This remodel is really crazy! Introducing the “Jeeporghini”: half Jeep Cherokee, half Lamborghini Diablo. A US inventor wants to combine the chassis of a Jeep Cherokee with the body of a replica Lamborghini Diablo to create the ultimate off-road Lambo!
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Lamborghini has just announced that Uru’s number 20,000 has left the factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese. The higher Huracán Sterrato will probably also be officially presented in 2022 – so off-road fans are now also getting their money’s worth at Lamborghini.
But Ricky Irizarry from Illinois (USA) thought to himself: “What the Italians can do, I can do for a long time.” And so he decided to build what is probably the most off-road “Lamborghini” since the legendary LM002.
No original Lamborghini was sacrificed
The quotation marks already suggest that no original Diablo had to believe in the Frankenstein project. Instead, Irizarry uses a replica body of a 1999 Diablo VT Roadster, which doesn’t even look bad in the photos in terms of dimensions.
No need to worry: no original Lamborghini Diablo was sacrificed for the wild conversion. The body is a replica.
As a basis for his Jeeporghini, Irizarry decided on a Jeep Liberty KJ, which was offered in this country as the Cherokee KJ. However, not much is left of the off-roader. The roof as well as the A, B and C pillars were sawed off and almost all body parts were dismantled so that in the end only the chassis including the drive train survived.
The inventor wants to put the replica body of the Diablo on this basis. What sounds so simple here should not be child’s play. Because even if the wheelbases of the Cherokee and Diablo are almost identical to the millimeter, some adjustment work should be necessary. Still, the crazy scheme could work. At least in theory.
V6 instead of V12
There is still a lot to be done in practice. At the current time, doors, windshield and front apron are still missing. Not to mention the finish. The biggest problem is probably the design, because while the Jeep Cherokee has a front engine, the Lamborghini Diablo is a supercar with a mid-engine.
Speaking of the engine, there’s no official powertrain information, but it’s safe to assume that Irizarry will keep the Cherokee’s original engine to keep costs down. In Germany, the most powerful version of the Cherokee had a 3.7-liter V6 with 211 hp.
A lot of adjustment work is still needed. But if the conversion actually works, the Jeeporghini should attract a lot of attention.
This would mean that the Jeeporghini would be hopelessly underpowered compared to the 530 hp Diablo VT Roadster, but compared to the Italian super sports car it would not fail at the first curb. Thanks to its chunky off-road tires, the Frankenstein Lambo could simply iron over such obstacles.
Until then, however, there is still a lot to be done. Should the Jeeporghini be finished one day, Irizarry already has a concrete plan: He wants to use the unusual off-roader as a daily driver. The Jeeporghini will probably draw even more attention than a brand new Lamborghini Urus.
