For years, Lamborghini has been best-known for building the supercars in posters hung on your childhood bedroom’s wall, as a constant reminder to finish your homework on time. The Italian automaker was also known for something else, however — being perpetually broke.

In 1987, Lamborghini was owned by brothers Robert, Jean-Claude, and Patrick Mimran, three Swiss billionaires who made their money in the sugar industry. However, nothing was as sweet as this week 32 years ago, when they sold Lamborghini to Chrysler for US$25.2 million. They were the only people to ever make money owning Lamborghini, according to Road and Track. Ouch.

Chrysler was excited about the acquisition, investing almost double the purchase price back into Lamborghini. To show off the new venture, it decided to go all-out with a concept called the Portofino, but it’s not even close to the Ferrari that wears the name today. Instead, it was a mid-engined sedan with four scissor doors, a five-speed manual transmission, and the screaming V8 from the Jalpa — from which it also borrowed the chassis.

Folks within Lamborghini called it a “Big Potato,” but they still had their jobs. The concept ended up being developed into designs that would define Chrysler for decades, so Chrysler owed them one. A big one.

Enter the Diablo.

Codenamed Project 132, it debuted on January 1, 1990 in Monte Carlo and the specs were insane, starting with a 492 horsepower V12 that could kill a Jaguar or Bugatti, in addition to a zero-to-60 mph time of just 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 202 mph — making it, at the time, the fastest car in the world. Marcello Gandini, who also designed the Miura, was responsible for the iconic lines and Dodge Viper designer Tom Gale also worked on the final design. Priced at a staggering US$211,050, the Diablo went on to earn Lamborghini US$1 million in profits by 1991.

It seemed like Lamborghini was on top of the world — until it wasn’t. Chrysler began siphoning money from Lamborghini a year later after sales fell through the floor, and it was dropped like a big, hot potato.

From gutter to glory, and back again.