Rod Stewart's 1998 Lamborghini hits auction block for Australian bidders from $1

When it goes, there will absolutely be a tear
Darryn Lyons on parting with the 1998 Lamborghini he's treasured for years.
Mark

So this is just a car that Rod Stewart used to own, and now it's being sold by someone else. Why does that matter?

Mimi

Because it's not just any car—it's a 1998 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster, and Darryn Lyons bought it directly from the dealer after Stewart sold it. He's kept it as one of his most treasured possessions for years, turning down offers the whole time.

Luke

But we don't know how many offers, or how much they were for, right? And we don't actually know why Lyons is selling now. He just decided to.

Mimi

That's true. But the point is he's held onto it long enough that it's become part of his identity as a collector. And Stewart himself has owned seven or eight Lamborghinis over his lifetime, so this particular car carries some weight in his story.

Mark

What's the actual value here? Starting at one dollar seems like a gimmick.

Luke

It is a gimmick—that's how online auctions work. The real price will be whatever the bidding reaches. We have no estimate of what it might actually sell for.

Mimi

Right, but the celebrity connection and the rarity of owning something that came directly from Stewart's hands—that's what drives the value. Lyons himself said it's one of the greatest cars ever built.

Mark

Has Stewart said anything about this particular car being sold?

Luke

Not that's in the reporting. We know he's joked about selling cars due to potholes near his home, but nothing specific about this Diablo.

Mimi

Which is interesting, actually. Stewart's been collecting these cars since the seventies. This one is from 1998. It's part of a much longer story about his relationship with Italian supercars.

Mark

So what happens next? Does the auction actually happen in October?

Mimi

That's the plan. Australian bidders can place offers throughout the month through Lloyds Auctions.

Luke

And then someone owns a car that Rod Stewart used to own. Whether that's worth the money is entirely up to the person bidding.

  • A supercar with a famous past is suddenly accessible to anyone with a dollar and an internet connection, collapsing the distance between celebrity mythology and ordinary life.
  • Darryn Lyons, who resisted years of offers, now admits the parting will bring tears — signaling that even the most prized possessions eventually find their moment of release.
  • The auction is framed as a cultural event as much as a commercial one, with the vehicle marketed as rock memorabilia rather than mere machinery.
  • Stewart's lifelong devotion to Italian supercars — spanning over fifty years and nearly a dozen Lamborghinis — gives the sale a biographical weight that extends well beyond the car itself.
  • With bids opening at one dollar throughout October, the final hammer price will serve as a public referendum on how Australians value the intersection of celebrity, nostalgia, and automotive craftsmanship.

A 1998 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster, once part of Sir Rod Stewart's storied Italian supercar collection, is making its way through the hands of time — from a British rock legend to an Australian businessman who treasured it for years, and now to whoever among the public recognizes what a single dollar might unlock. The car's journey is less about horsepower than about the human tendency to attach meaning to objects that once orbited greatness. In October 2026, Lloyds Auctions in Australia opens the bidding, inviting the world to consider what a piece of rock and roll history is truly worth.

A 1998 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster that once belonged to Sir Rod Stewart is heading to auction in Australia this October, with bidding opening at a single dollar. The car passed from Stewart to Australian businessman and media personality Darryn Lyons, who acquired it directly from a specialist dealer in England and held onto it for years despite repeated offers to buy it away from him.

Lyons has spoken openly about the emotional difficulty of letting it go, describing the vehicle as one of the greatest cars ever built and recalling a childhood dream of one day owning something like it. The sale is being conducted through Lloyds Auctions as part of The Darryn Lyons Collection, giving Australian bidders the chance to claim what is being positioned as a genuine piece of rock and roll history.

Stewart's relationship with Italian supercars is a defining thread of his personal life, stretching back to the 1970s. He has owned somewhere between seven and eight Lamborghinis over the decades, and his collection today includes a 2023 Ferrari LaFerrari valued at over six million dollars. In early 2025, he posted a side-by-side image of himself with a 1971 Lamborghini Miura and his current Ferrari, captioning it with characteristic warmth: "Then and now... Some things never change."

His affection for the cars has occasionally surfaced with humor. In late 2024, he joked about selling several vehicles because of the punishing potholes near his Essex home — a comment that managed to be both genuinely funny and a sincere declaration of love for machines he has driven for half a century. The Diablo VT Roadster now heads to new hands, carrying with it the weight of all that history.

An eighty-one-year-old rock star's old Lamborghini is heading to auction in Australia this month, and the bidding starts at a single dollar. The car in question is a 1998 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster that once belonged to Sir Rod Stewart, the British musician behind "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and decades of stadium-filling hits. What makes this particular vehicle notable is not just its pedigree but its path: after Stewart sold it, Australian businessman and media personality Darryn Lyons acquired it directly from a specialist dealer in England, moving quickly to secure what he would come to regard as one of his most treasured possessions.

Lyons has held onto the car for years, turning down numerous offers to part with it. In a statement accompanying the auction announcement, he described the vehicle as one of the greatest cars ever built and spoke of the emotional weight of letting it go. "As a small boy, I dreamed of one day owning and driving a car like this, so when it goes, there will absolutely be a tear," he said. The car has delivered what he calls a huge amount of enjoyment over the years, and now, for reasons he has not detailed publicly, he has decided the time has come to find it a new owner. The sale will take place through Lloyds Auctions as part of what is being marketed as The Darryn Lyons Collection, with Australian bidders able to place offers throughout October.

Stewart's connection to Lamborghini runs deep and spans decades. He has owned somewhere between seven and eight Lamborghini models over his lifetime, making Italian supercars a defining part of his personal collection. His most expensive acquisition is a 2023 Ferrari LaFerrari valued at approximately six point three million dollars. The singer has been driving these cars since the nineteen seventies, a fact he underscored in April 2025 when he posted a throwback photograph of himself posing with a Lamborghini Miura from nineteen seventy-one, paired with a recent image taken inside his Ferrari. "Then and now... Some things never change," he captioned the post.

Stewart's enthusiasm for his collection has occasionally spilled into public commentary. In late 2024, he joked about the challenges of maintaining his vehicles, posting that he was considering selling several of his sports cars due to severe potholes near his Essex mansion. "I am extremely fortunate and eternally grateful to be the owner of these five beautiful hybrid sports cars, which, in my opinion, are true 'works of art'," he wrote alongside a photo of his collection. "Unfortunately, because of the potholes on our roads, I may have to find new owners for them. I've been driving these iconic Italian cars since the seventies, and I absolutely love and adore them." The comment, delivered with characteristic humor, highlighted both his genuine affection for the vehicles and the real wear that British roads inflict on high-performance machinery.

The auction of the 1998 Diablo VT Roadster represents a rare opportunity for collectors and fans to acquire a piece of rock and roll history—a car that carried one of the era's biggest stars and has since been preserved by someone who valued it enough to resist years of offers. With bidding starting at just one dollar, the final price will depend entirely on how many people in Australia recognize the significance of what they're bidding on.

As a small boy, I dreamed of one day owning and driving a car like this, so when it goes, there will absolutely be a tear.
— Darryn Lyons, on selling the Lamborghini
I've been driving these iconic Italian cars since the seventies, and I absolutely love and adore them.
— Sir Rod Stewart, on his collection of supercars
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