To add to the ending statement, Thank you Enzo Ferrari for being a douchebag to other car guys and giving us Lamborghini, the GT40, the AC Cobra, and many others.
DtRockstar1 I guess you know the story, Enzo wasn't merely disrespectful to another car guy, he was disrespectful to at least one of his own customers, namely one Ferruccio Lamborghini
Marcello Gandini is a living legend; Alongside Giorgetto Guigaro and Leonardo Fioravanti. Anything these men designed in the 60's, 70's and 80's was art.
Even if the wing did nothing for the Countach aero...I must be one of the few people who would actually want one on their Countach! Personally, I think it looks brilliant with the wing...and doesn't look as good without it.
i agree, the wing makes it stunning,,i bought scale model in 90s in white,,now i own hundreds models of Countaches ,and other lamboos,,,wish i have a real one
The big wing did not make any downforce, just drag. There was a famous film that was in a customized countach with the big wing and after that every customer wanted their countach with the big wing, but because of lamborghini had design the car to work properly without it, they had to make it not to produce downforce becasuse the cars balance would be wrong with it at high speeds.
ali shah Well, when the Diablo came out in 1990 or 1991, I didn't like the car. I thought it was too outrageous. I far preferred the Testarossa. But compared with anything today, I think Diablo's proportions are beautiful. I lost interest in Lamborghinis once the lost pop-up headlights. 300ZX front end simply didn't suit the Diablo. And all the following models, they just lack good proportions. They look as if a 5 year old designed them :)
I guess the Aventador will grow on you too like the Diable did perhaps. You gotta see them in person to really judge. But thus far most people believe the Aventador is stunning. The wedge shape design of the countach, diablo, murci, was getting old. Every supercar maker was copying it. the creases are something new however. There is an aventador that someone owns where I live, I get to see it from time to time. Im always enthralled. it just looks so aggressive.
Mister Whitworth I enjoy your reviewing personality . You are obviously knowledgeable and orate the script without acting emotion and deliver with even clarity.
80s countach always looks tacky to me. I know it's symbol of the 80s, but it just looks like a kitcar. LP400 still had that sleek body. Tho i preffer Miura to both. It just much better looking car.
that guy seems not very knowledgeable as to both the history of the brand lamborghini, and these two cars in particular. i'll just pick the fact, that ferruccio lamborghini had about zero to do with the Countach, in fact, cars such as the Miura or the Countach would have probably never been made, had he been fully in charge of the operations. he was more into sporty grand touring cars, and did not care too much for "purists" sportscars at all. he was more about refinement, luxury and comfort, paired with a certain degree of sportiness. that being said, another thing that struck me was, that that infamous rearwing, that was mounted to the evolved versions of the Countach, starting in 1978, with the introduction of the LP400S, never did anything in terms of actual performance enhancements. it was purely cosmetic, and did not provide any measurable amount of downforce, in fact, it just shaved a couple of mph off of the cars' top speed, as it produced frontal drag.
you forgot something 1. the wing did not produce any downforce at all because the countach already suffered from lift at the front at higher speeds 2. the wing was originally installed by a F1 engineer who added the wing to it, this wing produced downforce, since the triangle wing went so well with the design people started to demand having a wing fitted so lamborghini made OE
in the 60's high end purist cars really didn't exist... they were all gt's even the ferraris were like that and the gt isn't about driving on the limit. its about relaxing and enjoying the journey and cruising. the miura is celebrated as being the first super car when in reality its the first of the modern style of cars. except its not... the gt cars suffered from the same issue of the era. the technology (or lack of it) made driving the miura fast scary as hell and so it to was a cruiser in a way. but like the gt cars of the day they came alive at those cruising speeds and you didn't need to gun it. however the contact was created to do away with all that and really become the 1st super car (not a mid engined gt car)
bucketslash11 I have quite a collection of books on Lamborghini and Countach history. I have yet to read in any of them that the wing was required to solve lift issues. In fact, almost everyone that reviewed the car said that it was very stable at high speeds, even without the wing. Walter Wolfe was, according to my understanding, the first person to add a wing to his Countach. After that, the wing became an option (and quite an expensive one, at that) for the Countach. The wing was never a standard feature, and as I have read in many places, it was not an option that was encouraged by the factory itself. It's pretty well known that though the Countach appeared to be a very sleek design, it actually had very poor aerodynamics. But, again, the wing only made them worse.
