Volkswagen quietly tested its groundbreaking W16 engine—the heart of the future Bugatti Veyron and Chiron—inside a Lamborghini Diablo SV before either supercar existed. This unusual move highlights the company’s aggressive engineering approach under the leadership of Ferdinand Piëch.
The W16’s Origins
Piëch was known for pushing boundaries, even if it meant expensive, unconventional experiments. VW previously fitted a V12 diesel into an Audi R8 and even offered V10 and V12 diesel options in mainstream models like the Touareg and Q7. But the W16 was his most ambitious project. The initial concept, a W18 engine, debuted at the 1999 Frankfurt Motor Show, but VW ultimately settled on an 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W16 for the Veyron.
Diablo as a Test Mule
Before building Veyron prototypes, engineers needed a platform to validate the engine. With Lamborghini under its control since 1998, VW chose a Diablo SV—a pre-facelift model without pop-up headlights—and replaced its V12 with the W16. Photos from the Autostadt museum near VW’s Wolfsburg factory reveal the prototype, clearly modified with extra cooling cutouts in the rear bodywork. The Diablo’s raw, race-car aesthetic reflects the engine’s early development stage.
The Bigger Picture
The W16 wasn’t VW’s only sixteen-cylinder project. Concepts like the Bentley Hunaudières and Audi Rosemeyer also explored the configuration. The W12, another Piëch favorite, recently ended production with the Bentley Batur. Now, the W16 is also phasing out with the final Bugatti Mistral, though its legacy will live on in the V16-powered Tourbillon. Meanwhile, Lamborghini continues with its V12 in the Revuelto.
The Diablo test mule is a reminder that even automotive legends start somewhere—often in unexpected places.
This early experiment underscores VW’s relentless pursuit of engineering dominance, even if it meant stuffing a massive sixteen-cylinder engine into a Lamborghini Diablo just to see if it could work. The result was an automotive icon, but the W16’s journey began as a secret test, hidden inside an Italian supercar.
