When you think of Lamborghini, the last thing you’d expect is the rattly sound of a turbo diesel.
Unless you’re thinking back to the old days where Lamborghini was producing mostly tractors in the 1950s.
But this is far from a tractor – meet the twin-turbo diesel-swapped Lamborghini Gallardo.
The brainchild of 1 Way Diesel Performance, this wacky swap began with a chance encounter with a wrecked 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo.
What some might have considered destined for the scrapyard became a blank canvas for these folks.
After straightening the chassis and replacing the damaged panels of the distressed Bull, the mad scientists got to work on the driveline.
Rather than conforming to an LS or 2JZ engine swap, the team decided to do something completely unexpected by shoehorning a twin-turbo 5.9L Cummins diesel straight-six engine into the Gallardo’s engine bay, and bolted it to a six-speed transmission.
Wondering how they squeezed the Cummins motor into the Gallardo’s engine bay? Initially the V10 is only five cylinders long, so to make it work they had to cut the original firewall behind the driver and create a new one from scratch.
Surprisingly, the end result is still remarkably neat, despite the newly massaged engine bay eating nearly 30cm of the cabin space.
As for the engine itself, you better believe it’s heavily modified. With a claimed 745kW and probably enough torque to split the lightweight alloy chassis, I’d hazard a guess this Frankenstein creation still knows how to move!
Given the Cummins weighs somewhere in the region of 550kg versus the lightweight V10 it replaced tipping the scales at only 235kg – it’s just as well there’s more than double the horsepower on tap.
The exterior is awarded a widebody kit, custom wheels and a stunning paint job.
