Lamborghini celebrates 50th anniversary of Countach

To mark the 50th anniversary and five generations of the Lamborghini Countach, the Italian supercar maker has released the first in a series of short weekly videos via its social media channels.

Tracing the 17-year production story of the supercar that debuted at the 1971 Geneva motor show and the personalities behind it, the first video features the original Countach (and Miura) designer, Marcello Gandini.

Fearing the Miura was ageing, Ferruccio Lamborghini charged his team with creating a faster, more technically advanced car that was daring in design, before Gandini penned a low, wide design called the LP 500 and featuring sharp edges and signature scissor doors.

The model was called the Countach, which is an exclamation of astonishment in Piedmontese, a dialect spoken within a region of Italy.

In the Lamborghini Countach, the V12 engine layout went from rear transverse to rear longitudinal, hence the LP standing for 'longitudinale posteriore'. To achieve this the transmission was placed at front of the engine, with a tail shaft running back through the engine.

Built to gauge public reaction, the LP 500 prototype was overwhelmingly well received so Lamborghini forged ahead with development and the production-ready Countach LP 400 debuted at the 1973 Geneva motor show. 

Built on a tubular steel frame wrapped in fibreglass and aluminium panels, the LP 400 claimed a top speed of 300km/h and was slated to have a 5.0-litre engine. But that proved troublesome so it was replaced with a 4.0-litre V12 featuring six Weber carburettors.

Today the LP 400 is considered the purest of Gandini’s designs, and with just 152 produced it's the most sought-after Countach.

1978 saw the LP 400 S continue the Countach lineage, but now sporting Pirelli P7 tyres on freshly designed magnesium wheels and a distinctive optional rear wing that became a must-have for most buyers and a trademark feature for the Italian supercar, 235 units of which were made until 1982.

The 1982 Geneva motor show was the scene of the next Countach chapter, with the launch of the LP 5000 S and four-digit model numbering. The 5000 refers to the 5.0-litre engine created by Giulio Alfieri.

The styling was quite different compared to its predecessor, while the interior was only slightly revised. The new engine put out a respectable 375hp at 7000rpm but still sported six Weber 45 DCOE horizontal twin-body carbs.

In total, 323 units were produced until 1985, when the LP 5000 Quattrovalvole (QV) was revealed at, you guessed it, the Geneva motor show in March that year.

The LP 5000 QV was the first Countach to be officially type-approved for sale in the USA, resulting in almost 50 per cent of total Countach production being achieved in its final four years when the model was over 15 years old.

Displacement of the V12 rose to 5.2 litres and power increased to 455hp at 7000rpm. While the six Webers were retained, they were now mounted vertically, leading to bodywork modifications, while US-bound versions were fitted with Bosch KE-Jetronic electronic fuel-injection and catalytic converters to meet emissions legislation. To aid handling, the wheel track was widened by 4.4mm.

The QV was the first production Lamborghini to use composite materials, albeit only the engine cover, and to meet US regulations it added side turn indicators and an oversized front bumper. In all, 631 Quattrovalvole models were produced.

The 25th anniversary edition of the Lamborghini Countach was unveiled in 1988, with Horacio Pagani revising the bodywork via rounder edges and elongated rear air intakes, adding a hot-air outlet and integrating the wheel-arch extensions, while the chassis was tweaked to better cope with new Pirelli P Zero tyres.

These modifications, some directly from the Evoluzione prototype, made the 25th Anniversary edition the most aerodynamically effective Countach of all.

The anniversary edition was also the most refined and fastest Countach, accelerating to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 295km/h.

Countach production ended on July 4, 1990, when a silver/grey 25th Anniversary model rolled off the line bearing car number 658, making the 25th Anniversary series the most popular in Countach history.

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