Image via Complex Original
This year is the 40th anniversary of when the Lamborghini Countach finally went into production. When it was first introduced at the 1971 Geneva Auto Show it was seen as a wild outlier, even in the world of supercars. That reputation never changed as it appeared on the walls of countless boys in its 16 years of production. You could argue that few cars since, if any, have been bolder than the Countach. Educate yourself on one of the most fascinating cars of all time with Everything You Should Know About the Lamborghini Countach.
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The most expensive Countach sold for $1.2 million.
Only 150 LP400 Periscopicas were made for good reason: Periscopica refers to the periscope rear view mirrors that provided zero visibility. This particularly one sold for so much because it also stayed with one owner for its whole life and only had 10,000 miles.
"The Wolf of Wall Street" wrecked a real 25th Anniversary Edition.
We just told you how rare the Countach is, so it hurts to see it treated so recklessly. At least it went out in some outrageously funny scenes that showed us why quaaludes are no longer made.
Lamborghini only made 2,042 of them.
At the time this was a lot for Lamborghini, but it pales in comparison to what the Italian supercar manufacturer puts out now. 4,099 Gallardos were made between 2003 and 2013.
The 25th Anniversary Edition was supposed to be limited, but it ended up being one of the most widely produced.
To celebrate Lamborghini's 25th anniversary the Countach Anniversario was unveiled in 1988. 650 models were made, a number only topped by the LP 5000QV with 676.
The wing slowed down the 5000S by 10 mph.
Car and Driver called passing on the $5,500 "the cheapest speed secret in the world." Usually you have to spend money to add on the mph.
The 500S was supposed to finally use the 5.0-liter V8.
But the engine was really only 4.8 liters. A 5.2-liter finally came along with the next model, the 5000 QV.
It broke the record for largest tires on a production car.
Even bigger than the 205/50 tires in the front were the 345/35 Pirellis in the back. Changing the tires for the LP400 S caused Lamborghini to redesign the body just to fit them.
The Famous NACA vents were originally developed by NASA's predecessor.
To help cool off the engine the now-infamous NACA vents were installed on the doors and rear fenders. NACA stands for the U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which designed the low-drag air inlets in 1945.
The initial LP400 was one of the fastest models.
Because of the body alterations on the LP400 S and no engine upgrades, the original LP400 was actually faster. It wouldn't be beat out until the LP 5000S QV came out in 1985. No wonder that's the year Kanye specified when he demanded two of them on "Illest Motherfucker Alive."
It kept Lamborghini alive during the 70s.
The 70s was a tumultuous time for the world's economy, and Lamborghini wasn't immune. The company changed hands twice in the span of five years, with the second purchase saving Lamborghini from bankruptcy. Throughout all this the Countach was the only reason people were still excited about Lamborghini. If the Miura didn't have such an exciting successor, the company may not have been rescued.
It almost didn't go into production.
Turning the LP500 into a production car was a difficult task, and Ferruccio Lamborghini wasn't even sure if he wanted to pull the trigger. But orders started pouring in before the LP400 was introduced, and Ferruccio couldn't ignore the demand.
One of the first prototypes blew up.
The car itself was able to be salvaged, but the engine and whole idea of using a 5-liter V12 had to be abandoned. Later on another prototype was totalled during a MIRA barrier crash test in the U.K.
It stole the show at the 1971 Geneva Auto Show.
People were so blown away by the Countach that they largely ignored the updated Miura. Many critics thought it would be nothing more than a one-off concept, but they were obviously proven wrong.
The design was wildly impractical.
Automotive engineers hate the thing. With its scissor doors and height of only 42 inches, the Countach is damn near impossible to get into, and the windows only open about three inches. All the glass practically turned it into a greenhouse, which was made worse by the crummy AC. Design took precedence over function. Now the Countach couldn't even be made because of government restrictions.
It popularized the cabin forward design in cars.
Pushing the passenger cab up front was the best way to fit the massive, mid-engine. The gearbox and the clutch were also moved to the front of the car to accommodate the engine. In 1975 the AMC Pacer was the first mass-market car to utilize the design.
It was the first Lamborghini with the now-signature scissor doors.
The scissor doors are probably one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of Lamborghini, but this is where it all started. They weren't only chosen for style, though. The Countach was so wide at 78 inches that conventional doors were out of the question. Imagine what Lamborghinis would look like now if Gandini didn't come up with such an outrageous design.
The designer was a youngin'.
Marcello Gandini was a newbie to the automotive industry when he started working for Italian car design house Gruppo Bertone. His first project for the company was the Lamborghini Miura. He also designed the Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo concept car (pictured above), which never went into production but was a heavily influential car because it inspired the scissor doors on the Countach.
"Countach" is a word generally used by men when they see a gorgeous woman.
It comes from Piedmontese, a Romance language specific to the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The rumor is that Nuccio Bertone let out "countach" when he first saw the concept." This is one of the few Lamborghini names that doesn't have anything to do with bullfighting.