Deliberately so. The test driver insisted that it do nothing because he feared a rear wing would magnify the already horrific front end lift. He said it would be dangerous to add downforce to the rear so the wing was designed purely to look good. Of course a by-product of this was a massive increase in drag, the wing wasn't exactly slim. Totally useless, but that's part of the Coutach charm isn't it?
Alfred Munkenbeck I haven't driven a winged Countach but I owned a 76 LP400 for 7 years and managed to wind it out to 7000 RPM in 5th gear - around 170mph. I put hundreds of miles on it in the 120-140mph range and I never experienced front end lift.
David Fox Well a '76 LP400 is still of the original body is it not? I'm pretty sure the wing didn't come in until after the LP400s body change in 1978. It might well be that the lift didn't occur on early Countachs. I could be wrong. Anyway, cool to hear from a Countach owner, I love the early cars.
David Fox a 170mph topseed on the countach sounds about right, that's what i've heard by multiple sources, and that is also what Jay Leno has said about his own , which is a '86 LP5000QV (carburetted).
theres this old abandoned warehouse up my street and it was recently purchased and theres cars like this coming in and out of it. It had one of those cars that were made in like the 1920's its super cool
Truly magnificent cars, and they can't be filmed enough! BUT please let us hear the sound of those screaming Italian V12s instead of so much talk, especially if the talk is nothing more than what every car enthousiast already knows...
I hate it when people say things like we wouldn't have modern supercars if it wasn't for the Miura, Because just because someone is first doesn't mean it wasn't inevitable.
Wasn't the Countach's spoiler entirely a style choice? My understanding has been that it was added after some movie made it a popular look for a Countach to have a spoiler, but it didn't actually do anything aerodynamically.
It is my understanding that the wing came as a result of Walter Wolfe's influence on Lamborghini at the time. Walter Wolfe had two specially made Countaches with wings, spoilers, wider tires and the Bravo wheels. His cars also had a non-standard 5.0 liter engine as opposed to the normal 4.0 liter engine. As a matter of fact, both of his cars used the same engine. When he tired of the first Countach, he ordered a second but insisted they use the engine from his first car. But, this guy is wrong. It is well documented that the wing was very unnecessary for the Countach's performance. The Countach was plenty stable at speed and all the wing did was slow it down.
Excellent video. Also more like thank you Enzo Ferrari for being a douchebag and making Ferrucio Lamborghini so mad that he got into the sports car business.
Yes, you could call it the prototype. From memory, there was a green one and a yellow one. I remember the yellow one being on a stand at a car show, circa 1972, and blowing everyone's mind. I have a photo but 'youtube' will not allow me to post it here. Possibly this link will show you a few images of the yellow example; www.google.com.au/search?q=lp400&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwisy7mh8afOAhVJI5QKHdqsAVMQ_AUICCgB&biw=1377&bih=917#tbm=isch&q=lp400+1972
The important thing is that it looked the part, even though it robbed the car of it's top end speed. Its the kind of accessory that only somebody with poor taste, would fit to their vehicle, but it made the Countach look much faster.
I know that some supercar fans don't like the Countach, but I have no doubt that between the Countach & the Huracan (on display) , the Countach will draw the most interest. There's no doubt the Miura is a looker
Nice video, but in comparison of the Miura and Countach it would have even been better to feature an early Countach LP400 and not the later model. Just my opinion..
Countach should be pronounced: koon-tatch according to my Piemontese friends! It is a Piemontese expression of awe when they see something amazing, great name for such an awesome car!
To all the folk that have said the wing is non functional - all wings are functional! Put one on the roof of your Corsa. It's how much function is achieved.
