Zagato Raptor: a Lamborghini Diablo with extra bark

By Mick Walsh

| 11 Jun 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Zagato Raptor: a Lamborghini Diablo with extra bark

Nothing, claims skeleton bob world champion Alain Wicki, comes close to the speed thrill of his specialist sport – so the dramatic one-off supercar he commissioned had a lot to live up to.

With your body inches from the famous St Moritz Cresta Run track, the single-man bobsleigh approaches 100mph and pulls a crazy 6g in the curves.

“It has the power to compress time,” he enthuses, “and I think only a military jet would match the sensation of speed.”

Locking horns with the outrageous Zagato Raptor, the Swiss interpretation of Sant’Agata’s devil in disguise

Speed is in the Wicki family’s blood – his father was Olympic bobsleigh champion in 1972.

But when not flashing down an icy open tube, their focus turns to cars.

Wicki Snr once bought Bugattis for the Schlumpf brothers and has built up an impressive collection, featuring Lamborghinis and Zagato coachwork.

“Their work was timeless,” Alain explains. “For me, Zagato produced the best-looking cars, but only once did they style a Lamborghini. The 3500 GTZ was not a happy outcome.”

Only two were built and, following a poor reception at the 1965 Paris Salon, connections between the Milanese coachbuilder and Sant’Agata ended: “After 30 years, I began to think it was time these two famous but then struggling companies should work together again.”

The Lamborghini Diablo-based Zagato Raptor has unique Compomotive starfish alloy wheels

Alain is also a successful venture capitalist.

The more he thought about the union, the more motivated he became to make it happen: “Both Zagato and Lamborghini had too many dreams, but l felt my business experience might make it happen.”

He drummed up some backing for the project from Asia – rumour has it from Korea – but he also dug deep himself.

Zagato was immediately interested in the Swiss supercar dream and saw it as a chance to promote the studio’s new CAD/CAM facilities.

“Following the pre-war idea of custom bodies on a factory-built chassis,” Alain continues, “I wanted to take a modern, high-performance platform and develop a series of body styles for niche markets.

“The combination of Zagato and Lamborghini seemed natural.”

The Zagato Raptor’s neat LCD dash has a hard time keeping up with flow of data from the howling Lamborghini V12

“I proposed the idea to Andrea Zagato, whose firm had great young talent but no money,” he explains.

“It was a tragedy that such a famous name had gone into receivership, and this project was the perfect way of relaunching the company.

“The four-wheel-drive Diablo VT was ideal, and we knew the company was desperate for new models.

“Lamborghini president Mike Kimberley wanted a series of special editions for a younger market and was enthusiastic about our idea.

“We also wanted to develop a ‘Trophy’ car for racing.

“To create a range of body styles, it needed to be a three-part modular design, which could be swapped quickly for road or track use.”

The Zagato Raptor’s aluminium console houses switchgear and the open gearlever gate

The show car was produced in a remarkably short period, helped by using a fully developed platform as Lamborghini provided a Diablo: “We had the idea in the summer of 1995, then started work on the chassis in December and completed it in time for the Geneva Salon in March 1996.

“The Raptor’s success was due to a fantastically enthusiastic young team that worked all hours. It was a great experience.”

The Raptor name was thought up late one night in a Milan bar: “We were working through animal names, following the idea of the Lancia Hyena.

“Andrea liked Orca, the killer whale, but someone had seen Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and suggested Raptor.

“It was perfect for the car: a quick little devil with aggressive looks. The letter R sounded just right.

“The Diablo chassis was strengthened, particularly at the sides, but the suspension and wheelbase remained unmodified.

“With weight dramatically reduced, down from 1735kg to 1350kg, the car’s performance was transformed, without extra tuning for the V12.

“The power was fantastic as standard, but we felt the brakes were weak, so we fitted British Alcon racing calipers and discs.”

The Zagato Raptor’s menacing head-on view emphasises its evil dinosaur inspiration

The Raptor’s reception at the Geneva show far exceeded Alain’s expectations: “When you design a car on computer, it’s difficult to gauge reaction. The shape prompted some exciting discussions and we took 550 addresses.”

Through no problem with the Raptor itself, the project collapsed around its one-off Compomotive wheels.

First, Kimberley left Lamborghini to join Proton in Indonesia then Andrea Zagato, after marrying Marella Rivolta, Pietro Rivolta’s daughter, seemed to lose interest.

“I was bitterly disappointed with the outcome,” Alain remembers, “particularly because we had all worked so closely at Zagato.

“Although many at Lamborghini liked the Raptor, the situation within the factory was changing daily, with different agendas and motivations.

“We heard that some of Lamborghini’s suppliers were resistant to the project, fearing it might affect their contracts.

“Italian business mentality was an education to me, but not speaking the language was definitely a big handicap.”

