Celebrity provenance works a lot like a great exhaust note. It makes everything feel more expensive, and it can distract you from what’s going on underneath. So when a silver 1998 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster shows up in a Melbourne-area warehouse billed as ex-Rod Stewart, the fun part is the car. The useful part is the paperwork.
The Diablo is Lot 10 in Lloyds Auctions’ sale of collectable cars from the living estate of Darryn Lyons, the Australian businessman, former Geelong mayor and self-styled “Mr Paparazzi.” It shares the bill with a champagne 2002 Ferrari 360 Spider showing 21,602 km and a 2021 Range Rover Sport SVR. Bidding is online-only, the car sits in Thomastown, Victoria, and the lot listing closes at noon on Saturday, October 31. By mid-October the sale’s lot index showed the Lambo at A$320,736. That’s a long way from the “every item starts from just $1” line on Lloyds’ collection page.
From Rod to Darryn
According to Lloyds’ announcement, Lyons bought the car through a specialist dealer in England, who told him Stewart had only just dropped it off. Before he bought it, a former racing driver turned salesman took him on a flat-out test drive through the Oxfordshire countryside. Lyons calls it one of the most frightening experiences of his life. He says he turned down offers for years, and admits that “when it goes, there will absolutely be a tear.”
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Here’s where skepticism helps. The lot description itself never mentions Stewart. As published, the rock-star link rests on what a dealer told Lyons decades ago. That doesn’t make the story false. But a celebrity premium should come with proof. Before bidding, ask Lloyds for UK registration history, invoices or service stamps that carry Stewart’s name.
What the VIN says
Lloyds publishes the chassis number, ZA9RE31A0WLA12974. Running it through NHTSA’s VIN decoder returns:
- a valid check digit
- a 1998 model year
- a Sant’Agata build
- a 5.7-litre V12
- a European destination market
- a body class of Roadster
That last result matters because the listing’s own spec table oddly calls the body a “Coupe.” The decoder settles it: this is a factory open car, and the European market is consistent with the right-hand-drive setup Lloyds describes.
The hardware
Lloyds quotes 492 hp, 580 Nm, a manual gearbox and 22,874 km. The VT badge is where the engineering gets interesting. Lamborghini’s heritage notes explain that it stands for Viscous Traction. The car is normally rear-drive, and a viscous coupling sends up to 20 percent of the torque forward only when the rear wheels slip. The Roadster debuted in December 1995 with a carbon-fibre targa panel that stows above the engine cover.
In practical terms, a nearly 30-year-old viscous system deserves a specialist’s attention. Have someone check for binding or shudder in tight, slow turns, which is often the first sign a coupling or front differential is tired. Ask when the clutch was last done, since that is the bill nobody wants to discover after the hammer falls. Test the targa seals with a hose, and cycle the pop-up headlights a few dozen times, because their motors and linkages are now antiques. Low mileage is welcome, but on a car this age, time can be harder on seals, hoses and fluids than kilometres. The listing says service records are present, so read them before you register to bid.
The real price
The buyer’s premium is 8.8 percent, GST inclusive. The vendor isn’t registered for GST, so no extra GST applies to the hammer price itself. At A$320,736, the premium adds roughly A$28,225, for a total of about A$348,961. That’s before transport, a roadworthy and registration.
The car is sold unregistered. In Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria says that leaves the buyer to arrange a roadworthy certificate, registration and plates. You may also need an Unregistered Vehicle Permit just to drive it to a tester. VicRoads’ registration steps ask for the VIN and engine number, and helpfully Lloyds lists both (engine L522V1987). Buyers outside Victoria will face their own state’s rules.
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On insurance, a car like this belongs on an agreed-value collector policy rather than a standard one. Insurers will pay for what you can document. If the Stewart ownership can’t be proven on paper, don’t expect it to count in a claim.
The takeaway
This is a low-kilometre, right-hand-drive, factory-roadster Diablo from the last of the pop-up-headlight era, with an entertaining backstory attached. Bid on the car. Treat Rod as a bonus until someone shows you his name on a document.
Images Via: Lloyds Auctions
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