Life Of The Countach
When the 1974 exotic Countach was first released it became a popular vehicle that everyone wanted. What with the unusual styling, V-12 engine and the speed that it could travel who wouldn’t want it?
The Countach would eventually produce 420 horsepower with four-valve cylinder heads and go even faster. I once quickly accelerated from 75 mph to 150 mph in a friend’s Countach, and the car felt relaxed all the way, with great stability. The Countach’s basic body remained essentially unchanged throughout its career. Its pivoting doors opened up scissor-style, unlike conventional swing-up doors on some sports cars such as the DeLorean that made it hard to get out in tight parking spots.
The Lamborghini Countach has become a legend in its own time, but Automobili Lamborghini took this masterpiece one-step further. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the creation of Automobili Lamborghini SpA they designed and built what would become the ultimate Countach.
During the 1986 production year, Giulio Alfieri received a new redesign for the legendary Countach. The QuattroValvole was in production, but Ferrari was closing the gap very fast, so Lamborghini had to come with something new. The R&D department at Automobili Lamborghini SpA was urged to modify the Countach to keep it at the top of the supercar market.
No Lamborghini had ever officially raced under their name, several private parties had entered Lamborghini’s in races, but never with any success though.
The Lamborghini Countach LP500 (Longitudinal Posterior 5 Litre) appeared for the first time in March 1971 at the Geneva show. The car probably received its name before the show when someone at Bertone’s Grugliasco plant saw it and exclaimed “Countach” (pronounced “COON-tahsh” or “CUN-touch”, Italians use both pronunciations). The expression is from a local Piemontese dialect that seems difficult to translate without offending someone. It is the sort of thing a northern Italian male might say to express appreciation of a particularly attractive female.