The PROCAR Champ Series was host to a variety of manufacturers including the one imaginations were created from, Nations Cup.
One of the memorable combinations from the era is Paul Stokell and the Lamborghini Diablo.
It was a lone fight for the Lamborghini against the best of Ferrari, Porsche and Dodge had to offer in the new Nations Cup series beginning in 2000.
Formed out of splitting the GT Production category due to the growing speed disparities as demonstrated during the Bathurst Showroom Showdown in 2000, the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Nissan, Dodge and BMW contested the new Nations Cup title.
Team Lamborghini Australia entered the new Nations Cup with a race version of the Diablo SV used in one-make competition in Europe. The SVR holds the distinction of being the first factory-developed racing model conceived by Lamborghini.
A 5.7-litre naturally aspirated V12 producing nearly 400kW was mated to a lightened body and five-speed manual gearbox.
Stokell used the 400kW V12 to its fullest to win the Lamborghini’s first round at Mount Panorama supporting the Bathurst 1000.
Finishing fourth in its debut season, the Lamborghini team led by Andrew Smith was targeting the title in 2001.
This time, Stokell took four round wins at Wakefield Park, Queensland Raceway, Eastern Creek and Gold Coast to finish second in the title race behind Jim Richards.
A backwards step for Stokell in 2002 led to two non-scoring rounds and matched by an equal amount of victories.
For 2003, Team Lamborghini Australia returned with an upgraded package determined to take title victory.
The GTR was introduced in 2000 to replace the SVR featuring a stripped out interior, handling improvements, further weight reduction and a power gain of 434kW and 640Nm.
A rare model, the GTR was restricted to 40 units and two came to Australia.
Up against competition including the new Holden Monaro 427C, Ferrari 360 N-GT and Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the Lamborghini was up against it.
But, it proved a fairytale for Stokell by securing the rounds at Queensland Raceway, Oran Park, Phillip Island and Surfers Paradise, where the final race was cancelled due to a bomb scare.
Fields began to drop during this season and got worse in 2004 when Stokell repeated the dose against a pair of Monaros.
Allan Simonsen made fleeting appearances in a Ferrari 550 GT2 backed by Coopers, but this was penalised significantly.
Stokell won at Adelaide, Sandown, Eastern Creek and Wakefield Park to secure back-to-back crowns in the midst of PROCAR Australia shutting down operations in April of that year.
The final round at Mallala marked the end of Nations Cup in addition to the close of the chapter on Stokell and Lamborghini.
Never again did Lamborghini get back into Australian motorsport although it dabbled in the new GT Championship a few times, including with the new Gallardo GT3 steered by John Bowe.