The Lamborghini Countach: The Only Supercar I Ever Loved…


The Lamborghini Countach: The Only Supercar I Ever Loved…

I’m a hardcore American car guy. I’ve owned one import in my life and it was given to me. I respect and appreciate foreign brands, and am familiar with some of them, but they are not my passion. There are plenty of really cool supercars that have been built over the years that I would love to drive and would surely be a riot to own if I had the budget. But there is only one supercar that I have ever truly loved. When I first saw one I loved it, but when I watched the 60-Minutes special on it I was infatuated. Anyone could flip on the tv and watch Yasmine and Pam running on the beach, but seeing a Countach was something special. As Keith Turk is fond of saying, it’s magical.

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From the first time you see one in person, the angularity will strike you. The mechanics of the entire thing is over the top. Everything on it opens with some flair, with the most obvious and famous being the vertical doors. There is nothing particularly practical about them other than the fact that you spare others around you the occasion door ding. They make getting in and out of the car an exercise that requires practice. But here is why that’s good. Whether it’s a Ford Taurus, a ZL1 Camaro, a Ruff Porsche, etc they all have regular doors. So no matter which on you get into, the first impression and activity is the same. Grab handle and swing door open. But not with a Lamborghini Countach. You know from the moment you unlatch the door that this thing is different. That it’s special. That you are about to embark on something that isn’t the norm. Whether you are going to the grocery store to grab milk, the donut shop to load up for a Sunday morning surprise for the kids, or for a lap up the Tail of the Dragon, doing it in this car is going to be special.

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And how many exist? They didn’t make thousands of them back then, and how many still survive I’m not sure. But I know that there are an assload of the newer Lambos. At least here in California. They are everywhere. And since any douchebag with a checkbook or credit rating of 800 can buy one they are all financed to the hilt. When you bought one of these cars in 1988, you spoke to the factory. You had to be approved, and it was much more than just spending the money. They specifically said that this car is not the car for everyone. Lamborghini’s own president said that this car was the kind you put your beautiful woman in with you and drove to wherever you wanted to go. And when you go there your Rolls-Royce or Bentley would be waiting with your luggage, because you didn’t have room for it in this car. And you shouldn’t have room for it in this car.

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You hardly ever see a Countach driving around anymore. When you do though, they sound so sensational. And those 345 tires out back. On 15 inch wheels! Yes please. I was offered a trade once, a red Lamborghini Countach just like this one, straight across for my 1969 Camaro Convertible. Was it a real offer? Seemed pretty real to me, keeping in mind we were parked next to each other in front of the donut shop in Morgan Hill. I didn’t take it. But when we left at the same time, and lined up on Vineyard behind the bowling alley. My car was a street race car and sucked the paint off the Countach. But man that car was still cool as hell! I wouldn’t take that trade. But I still want one. And I’d trade most anything else for one. It’s not THE fastest car. It’s not THE most comfortable car. It’s not THE best car. But it sure is f’ing awesome!

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Someday I’ll own one. Maybe today is your day. This one is for sale for just under $600,000. It’s right near the BangShift West Coast Headquarters too, which is funny.

I wonder if they’d let me come in and take it for a test drive…

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Here is all the information from the seller:

For Sale: 1988.5 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV
 
Highlights of this Car
-Factory Electronic Climate Control
-Factory Gold Wheels

The Countach was styled by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, the same designer and studio that designed the Miura. Gandini was then a young, inexperienced designer – not very experienced in the practical, ergonomic aspects of automobile design, but at the same time unhindered by them. Gandini produced a striking design. The Countach shape was wide and low (42.1 inches (1.07 m)), but not very long (only 163 inches (4.1 m)). Its angular and wedge-shaped body was made almost entirely of flat, trapezoidal panels.