The Zagato Raptor’s slender Alcantara sports seats

Although enthusiasm for the Raptor at Zagato and Lamborghini eventually faded, the car was in big demand at shows, proving that the combination of these two Italian automotive legends captured enthusiasts’ imaginations.

After the Geneva Salon, the Raptor was taken next to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, when the flagship event celebrated the Milan carrozzeria.

Here Californians could clearly see the ‘double-bubble’ lineage, from baby Abarths to the 200mph supercar.

The Raptor then headed south, wowing visitors at the Mexico City motor show, before coming back to Europe.

The Raptor’s final public outing was the Louis Vuitton Classic in Paris in September 1998 and, to prove it was no hollow styling exercise, Wicki Snr drove the car home to Switzerland.

Its dramatic styling must have stunned other road users as it howled the 500km to Geneva, where it went into underground storage.

For Alain, just the sight of the Raptor brings back too many frustrating memories of lost opportunities.

With its fierce air scoop, the Zagato Raptor’s design echoes the Lamborghini Miura’s engine vents and the 3500GT’s rear swage line

With Volkswagen’s buyout of Lamborghini, there was a slim chance the new management might re-evaluate the car.

But in 2000, he and his father decided to sell their classic collection – including the Raptor – at Brooks Europe’s Geneva auction, almost four years since its debut at the motor show: “It seems such a waste that just one car was built.

“If we had intended to build a one-off prototype, we could have made it at a fraction of the cost. The Raptor was production-ready. That’s the biggest tragedy.”

Few felt confident to value the unique machine and, conspicuously minus any Lamborghini badging – but proudly wearing its famous Z motif – it was knocked down for £144,000.

For the ultimate pose at a club rally, it looked a bargain. Actor Nicholas Cage missed out and the car stayed in Europe.

The Raptor’s aggressive styling still looks fresh and would make a perfect fantasy Hot Wheels toy racer.

Thanks to the clipped tail, it instantly appears more compact than the Diablo on which it’s based, and the taut styling masterfully enhances the bold, starfish-like custom alloy wheels and steamroller Pirelli P Zeros.

The Zagato Raptor’s cab revisits the coachbuilder’s signature ‘double-bubble’ top

Zagato’s team wittily paid homage to Lamborghini’s rich history with styling cues to its offshore powerboat glory in the cockpit canopy and sharpened nose profile, the Miura’s distinctive slatted rear vents and the 350GT’s emphatic rear swage line.

Boldest of all was the return of the classic ‘double-bubble’ signature for the shapely roof and engine cover.

“We were keen to get a family feeling from the start,” recalls Alain.

“Originally orange was planned, in keeping with the bold paintjobs available on the Miura, but we finally chose the elegant aqua blue of the BAT Alfas.”

To prove that it really works, Alain allows us a short drive before the Raptor is sold.

The huge cockpit section hinges forward, supported by two slim hydraulic struts.

Climb over the high, fat sill, slink down into the bath of grey Alcantara and, just as you’re settled, there’s a long stretch back up to the grabhandle to pull down the heavy canopy.

The Zagato Raptor’s straked tail

Compared with the donor Lamborghini Diablo, the cockpit is tightly packed, giving the impression of a crash helmet, the close windscreen like a visor.

As Alain puts it: “We wanted the driver to feel at the centre of the action, and to emphasise the fun of driving.”

The controls are minimal, with a compact LCD screen ahead of the chunky Momo wheel and a tidy cluster of switches grouped in an aluminium panel on the broad, grey suedette centre console.

A short, stubby gearlever sprouts from the open gate.

When the V12 cranks into life, its fearsome beat suffuses your eardrums.

In the low rev range its score is more muscle-car rumble, but push the throttle deeper and the tone transforms into a menacing yowl.

The Lamborghini heart perfectly matches the Raptor’s styling and, snapping up through the gears, the sounds fills your head.

The low, squat stance underlines the Zagato Raptor’s purposeful attitude: it’s almost 400kg lighter than its Lamborghini Diablo donor

The roar accompanying this explosion of power has the intensity of headphones charged with heavy metal, and the rush of air whipping your scalp as it guns away just adds to the drama.

Like the Ferrari F40, this composite creation feels race-car fit and its raw sensations are a refreshing priority.

Too often supercar designers forget driving should be fun, not an intimidating challenge.

The Raptor isn’t perfect. The rear vision is totally blind, in Lamborghini Countach tradition, the LCD has fits trying to relay engine revs and speed, the unassisted steering is leaden and the clutch requires Sly Stallone-style muscle.

Yet once it is in full flight, these niggles are shattered by the startling performance.

For me, Lamborghinis have too often been the motoring equivalent of body building.

This trim, athletic road rocket could have changed all that.

Images: Tony Baker/Scott Pattenden/RM Sotheby’s

This was first in our August 2000 magazine; all information was correct at the date of original publication

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