $175,000
Don’t call this a kit car, or the owner might take offense. He calls it “simply a work of art” and “basically a street legal race car with comfort and performance,” average maintenance costs, and daily driver capability. This car, which looks like a Diablo GT, is actually a 1999 Acura NSX that was converted by none other than the creator of the Vaydor, at the request of El Cañonero Cubano, aka former MLB star Jose Canseco.

And you thought your day couldn’t get any weirder in the most awesome way.

The Acura-Lamborghini mix is being sold on eBay, with a reserve price of $175,000. It’s a lot of money for what eBay calls a kit / replica car, but the owner contests the label. This is more like automotive art, because it was done with performance and comfort in mind, with almost painful attention to detail and at a great expense. The seller says he alone invested at least $200,000 in the car, including a full overhaul of the engine and a repaint, and he’s the third owner.

The first owner was Canseco, who commissioned the Vaydor designer with the conversion. That would be the same guy who made The Joker’s car in Suicide Squad, which was perhaps the most memorable thing about Jared Leto’s performance in the film, aside from how ridiculously bad it was. The second owner was a mechanic, and he too is believed to have invested “countless” hours and money in the build.

The vehicle has the NSX chassis, engine and 5-speed transmission, and mostly OEM Diablo GT parts and equipment, from the scissor doors to the wheel hubs and the steering wheel. Titled a 1991 ASPT (Assembled by Parts Title), it has 104,117 miles (167,560 km) on the odo and runs amazingly, according to the listing. The V6 engine has been tuned to perfection, to convincingly replicate the Diablo’s V-12 in sound, if not in performance. The video below is meant to showcase that.

Celebrity pedigree, 1-of-1 status, and the promise of incredible performance and good looks at a smaller price point, these are the hottest selling points of this vehicle. Or, as the seller puts it, “while other Lamborghini owners are draining their bank accounts to pay for repairs, you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank when you get your parts at a local auto parts store or online for a fraction of the price.”

With three days to go into the auction, and 15 bids so far, the Acura Diablo is now at $125,100, way below the $175,000 reserve price. The owner says he’s not even considering bids under the reserve, and that he’ll keep it if it’s not met. This, despite the fact that he’s selling it because he’s getting a second Lambo. Of the real kind, this time.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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