The lost car solves two mysteries about the history of Lamborghini
John Temerian is a supercar collector based in Miami. He was searching for something special and found a one-of-a-kind concept car many thought was long gone. But as rare as the original Lamborghini Diablo SE30 is, the story of how he retrieved it is even more remarkable.
The hunt for Lamborghini’s missing prototype
Lamborghini introduced the Diablo for the 1990 model year. When the company turned 30 in 1993, it released a special edition. The SE30 had higher horsepower and a unique design. Only 150 were ever made, and they are highly sought after today.
Then Temerian got a message from a former Lamborghini employee: a 151st car exists. The original Diablo SE30 prototype hadn’t been destroyed or kept at the factory museum as planned. Chassis 0000 P0 had been sold to a racing executive and then vanished.
Temerian spent years chasing clues about the car’s location. Then he got the break he needed — it had been sold in Sweden. Luckily for Temerian, Swedish car registration records are public. He found out who had owned the car last and reached out. A Swedish enthusiast sent him photos of a purple Diablo, disassembled and packed into cardboard boxes in a small garage. Could that be 0000 P0?
Temerian hired inspector Chip Davis to verify the car’s identity. The small garage turned out to be far from Stockholm. Sweden stretches 977 miles north to south, and the car was stored north of the Arctic Circle — a 16-hour drive from Stockholm.
Two mysteries solved by a single car
During his inspection, Davis confirmed the car was completely intact. He also discovered something else. The 0000 P0 had been built on the chassis of an earlier prototype. Before it became the first SE30, it began life as the XL30 — the first Lamborghini to use a carbon fiber chassis. The car was actually a joint project with Horacio Pagani.
Temerian bought it on the spot and shipped it to Miami for further inspection. The find turned out to be a rolling time capsule of Lamborghini’s history. Its existence brings a close to the story of not one, but two famous Lamborghini prototypes. You can hear Temerian tell the story himself in the video embedded below:
