Lamborghini stunned the world at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show with the LP 500 Countach, a futuristic sports car with a 5-litre V12 engine in the longitudinal rear position (Longitudinale Posteriore). Its radical aerodynamic shapes immediately caught the attention of the public and critics, but no one could have anticipated then the great influence it would have in the automotive world and the enormous impact it had among high-performance supercars during the 20 years it was in production with hardly any changes. substantial in its design.
The Countach became a benchmark for several generations of motor enthusiasts and a cult car for younger fans, whose rooms were not without a “UFO” poster designed by Bertone, clearly ahead of its time.
Its name owes its origin to the expression Countach typical of the Piedmont dialect, which means surprise or admiration. The people in charge of the company knew, after learning about this word, that there could not be a better way to define their car in impossible ways and that is how they baptized it. The definitive production version arrived in 1973, the LP 400 Periscope, due to the unique concave roof that the first units wore; today the most coveted and valued.
If we add the fact that it was also the last unit assembled on the Sant’Agata Bolognese assembly line to the privilege of driving a dream machine, a global automotive legend, the experience already takes on epic overtones. The Countach that we were lucky enough to drive had just over 11,000 km on its odometer, and it has never been sold or registered, since it went directly to join the collection of the Lamborghini Museum as it is a historical example.
Hardly used in these more than 30 years, –with a provisional plate for occasional outings on the open road– it is a 25th Anniversary commemorative edition in Argento Metallizzato color with gray interiors that was the 1999 unit manufactured. Between 1973 and July 4, 1990 (date of assembly of the latter Countach) there were 152 units of the LP 400, 235 of the LP 400 S, 323 of the LP 5000S, 631 of the Quattrovalvole and 658 of the 25th Anniversary.
It is, therefore, a practically new car, but with the exception that it is three decades old and its configuration, its architecture and many of its mechanical and technological solutions date back 50 years. Without a doubt, its handling is quite a challenge, a truly difficult and complicated car to drive, one would almost say that it is reserved for experienced drivers, if not pilots. Extracting its potential requires having very good hands and a lot of courage…
The factors that greatly complicate its driving are multiple, such as exceptionally hard steering, with a very small steering wheel and off-center with respect to the position of the pedals. Unlike most cars today, our feet are not in the center of the steering wheel, but instead the position is slightly to one side.
Another element that adds notable difficulty in mastering the Countach is a gear lever that is also extraordinarily hard, with a rocky touch that requires a sudden movement of the arm each time we engage a gear on its narrow H-shaped grille. lever with unusual force and exercise the arm decisively to go up or down a gear. When reducing and releasing the clutch, the rear end ‘slaps’ are also frequent if a toe-heel and a double-clutch maneuver are not carried out to cushion the abrupt disengagement with the consequent retention.
Of course, among the positive aspects, the immeasurable and thunderous sound of its 5.2-liter V12 and 455 hp that howls like an F-1 engine shines. It is overwhelming to be exposed to the vibrations and frequencies emanating from your block, a simply intoxicating sensory experience.
The epic of the Countach is also supported by unique elements, such as its scissor-opening doors – which force you to sit practically on the threshold of the car to undertake the reversing maneuver due to the null rear visibility –, the imposing oversized rear covers ( 345/35 ZR 15) in relation to the modest 225/50 ZR 15 front tires, or their improbable angular shapes with colossal dimensions: only 4.14 m long but with a width of 2.00 m and a height of only 1.07m; a real spaceship from beyond…
