The Lamborghini Countach from the 1981 film The Cannonball Run cements itself in US history
The 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S is well known for being the star of the 1981 comedy film The Cannonball Run and has now been recognised as nationally significant.Exactly 40 years after the release of the film The Cannonball Run which is considered one of the most iconic car movies of all time, the Lamborghini Countach has made history by being added to the National Historic Vehicle Register of the United States Library of Congress. Just one of 30 cars to date considered of national importance to the United States placed on the register which is managed by Hagerty Driver’s Foundation.
All information about the car including its history, copies of all its documentation as well as a 3D scan of it will now be preserved in the Library of Congress, the oldest cultural institution in the United States, an official body of the United States Congress and America’s national library.
To celebrate this historic moment, the Countach is being displayed this week inside a glass case on the National Mall in Washington D.C., one of the US capital’s most important historic sites, which is also home to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
When The Cannonball Run film first hit cinemas in 1981, no one could have foreseen the enormous success it would have and its importance in the history of American culture. The film was based on the real-life secret race that had taken place for several years between the east and west coasts of the United States.
At the time, the US had a top speed limit of 55 mph (88 km/h) across the country so any dream of high speeds, even just slightly higher, was strictly repressed by the police. A group of passionate motorists decided to challenge the system by racing across the country in the least amount of time, starting in downtown Manhattan in New York to a marina in Redondo Beach, California.
Like any great underdog story, Hollywood came calling and created the movie, choosing the most iconic cars of the era driven by a star-studded cast including Roger Moore, Burt Reynolds, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Junior, and Farrah Fawcett.
The undisputed protagonist and winner of the race highlighted in the film was the 1979 Countach LP 400 S, black with mustard yellow interior. Right from the opening scene of the film dedicated entirely to the Countach, shot in the desert east of Las Vegas and using the sound of the V12 as the soundtrack, the Countach was one of the biggest stars of the movie and had the audience dreaming.
The car featured in the film was imported to the United States and sold in Florida and in 1980, the owner, a friend of the film’s director Hal Needham, loaned it to him for filming. The Countach was modified for the movie with the addition of a front spoiler, twin spotlights, three antennas and 12 exhaust pipes.
It was noticed on the set by Ron Rice, founder of the sunscreen brand Hawaiian Tropic that was famous for its motorsport sponsorships, who fell in love with it and bought it on the spot. He kept it until 2004 when it was sold to attorney and Lamborghini aficionado Jeff Ippoliti of Florida, who still owns it today.
The Hagerty Drivers Foundation helps to shape the future of car culture by celebrating US automotive history. Since 2009, 30 vehicles (including the Cannonball Lambo) have been added to the National Historic Vehicle Register. Other cars on the register include the 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 from Back to the Future, the 1968 Ford Mustang from Bullitt, 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL and 1927 Ford Model T.
Related: The story of the real Cannonball Run
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