The Barrett-Jackson auto auctions are still a big event. Every year, people from around the country gather in Scottsdale, Arizona, to see big ticket muscle and classic cars cross the auction block. One recent sale had auction attendees literally standing on their feet for its sale.
Road & Track reports that Donald Trump’s 1997 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster sold at Barrett-Jackson for a cool $US1.1 million. Aside from it being owned by the former president, this Diablo VT Roadster is special in its own right.
According to Barrett-Jackson, this VT is one of just 132 made for the U.S. from 1997-1999. Trump being Trump, he custom ordered the car in Blu Le Mans blue.
He also ordered a custom plaque for the door that read “Donald Trump 1997 Diablo” for some reason.
Power for the Diablo VT comes from a 5.7-liter V12 with 498 horsepower mated to a five-speed manual and an all wheel drive system. It would seem Trump actually drove this thing as well as it has just over 15,000 miles on it until he sold it in 2002. The car being owned by Trump definitely helped boost the price, which climbed past $US1 million less than 5 minutes after being on the auction block. Barrett-Jackson says that this Diablo auction set a new “world record” with its sale.
In a cringe moment for the auction — and also something I’ve never seen before at any auction — auction goers cheered when the Diablo hit the block, as it was getting bid on and as the price climbed over a million bucks. It didn’t help that the auctioneer kept name-dropping the president during bidding.
This was a record-setting sale though as Road & Track’s (and former Jalop ) Raphael Orlove pointed out. This is probably the most expensive Diablo ever sold.
The most expensive VT Roadster to sell on Bring a Trailer went for half a million in November of 2023. The pink one that we at Road & Track drove (and loved) went for $US410,000. Most other Diablos go for around a hundred thousand less.