Lamborghini Countach

Name

The Countach name originated in late 1970 or 1971, near the beginning of the LP112 project.^[9][10] Most previous and subsequent Lamborghini car names are associated with famous bulls and bullfighting, but the Countach broke with this tradition. The name originated from the word contacc (pronounced [kʊŋˈtɑtʃ]), an exclamation of astonishment in the Piedmontese language.^[11]

Marcello Gandini, the designer of the Countach, explained the origin of the name:

When we made cars for the car shows, we worked at night and we were all tired, so we would joke around to keep our morale up. There was a profiler working with us who made the locks. He was two meters tall with two enormous hands, and he performed all the little jobs. He spoke almost only Piedmontese, didn’t even speak Italian. Piedmontese is much different from Italian and sounds like French. One of his most frequent exclamations was ‘countach’, which literally means plague, contagion, and is actually used more to express amazement or even admiration, like ‘goodness’. He had this habit.

When we were working at night, to keep our morale up, there was a jousting spirit, so I said we could call it Countach, just as a joke, to say an exaggerated quip, without any conviction. There nearby was Bob Wallace, who assembled the mechanics—we always made the cars operational. At that time you could even roll into the car shows with the car running, which was marvelous.

So jokingly I asked Bob Wallace how it sounded to an Anglo-Saxon ear. He said it in his own way, strangely. It worked. We immediately came up with the writing and stuck it on. But maybe the real suggestion was the idea of one of my co-workers, a young man who said let’s call it that. That is how the name was coined. This is the only true story behind this word.

— Marcello Gandini, Not Just Bulls: the Creator Tells Us the Story Behind the Name Countach^[12]

Lamborghini used a system of alphanumeric designations in order to further delineate Countach models.This designation begins with "LP", an abbreviation of the Italian "longitudinale posteriore," meaning "longitudinal rear." This refers to engine orientation and placement which was consistent across all Countach models. For the prototype and early production models, this was followed with a three digit number designating nominal engine displacement, "400" for 3.9 liter engines and "500" for 4.8 and 5 liter engines. Therefore, the full name of the first production Countach was the Lamborghini Countach LP400. As in the Miura, "S" was added for later high performance variants.^[9][13] This naming scheme was disrupted by the 5.2-liter 1985 LP5000 Quattrovalvole, also called the 5000QV. The LP- designation was dropped entirely for the 1988 25th Anniversary Edition, also called the Anniversary.^[13]

Styling

The Countach was styled by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, the same designer and studio that designed the Miura.^[14] 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. The Countach shape is wide and low (74.28 inches in width and 42.05 inches in height), but not very long (162.7 in length).^[15] Its angular and wedge-shaped body was made almost entirely of flat, trapezoidal panels.

Countach LP500 (viewed from above)

The Countach LP400 was the original production model

Countach LP400 scissor doors

The doors, most often credited as a Lamborghini trademark, were a remarkable design feature for the Countach. They first appeared on the Alfa Romeo 33 'Carabo' concept car in 1968, which was also designed by Gandini. The doors have come to be known as 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 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.

The pure style of the prototype was progressively altered by the evolution of the car to improve its performance, handling, tractability, and ability to meet mandated requirements. This began with the first production model, which included several vents that Lamborghini found necessary to cool the engine adequately. These included the NACA ducts on each side which went across the doors and rear fenders. The car design changes ended with a large engine vent directly behind the driver, reducing the rear view. Later additions—including fender flares, spoilers, carburetor covers, and bumpers—progressively changed the car's aesthetic values.

The Countach's styling and visual impression made it 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 Murciélago) 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). Despite the impracticality and required updating over time, the basic shape of the first Countach prototype revealed in 1971 remained virtually unchanged over its 19-year lifespan.

Engine and transmission

Lamborghini V12 engine

The Countach was designed around the existing Lamborghini V12 engine in a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. In contrast to the Miura's transversely-mounted engine, the Countach used a longitudinally-mounted engine.^[16][17] This was not an unprecedented layout for a V12, being used in the successful Ferrari P-series racing cars among others.^[18] However, chief engineer Paolo Stanzani wanted to improve the weight distribution of the car even further and devised a new type of longitudinal layout that would avoid placing the mass of the transmission at the rear of the car. The resulting configuration had the output shaft at the front of the engine, immediately connecting through the clutch assembly to the transmission. The transmission itself was a 5-speed manual with Porsche-type synchromesh^[6] and was mounted in the middle of the car between the two seats. The driveshaft ran from the transmission through the engine's oil sump to a differential at the rear. This arrangement effectively sandwiched the length of the engine between the mid-mounted transmission and the rear-mounted differential. This configuration had numerous advantages over the Miura's transverse engine, including an increase in stability from placing more mass near the car's center, a shorter overall wheelbase, a more direct gearshift linkage for easier and faster shifting, better cooling and easier maintenance access to engine components.^[16][19]

