Lamborghini’s Countach eclipsed even the company’s earlier Miura model as the ultimate exotic sports car. The Miura’s voluptuous looks had caused a sensation in 1966, and now the Countach did it again.
Lamborghini Countach 1971
- YEAR REVEALED 1971
- PLACE OF ORIGIN Modena, Italy
- HISTORICAL STATUS production car
- ENGINE V12-cylinder, 240–315ci (3,929–5,167cc)
- MAXIMUM POWER 455bhp (5,167cc)
- LAYOUT mid-mounted engine driving the rear wheels
- BODYWORK two-door, two-seater coupé
- TOP SPEED 178mph (286kph)
- NUMBER BUILT 2,042
The car’s designer, Marcello Gandini at Bertone, was the same, but the Miura was broader and flatter in character. The cab-forward racer look on the new design highlighted the fundamental difference between Miura and Countach.
The sensational V12 engine was the same and still mid-mounted but, in the new car, it was now positioned in-line, with the gearbox located between the driver and the passenger seats. The 1971 LP500 show car, painted bright yellow, was the motoring pin-up of its time, with a 178mph (286kph) top speed.
But changes were required before wealthy customers roared off in the first production version, named the LP400. In particular, the bodywork gained several prominent air ducts to ventilate the potent power unit.
The Countach would be on sale until 1990, but later cars, while gaining bigger engines, also had towering aerofoils, bulges to cover the six repositioned carburetors, extended wheelarches, and enormously fat tires. Ironically, the aerodynamic addenda increased the car’s roadholding but blunted its top speed.