Top five Lamborghini V12s

The Lamborghini Countach has been reincarnated five decades after the birth of the iconic original V12 supercar as the LP500 prototype at the 1971 Geneva motor show.

The original 1974 LP400 Countach, with its trademark scissor doors and aggressive wingless wedge shape, was powered by Lamborghini’s own V12 – a powerplant that fits the mould of a classic Italian thoroughbred.

That engine arrived back in 1963, as a 60-degree V12 displacing 3.5 litres and featuring double overhead camshafts for each bank. In that first iteration, the engine was half a litre larger in capacity than Ferrari's V12, which had just one overhead cam per bank.

Designed by engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, the Lamborghini V12 remained in continuous production between 1963 and 2010. The first car to be powered by the V12 was the Lamborghini 350 GT, a car that embraced the conventional powertrain layout of the time, with engine at the front of the car, driving the rear wheels.

Just three years later, the V12 was bored and stroked to increase the capacity to 3.9 litres, then pressed into service in the 1966 Lamborghini 400 GT.

Peak output rose and the engine was soon slotted into other Lamborghini models – including icons such as the Miura, Jarama, Espada and the first Countach. The engine also powered the Islero, the replacement for the 400 GT.

For the 400 GT, the Islero, Jarama and Espada, the 4.0-litre V12 was mounted longitudinally, at the front of the car.

But the bulky engine was turned 90 degrees and mounted transversely behind the cabin to drive the rear wheels of the Miura, before Lamborghini reverted to longitudinal mounting for the Countach – albeit with the engine still behind the passenger cabin.

Displacement steadily grew over time, to 4.8 litres for the Countach LP500 S and 5.2 litres for the LP5000 Quattrovalvole. But the endless quest for more 'cubes' didn't end there. The Diablo of 1990 adopted a 5.7-litre version of the V12, and subsequent Diablo variants moved to a 6.0-litre displacement.

A 6.2-litre V12 powered the first Murcielago of 2001, and the engine in 6.5-litre form was the ultimate version for the existing Murcielago.

During the 47 years that Lamborghini’s first V12 remained in production, its outputs increased from 209kW/325Nm for the 3.5-litre 350 GT to 493kW/660Nm for the 6.5-litre engine of the Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce.