The Lamborghini Diablo VT is not your father's Oldsmobile.
At nearly a quarter of a million dollars and with a top speed of 202 miles per hour, the Diablo rarely appears at the drive-through window of your local Burger King.Only true collectors - and there are precious few of them - ever park these exotics in their garages. And fewer still take them out of the garage.
So, an invitation to test drive the magnificent Italian sports car should be expected to inspire a few palpitations and sweaty palms.
When Dave Dunn, general manager of Emich Oldsmobile in Golden, Colo., offered such an opportunity, it was like hearing you could wear the Hope Diamond as a tie tack to the cocktail party.
At a dealership where Achievas and Cutlass Supremes fill most of the lot, Emich keeps its red Diablo concealed under a black protective cover in a special garage, alongside another exotic, the Dodge Viper.
To the other side was the car I was taking out - a copper colored Diablo VT bearing the "PPG Pace Car" lettering on the doors that identified it as the official pace car for the 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series.
With a 492-horsepower, 48-valve engine, the Lamborghini is the most powerful pace car in Indy Car's 82-year history. Named for a famous bull that fought in a Spanish bullfighting ring, the Diablo is about two-thirds the strength of the Indy cars that compete on tracks around the world.
The pace car gets plenty of attention from Emich's visitors, but the dealership's most visible loaner is a 1993 Diablo that played a supporting role with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in the movie "Dumb and Dumber."
"Watch out for speed bumps," Dunn warned, pointing out a spot where a previous driver had actually cracked the pacer's front end. I admit, I felt relief that someone else had done the deed.
The Diablo's snout is as low to the ground as a vacuum cleaner - 5.5 inches above the asphalt. Get out your ruler and think about that.
The wing on the tail rises to the level of the low roofline, and the air scoops on the flanks yawn like the gates of Hades.
Open up the engine cover behind the cockpit and you see why the air scoops are so cavernous. This huge powerplant takes up nearly half the car's length. The storage boot in the front end is a glorified crumple zone.
If you've never driven a Diablo and you know you're about to, you study the design with one worrisome question in mind: Can this thing be driven safely in traffic? The thin slice of a window in back and the wide rear pillars that arch like flying buttresses are of particular concern as you contemplate lane changes.
Opening the doors of the Diablo is an experience in itself. Unlike conventional doors, the Diablo's rise skyward like guillotine blades.
Once you limbo dance into the seats, you're surprised to find they're actually pretty comfortable. Lamborghini deepened the seats in 1995 models, creating more headroom and greater lateral support.
The seat adjustments are limited by the smallness of the two-seat cockpit. Raising and lowering the steering column is a bit of a chore. The small clutch and brake pedals are extremely close to one another.
"You don't want to wear mountain boots when you drive," Dunn observed.
Turning the key in a Lam-bor-ghini is a special experience. The big V12 turns over a little like a jet engine, then settles into a basso profundo rumble.
The most frightening place to drive a Lamborghini is a parking lot. But, I feigned confidence, waving to Dunn as I pulled out of the garage and threaded my way through the parked cars toward traffic.
To my great relief, visibility wasn't really much of a problem. As long as you're aware of the blind spots in back, you'll be OK.
Fortunately, Interstate 70's climb toward the Continental Divide is just a couple of right turns away from Emich's back door. There is no question that you need a vertical challenge to test drive the Diablo, though the exotic car is quite easy to maneuver in routine situations, thanks in part to power steering and an independent suspension that has three settings.
The Diablo VT is actually an all-wheel-drive car. The VT stands for Viscous Traction, a system that diverts torque to the front wheels when the rear wheels begin to spin. This system also cuts down on the oversteer in high-speed cornering maneuvers.
You want fuel efficiency? Get a Geo Metro. The Lamborghini burns the richest kind of unleaded at the rate of 9 city and 14 highway miles per gallon.
The Diablo comes with a 5-speed stick, and you can reportedly hit 80 mph in first gear. It takes 4.09 seconds to get from 0 to 60 mph. So, entrance ramps are a treat.
Turning right to the ramp, I let the clutch out and the Diablo soared smoothly upward.
Suddenly, it sank in: "Hey, this thing is fun to drive."
The gears shift smoothly, the ride is quiet and unbelievably stable and you can pass anything in sight. By the time I parted with the Diablo, I felt comfortable taking it just about anywhere. But the fantasy ends at the window sticker: $242,000, plus tax. The $21,000 luxury tax would buy a fully loaded Olds Cutlass Supreme.
However, there is hope. Automobili Lamborghini has just come out with a lease program that provides - and I quote - "monthly payments as low as $2,999."
Just put $52,000 down. And if anyone questions your judgment, say "the Diablo made me do it."