Lamborghini Countach - Model History

Lamborghini Countach

If you followed the car industry regularly during the 1980s, there were probably three posters on the wall of your room - Porsche 959, Ferrari Testarossa and Lamborghini Countach.

It is this latest model from the group that is perhaps the best supercar ever produced. Not because he was the fastest or because of his design, but because of the way he changed the standards of supercars and celebrated the famous Italian car manufacturer. Lamborghini Countach remained in production, without major changes, for 16 years, and even today it reminds of something you would see in "sci-fi" movies. When Lamborghini debuted in the early 1960s, few thought the big Ferrari should be afraid. Lamborghini, however, was producing tractors at the time, and Ferruccio owner enjoyed the life of a millionaire and owned the most expensive cars. His special interest was Ferrari, which Ferruccio regularly owned and drove, but he was still not satisfied with the way they behaved on the road.

Lamborghini Countach

This was especially true of the clutch, which did not last long on the expensive Ferrari 250 GT, and the criticism was also at the expense of noise and comfort. When Ferruccio visited Enzo Ferrari in the late 1950s, he received the answer "you continue to make tractors, and leave the world's best cars to me." Ferruccio was offended and thought he could outdo his Italian rival. The first model of the company, 350GT, debuted in 1964 and had solid success with 120 copies sold over three years of production. It was followed by the Miura, introduced in 1967, which is considered today to be the first supercar. Not only did it have a centrally mounted engine, which was almost unheard of for a production car in that period, but the top speed was an impressive 278 km / h.

Lamborghini Countach

Although Miura celebrated the Italian company and put it in the center of attention, Ferruccio was still not satisfied - he did not want to be as good as Ferrari but wanted to surpass the great rival. Ferrari became famous in motorsport, where most of the company's profits went, and by the early 1970s it was left without competition. Even Maserati, a longtime Ferrari rival on the tracks, decided to retire from motorsport in the late 1960s with the explanation that it was too expensive a hobby, and Lamborghini decided to follow this move and considered the big rivalries on the tracks past and have no purpose. For this reason, the company’s new car could have neglected the future in motorsport and provided customers with the greatest enjoyment behind the wheel.

Lamborghini Countach

In the late 1960s, Ferruccio contacted the famed Italian design house Bertone and commissioned a prototype of an aerodynamic supercar with an aluminum shell and a centrally mounted V12 engine. Bertone assigned the job to young designer Marcello Gandini, and prototype development went smoothly. The official introduction followed at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971. Although without the engine, this concept has attracted much attention thanks to its distinctive design. Never before, nor after, did the audience see such a radically designed car, which seemed to have arrived from space. At that moment, Lamborghini wanted serial production, but the prototype didn't even have a name.

Lamborghini Countach

According to some stories, the choice fell on "Countach" after one of the workers, the night before the presentation, saw the prototype and shouted "Countach". When asked by the company's leaders for an explanation, he said it was an Italian word that explained something beautiful. The name itself, as well as the reason, was very much liked by the Italians and the car was officially named. For the next two years, Lamborghini continued to refine the prototype, and when the car show arrived in the same place in 1973, the concept was more like the final product. With a height of just over a meter, the Countach was the third lowest car ever produced at the time. The lines were elegant and aggressive, and the mechanics got a lot of attention.

Lamborghini Countach

Namely, she was taken care of by Paolo Stanzani, who had many years of experience working in Formula 1, especially in the Maserati team, and Lamborghini Countach was his first work. Lamborghini has been producing V12 engines since its inception in 1963, which were significantly more powerful and starting compared to the competition. When work on the Lamborghini Countach began, the company had the famous 3.9 V12 engine with 375 hp in the Miura P400SV model. When the first prototype was introduced in 1971, Lamborghini promised a new 5.0 V12 engine with 440 hp and a top speed of 320 km / h, but as work on the prototype proceeded, this idea did not go far, mostly due to high production costs. In the end, it was decided that Lamborghini Countach would borrow its engine from the mentioned cousin, which was a disappointment in a way, but still with enviable performance.

Lamborghini Countach

Acceleration of the Lamborghini Countach to 100 km / h was only 5.4 seconds while top speed was 309 km / h. Thanks to the 50:50 weight distribution, the Lamborghini Countach was very stable even at higher speeds, but it was also very difficult to drive. Namely, from the very beginning, Ferruccio wanted to make a limited model only for the best drivers in the world. Such a product was not supposed to be for rich daddy’s sons, not even those who used to drive a Rolls Royce, and the original plan required that air conditioning not be on offer. That way, this car was not supposed to be civilized for everyday driving, but due to the very high price, it was difficult to justify the lack of air conditioning. One of the biggest problems of the Lamborghini Countach was the visibility and visibility of the rear of the vehicle.

It was so bad that when parking in parallel, it was necessary to open the so-called "Lambo door" and look behind you while parking your expensive car. There was also a problem with the space on both seats, and the trunk was big enough for only one passenger bag. However, all the so-called "flaws" were quickly forgotten thanks to the beautiful design and performance of race cars. Soon Lamborghini accepts orders and by 1977. 158 copies had found buyers. Four years after its introduction, the Lamborghini Countach received its first changes in the form of a new front and rear spoiler for better stability at high speeds, and these two changes also improved the already very popular design. In 1982, the Lamborghini Countach gets a larger 4.7 V12 engine with an identical 375 hp, but significantly higher torque.

In the same period, the first special versions arrived on the market with minimal design changes, and the most popular among them was the Series 3, with a modified suspension and a bit more space in the interior. Three years later, the Lamborghini Countach got a bigger engine again, now a 5.2 V12 with 455 hp, and the price exceeds the figure of 100000 dollars. Interestingly, the buyer could only get two options, a $ 5500 spoiler and a better $ 7500 audio system. Throughout the 1980s, popularity continued to be high when the first problems began. Namely, affected by the difficult financial situation, Ferruccio sold the company to the American Chrysler, which, in 1988, presented a special 25th Anniversary version in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Italian company.

These models brought minimal design changes, but still kept most of the original lines. This was also the fastest Lamborghini Countach ever produced, with acceleration to 100 km / h in 4.9 seconds. The definitive end for Countach came in 1990 after 2042 copies were produced, and the legendary Diablo debuted the same year. Today, Lamborghini is a very well-known and respected company, with models such as the Huracan and Aventador, and the question arises as to what the company's fate would have been if Lamborghini Countach had not existed. This car looks very modern even by today's standards and attracts attention wherever it appears.

It took an excellent third place on the eternal list of the best sports cars in the 1970s, and there is no doubt that if they ever looked for the definition of a supercar - it would contain a picture of Countach.

Author: Talladega
Images: Lamborghini
Retrieved from BrzaBrzina.com

Mladen

Hi there, I am Mladen and I am an auto enthusiast. I started this blog years ago to help like minded people share information about latest cars, car servicing ideas, used car info, exotic cars, and auto technology. You will find helpful articles and videos on a wide variety of cars - Audi, Mercedes, Toyota, Porsche, Volvo, BMW and much more. Ping us if you have anything cool to share on latest cars or on how to make older cars more efficient, or just want to say hi!