Quite a few years ago, Mario Andretti tried to max out his Lamborghini Diablo on a Las Vegas highway with a Nevada Highway Patrol sergeant in the passenger seat. As fate would have it, the Italian-born American racing legend and his friend got pulled over by a different Nevada Highway Patrol trooper, who got them going 183 mph (circa 295 kph).
“I’ve pulled right over, and this young trooper had his hand on the gun,” Andretti told Graham Bensinger on In Depth with Graham Bensinger. “They knew each other by name, but this youngster was serious,” added Andretti. He further acknowledged that his Raging Bull was going over 190 miles per hour (circa 306 kilometers per hour) before the rise in the road.
A fabulously mad story indeed, but on the other hand, what did you expect from one of only two racing drives to have won races in Formula 1, IndyCar, the World Sportscar Championship, and NASCAR? Purchased new by Andretti, the Diablo in question is a 1991 model that was first registered in Pennsylvania. Mechanically refreshed in 2021, chassis ZA9DU07PXMLA12162 from the aforementioned story is now up for grabs.
Penned by Marcello Gandini, then finalized by Tom Gale at Chrysler, the Diablo is a rarefied breed. Just under 2,900 units were produced, and quite a few of them were snapped off by high-profile car enthusiasts and world-renowned superstars. Few Diablos, however, can match the specialness of chassis number ZA9DU07PXMLA12162 due to its first owner and how said owner nearly maxed out the car on a Las Vegas highway.
Finished in rosso and beautified with 17-inch wheels from OZ Racing with Lamborghini caps, the V12-engined supercar is rocking Pirelli rubber boots and brake calipers that were rebuilt in June 2020. Upholstered in tan leather, the Italian thoroughbred further sweetens the deal with a Bluetooth-equipped aftermarket head unit. Unfortunately, the air conditioning doesn’t work.
The clutch cylinders were replaced in 2021, and an engine-out service was performed in 2020. Additional maintenance included machining the cylinder heads, the installation of new hoses, and a cooling system service. Offered with a warranty booklet in Mario Andretti’s name, along with a copy of the Pennsylvania title in the racing driver’s name, this wedge-shaped icon of the 1990s is currently going for $125k on Bring a Trailer.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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