Classic Car: Lamborghini Countach

The history of Lamborghinin is quite fascinating.  Ferruccio Lamborghini originally built tractors.  He owned several Ferraris.  He found out that the clutches were inferior.  He confronted Enzo Ferrari about the problems with his cars.  Enzo told  Ferruccio, "How dare a tractor maker tell me how to make a sports car."  Infuriated, Ferruccio Lamborghini created his own brand of sports cars.  His first car was the 350GT, a front engine, rear-wheel drive grand tourer.  One of the more famous Lambos is the Countach, built from 1974 to 1990.  2,042 Countaches were made.

I first saw the Countach at the 2010 Houston Classic Chassis.  First thought was "What a piece of art.  This is one of the best looking classic cars I have ever seen."  The Countach has made several appearances at Houston Cars and Coffee.

The Lamborghini Countach came in four specs, with a 25 anniversary edition. The Countach LP400 came 4.0L V12 that produced 370 hp, 266 lb-ft torque, and went from 0 to 60 mph in 5.3 sec, with a top speed of 177 mph.  The Countach LP400S came 4.0L V12 that produced 370 hp, 266 lb-ft torque, and went from 0 to 60 mph in 5.3 sec, with a top speed of 182 mph. The Countach LP500S came 5.0L V12 that produced 370 hp, 302 lb-ft torque, and went from 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 sec, with a top speed of 181 mph. The Countach LP500SQV came 5.2L V12 that produced 449 hp, 369 lb-ft torque, and went from 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 sec, with a top speed of 182 mph. This is a fast car, no matter what engine is in it.  The body may look like it has great aerodynamics, but its body is like a brick moving through air.

The Lamborghini Countach has been featured at Jay Leno's Garage.  It has been featured in many racing games, including Burnout Paradise, Project Gotham Racing 4, Grand Turismo 5, and Forza Motorsport 3, adn Test Drive Unlimited.  It was part of a DLC package for Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit.  Red Alert from Transformers G1 used the Countach as his vehicle mode.  The boys of Top Gear used the Countach as one of its exhibits when they took over an art museum in Great Britain.

Final Thought:  What a work of art. It is a great looking car. It is fast and a great addition to any classic car collection. One can see  the Countach design in the Lamborghini Diablo and Murcielago.

CarJunkie
Photo was taken from a camera phone.  Engine data came from automobile-catalog.com