Half a century ago, at the Geneva Motor Show, the Lamborghini LP500 concept car announced the arrival of a monster that will be called Countach. It will be the most iconic of the supercars for the next two decades. Which rises from its ashes in 2021.
If the production Lamborghini Countach which is undoubtedly the most emblematic supercar of the 1970s and 1980s (2000 units from 1974 to 1990), his very first appearance dates back to March 1971 in the form of the LP500 concept car, revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.
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The most extravagant car possible!
This is the type of staging that we found fifty years ago for …
The specifications were very simple and straightforward: draw the most extravagant car possible. This was the request formulated by the engineer Paolo Stanzani to the stylist Marcello Gandini. The emeritus designer working, at the time, for Bertone had free rein because the car was not intended initially to be produced in series. To say that his first appearance caused a sensation is an understatement. Countach, the car’s baptismal name, expresses the idea of something fabulous in Piedmontese slang. According to the legend, it would be Nuccio Bertone, in person, who would have exclaimed thus when discovering the car. In any case, the LP500 prototype left no one indifferent and, at Lamborghini, we quickly considered moving to the series.
In order to adapt to the constraints of industrialization, the LP500 prototype, meaning Longitudionale Posteriore engine with 5 liters of displacement, had to be modified. The V12 lost a liter in the battle which explains the Lamborghini Countach LP400 trade name. Initially animated by a block of 3,929 cm3 strong of 375 ch, the Italian did not cease to increase in power. At the end of its career, it housed an engine cubing 5.2 liters and delivering 455 hp.
Four-valve-per-cylinder technology (Quattro Valvole) made its appearance and imposed bumps at the top of the hood engine penalizing the retrovision, already mediocre. Along with the mechanical evolution, the Countach kept changing its physical appearance, like a bodybuilder again and again sculpting his body. Initially fluid and refined, his style has gradually … become more complex. In 1978, the LP 400S version adopted a body kit imposed by the presence of wider tires and, some versions were differentiated by an optional Dallara spoiler. While the exclusive so-called “periscopio” version, with a pavilion hollowed out in its central part to facilitate rear view, has disappeared.
The “25e birthday “to end in style?
Lamborghini Countach 25 Anniversario (1988-1990)
Lamborghini Countach career ends with Edition 25e birthday celebrating 25 years of the brand’s automotive department. Derived from the LP500 QV, it is distinguished mainly by redesigned air intakes and narrower headlights at the rear. The next generation will take the form of the Lamborghini Diablo.
- Lamborghini Countach production volumes
| Lamborghini LP500 | 1971 | 1 |
| Lamborghini Countach LP400 Prototipo | 1973 | 1 |
| Lamborghini Countach LP400 | 1974-1978 | 152 |
| Lamborghini Countach LP400 S | 1978-1982 | 237 |
| Lamborghini Countach LP500 S | 1982-1985 | 323 |
| Lamborghini Countach LP500 S QV | 1985-1988 | 631 |
| Lamborghini Countach Evoluzion | 1987 | 1 |
| Lamborghini Countach LP150 Prototipo | 1987 | 1 |
| Lamborghini Countach 25 Anniversario | 1988-1990 | 658 |
Renaissance in 2021
To celebrate its 50e anniversary, Lamborghini presented at Pebble Beach the Countach of the XXIe century. To design it, Lamborghini drew elements from different versions of the original model. On the other hand, it adopts a modern technical base, that of Sian. Therefore, she receives an atypical light hybridization mechanics. It is powered by an atmospheric 6.5 V12 of 780 hp (5 hp less than the Sian) and 720 Nm of torque capable of taking 8,700 rpm, associated with a small 34 hp electric motor, for a total of 814 hp . This second generation will only be produced in 112 units., which already makes it a collector.
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