It's March 1971. At the Geneva International Motor Show, the Italian brand of Ferruccio Lamborghini, until then a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, presents the LP500 concept car. Designed by Bertone, this stunning, exotic supercar is the Countach, which will be written in gold letters in the history of motoring. For many, Lamborghini has touched perfection with the Countach. Half a century later, the Italian brand is causing a megaton earthquake by announcing that it is bringing back the legendary Countach.
It is not about reputation, for some rendering, or for a Information. Read more official it can't be done! Η Lamborghini, with a post on Facebook, in a 20 seconds video, yesterday, announced the big comeback. With photos of the classic Countach and a picture of a new one, upcoming, covered and waiting in the garage the big reveal, Lamborghini's message was clear: "The classic Countach was the stuff of dreams. Now, 50 years later, the new Lamborghini Countach is coming.".
Okay, we haven't seen it yet, since Lamborghini has only released this the teaser in which the new Countach is covered. But even so, we can see that the new Countach will retain the "Italian wedge" shape taught by Bertone in the 70s with the Lancia Stratos Zero. From there, we have... endless questions.
The questions
Will it be a brand new model, or a Aventador with new "suit" as it "sounds"? Will it be a production model, or concept; Will it be a revival without him? V12, it will be "classic", it will be electric, it will be hybrid model; No one can really confirm. We can only make Affairs, given that Lamborghini has planned for this year the launch two models with V12 (even with a hybrid format). One of them is the Aventador Ultimaeso that leaves "space" for it to be the Countach its latest model with a V12.
However, in the teaser we can see that the giant airfoil is missing that characterised the classic Countach. Possibly and rightly, considering that the legendary airfoil was non-functional, just decorative and because it was... demanded by the customers, the Countach that came out of the production linethey were going in a parking lot at the back of the factory in Sant'Agata, where engineers were fitting the airfoils. The work was done with a drill and lasted about ten minutes.
What was Countach and what Countach means
And while we're rewinding: the Countach was the car that saved Lamborghini Automobili from bankruptcy. This is because the Miura -the first centrifugal supercar- had been a success, but the 1970 the new competitors, such as Ferrari Daytonathey made it look like "old." (presented in 1966). Thus, the Ferruccio Lamborghini, he instructed the its chief engineer, Paolo Stanzani, to start the project LP112, for the successor to the Miura.
At evolution of the Countach took part in the test driver Bob Wallace (ο first to put in an airfoil for aesthetic reasons on the model), the assistant engineer Massimo Parenti and the designer Marcello Gandini of Bertone. The resulting model incorporated many elements of the Miura, such as the engine in the centre-drive arrangement behind and by the its presentation in 1971, needed 3 years of evolution until he does debut of the LP400 Countach.
The model is one of the minimum of the brand that does not use bull name. It comes from the spontaneous exclamation of surprise and admiration that the... Lamborghini locksmith was constantly using when he saw the concept, in Piemonte's language. This "contacc" which the locksmith kept saying with admiration, "stuck" in the minds of Gandini and Wallace, who thought of the its spelling as "Countach" and... voila! Η latest version of the Countach that the world saw before it was succeeded by the Diablo, was the LP5000S QV, 1985.