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The doors, a Lamborghini trademark first started with the Countach, were scissor doors: hinged at the front with horizontal hinges, so that they lifted up and tilted forwards. The main reason is the car’s tubular spaceframe chassis results in very high and wide door sills. It was also partly for style, and partly because the width of the car made conventional doors impossible to use in an even slightly confined space. Care needed to be taken, though, in opening the doors with a low roof overhead. The car’s poor rear visibility and wide sills led to drivers adopting a method of reversing the car for parking by opening the door, sitting on the sill, and reversing while looking over the back of the car from outside.

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The Countach’s styling and visual impression caused it to become an icon of great design to almost everyone except automotive engineers. The superior performance characteristics of later Lamborghini models (such as the Diablo, or the Murcielago) appealed to performance car drivers and engineers, but they never had the originality or outrageousness that gave the Countach its distinction. The different impressions left by the various Lamborghini models have generated numerous debates and disagreements over what constitutes “classic” or “great” automotive design (elegant looks and style, versus technical and engineering superiority).
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From the prototype to the 25th Anniversary cars, Lamborghini continued to improve the mechanical technology of the Countach. In 1985 the engine was improved significantly over previous models, bored and stroked to 5167 cc and given four valves per cylinder (quattrovalvole in Italian). Some body panels were also replaced by Kevlar, a much lighter and stronger material.

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For the first time, a US specification model was produced by the factory, with styling changes to allow bumpers to meet US federal safety standards.  Although this change was the most notable on the exterior, the most prominent change under the hood was the introduction of fuel injection, with the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, providing 414 bhp (309 kW; 420 PS), rather than the six Weber carburetors used in previous models. The 1985 US model had a base price close to $100,000. Only two optional extras were available: a $5,500 aerodynamic spoiler and a $7,500 sound system. As for other markets, 1987 and 1988 model Quattrovalvoles received straked sideskirts. Only 610 cars were built.

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Manufactured February of 1988, this V12 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole is a highly original survivor in immaculate condition. It was delivered new with gold wheels and $5,500 optional aerodynamic rear spoiler. Odometer reads in kilometres, showing just 15,640 kms or 9718 US Miles from new. It was sold new to the first and only owner in Montreal, Canada at Lamborghini Montreal by salesperson Kelly Strong. 27 years later, Kelly took the same car back on trade from the original owner. This Countach had its last major service in 2013 to the tune of $9,500. It drives exceptionally well and all systems are operating as they should.

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This is perhaps the most iconic supercar design in the world. It is the most recognizable and one of the most loved “poster cars” of the 1970s and 1980s. It embodies the wild, luxurious and outrageous styling of the era. Yes, as contemporary reviews stated, the visibility is weak when reversing or changing lanes, but we’ve found drivabilty is actually very good. On top of that, the engine and exhaust sound is pure magic. I have yet to hear another V12 that makes its presence known this well. This is the “Gullwing” of the 70s and 80s. It is a must for any major collection and a dream car for everyone who had a poster of it on the wall. Re-live the Cannonball Run days with a Black/Black/Gold 1988 Lamborghini Countach 5000QV.

IF YOU WANT MORE INFO ABOUT THIS COUNTACH FOR SALE, CLICK THIS LINK

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2 thoughts on “The Lamborghini Countach: The Only Supercar I Ever Loved…

  1. loren

    The Countach was an interesting car in an otherwise uninteresting period. The bizarre thing…they tooled up for this beautiful smooth-sided shape with it’s little tucked-in 14″ wheels right around the time when big fenders and fat-for-the-day15″ P-7s started showing up such on the Porsche Turbo Carrera. So they played catch-up with a bunch of tack-ons straight outta the JCWhitney catalog and blammo it worked. You could have wondered what you were really getting for your money though, since they were asking you for $5,500 (1970s) dollars for that simple rr wing, was the rest of the car only really worth a quarter of it’s asking price too? Of-course the Arab Oil Money typically seen driving those things would hardly care.

    In 1979 my parents bought a house for approx. the same price as what those Lambos were selling for. I remember wondering…if it were my money, which would I choose? Countach or house? I could always get a sleeping bag and live at the park…

  2. ANGRYJOE

    A stunning looking car and was always something I lusted after as a pre-teen….but it’s still no Miura.

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