The range of tests that have been done for a QV ON CARBS and Without the wing show that it could hit at least 186-195 mph. Most people don't know these cars and confuse them with the 5000S Or earlier cars.
In an era where $5000 for wing that may or may not have added to downforce (depends who you believe and what you read), I think it puts the exclamation mark on arguably the most outrageous car ever designed. I am fairly certain that Miura was not what people had on their walls in the 1980's. That was a "car guy" thing later on. The Countach, without a doubt, is THE original supercar. To deny it that right is not doing the car justice and we probably would not be talking about the "speed race" without it. It CRUSHES the Miura in design, speed, performance (2 seconds faster compared to the final version - which is a massive difference to 60mph) and looks. The Countach is, forever, the design that made people wonder what cars could do when you combined engineering, artistry and performance. Personally I think the Miura is ugly as hell, but that is my 2 cents. It makes the claustrophobic Countach seem like a Maybach.
Come on, cut the BS. To say there never would have been a mid engine super car had Lamborghini not invented the Miura, is absolutely ridiculous. It was and is absolutely gorgeous piece of work and certainly turned the industry on it’s ear. That’s plenty enough.
Lovely footage and the presenter is ok but too softly spoken and to flat in tone, almost monotone which sadly takes away from the video. Also too much talk and not enough car noise.
Lamborghini has always made great looking cars, but I personally think that they never ever topped the Miura. I do however think the previous models of the 350GT and 400GT have exquisite shapes and styling, very classy. Any of those three early models with the green magnesium body shells are simple the cream of the crop.
Countach is a tractor in a car's clothes and as aerodynamic as a transport truck. But is the most sexy 80's car there is and I've wanted one since 1985.
keeping the front end of the Muira on the ground is near impossible, the car generates plenty of lift and has no weight on the front end to keep it down. 170 mph may be possible but your front tires won't have any contact with the ground.
The rear wing fitted to a lot of these cars did nothing more than add weight. There was zero lift on the rear and it wasn't needed except for visual effect.
The Miura is organic, feminine, curvy. The Countach is boxy, a much simpler shape. It would be interesting to see what Lamborghinis would look like today if they continued making curvy cars instead of angular ones.
The Ferrari GTO was way ahead of the Miura as far as "supercars" go. Love the Miura. Still having problem liking the Countach even though I've been trying for decades. But both pale in comparison to the Ferrari GTO or the 250 GT Lusso.
people forget the fact that when the miura came out it too had outrageous power... back then anything around 325-350 hp was insane, especially a car that could top out in the 170's. the miura was also intimidating to drive like any lambo. furthermore the miura is the establishment of lamborghini, like the countach the miura was all about the engine performance and styling. thats what lambos are about the best possible engine performance followed by style and thats why they are so outrageous, its about top speed, acceleration and then style handling is good yes but its more of an after thought... but the companies thinking would be along the lines of "this car is so fast anything has to corner quickly to catch up" and in the past thats what made the lambo a lambo... its engine is the centre piece, the crown, the heart, of a lamborghini. it is the most important factor surrounding the whole car. most brands like ferrari, porsche, aston etc... they have a fine balance between power handling etc... not in a lambo. its literally all engine and thats why its mad and thats why i love it, because it puts away other cars in its class in a crazy italian way that can only happen in italy.
+Adam Othman My father told me that back in those times in Germany everything with more than 100 hp was high powered and rare to find. Everything over 150 hp was ridicilous
I believe it's thanks to Ferrari for selling Lamborghini a car, having Lamborghini complain about it, telling Lamborghini to build his own, start Lamborghini and build these cars...
It's a well known fact that the huge rear wing did nothing to help improve the performance of the Countach. If you had done the slightest bit of research you would have known that.
The Miura SV is certainly the most beautiful of all Miuras, not to mention one of the top 3 most beautiful post war design of all time. This version of Countach is also the best looking - without the ugly side skirts and wing.
Not a good review!!! I want him to drive & listen to the cars while he does it!!! I wan to "feel" how hard they´re to be driven to the very limits, he doesn´t even drive them fast!!!