The Lamborghini V12 used in the Countach originated in a 1963 design by Giotto Bizzarrini. Versions of this engine were used in preceding Lamborghini models including the 350 GT, 400 GT, Islero, Espada and Miura. As used in the Miura, this engine had a 3,929 cc (3.9 l) displacement, a 60º cylinder bank angle, double overhead camshafts per bank, two valves per cylinder, wet sump lubrication and distributor ignition.^[16] Paolo Stanzani's engineering team wished to increase the Countach engine's power over the maximum of 380 hp seen on a production Miura SV. The 3.9 liter Miura version had been tuned to produce approximately 418-440 horsepower (330 kW) in the experimental P400 Jota, but an engine of this specification was expensive to manufacture and difficult to drive on the road due to lack of low-RPM power. Therefore, the engineers decided to increase the engine's displacement to 5 liters, in order to produce more power while avoiding the usability problems of a race-tuned engine. This increase in displacement would require a major redesign of the existing V12. Lamborghini's plan was to produce the 5 liter engine in time for series production and published specification sheets for the proposed production 5 liter engine at the 1971 debut of the prototype.^[16][20] Lamborghini reported this engine would produce 440 horsepower (330 kW) at 7400 rpm.^[16] One experimental 5 liter engine was constructed by boring out a conventional 3.9 liter engine block and was fitted to the Countach LP500 prototype for testing purposes.^[20] It incorporated many lightweight castings made from Elektron, an expensive, high performance magnesium alloy.^[21][16] This experimental 5 liter engine self-destructed during a 1971 road test by Bob Wallace. This made it clear that further revisions to the basic engine design were required to improve durability. The LP500 prototype was subsequently fitted with a 3.9 liter engine for the remainder of pre-production testing.^[20]

The first production Countaches used a 3.9 liter engine as durability issues with the new 5 liter engine could not be resolved in time. As equipped to the 1974 Countach LP400, this 3,929 cc (3.9 l) engine produced a stated 375 horsepower (280 kW) at 8000 rpm. This was actually less power output than the Miura SV, which was blamed on the use of side-draft Weber 45 DCOE carburetors instead of the down-draft Webers used on the Miura.^[20] Later engine development eventually increased the displacement to 4,754 cc (4.8 L; 290.1 cu in) in the 1982 LP500S, and then 5,167 cc (5.2 L; 315.3 cu in) with four valves per cylinder in the 1985 LP5000 Quattrovalvole.^[20][19] All Countaches were equipped with six Weber carburetors until the arrival of the LP5000 QV model, some of which used Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection to meet US emissions regulations. European-specification cars continued to use carburetors until the arrival of the successor model Diablo.

Chassis and body construction

Paolo Stanzani and the Lamborghini engineering team developed an all-steel partial space frame chassis for the first LP500 Countach prototype. This prototype chassis was constructed of both steel sheet and square-section steel tubing, with wall thicknesses between 0.8 mm (0.031 in) and 1.0 mm (0.039 in). The front section primarily used stamped and spot-welded sheet steel, with certain areas stiffened by stamped ribs and welded reinforcement panels. Stiffening frames constructed of sheet steel and tubing extended through the center of the car, along both door sills and around the central transmission tunnel. The rear section of the chassis was almost entirely square-section tubing and included diagonal bracing and multiple cross-members for strength. This prototype chassis was constructed by Marchesi of Modena, which had produced chassis for earlier Lamborghini models.^[22][23]

The first prototype Countach chassis was stiffer and heavier than the Miura chassis. It weighed 107 kg (236 lb), while the Miura's chassis weighed 75 kg (165 lb). The additional weight was partially due to the lack of the lightening holes used in the Miura and partially due to the need to construct an extra-durable chassis for pre-production testing.^[22] In addition to the strength and stiffness improvements over the Miura design, the Lamborghini engineers believed that greater use of steel tubing would result in a chassis that was easier for the Lamborghini factory to fabricate and easier to protect from corrosion.^[23]

Following testing of the LP500 prototype during 1971, Stanzani and his team decided to further revise the chassis design. The dimensions and layout were similar, but the steel sheet and square tube construction used in the first prototype was entirely disregarded in favor of a full space frame constructed of welded round-section steel tubing. Compared to the first prototype chassis, this design used a much more complex welded assembly of cross-braced tubular frames and was reinforced with sheet metal gussets in a few key areas. Tubes of 30 mm (1.2 in), 25 mm (0.98 in), and 15 mm (0.59 in) diameter were used, all with 1 mm (0.039 in) wall thickness. Overall, this new design was stiffer and weighed less, at 90 kg (200 lb).^[22] At the time, this construction technique was used in Formula 1 but was extremely advanced for a road-going automobile. In addition to the performance benefits of this design, Lamborghini engineers recognized that building a technologically advanced and visually complex chassis would align with Lamborghini's marketing strategy and sell better than a conventional design.^[22] The full space frame chassis was tested in a second Countach prototype and would be used basically unchanged on subsequent production cars.^[22][23] Chassis fabrication added a significant amount to the cost of the car as each chassis required laborious hand-welding, first by Marchesi then again during final assembly at the Lamborghini factory. However, logistically this method of fabrication was relatively easy to incorporate into the low-volume, manually-skilled Lamborghini production line.^[23][24]

Prototype and production Countach bodies were constructed primarily of unstressed aluminum panels. Stanzani had initially considered fabricating body panels from the lightweight alloy Avoinal, primarily used in aircraft construction, but found it expensive and difficult to obtain. A more conventional aluminum alloy was used instead.^[24] Prototypes used aluminum panels between 1-1.2 mm thick, increased to 1.5 mm (0.059 in) for the production LP400.^[22] The aluminum body panels were fabricated by Bertone. These panels were supported by thin steel frames welded to the main chassis.^[24] Once the panels were in place, factory workers would then hand-form them in order to adjust the final body shape, surface smoothness and gaps between panels.^[22] As the spaceframe chassis did not have an integrated floor panel, a separate fiberglass and aluminum panel was installed underneath the passenger compartment.^[22] Although the LP400 used an all-aluminum body, later versions of the Countach would incorporate body components made of fiberglass and carbon composites.^[25]

LP500 prototype

A single prototype was built, the LP500^[2] (where the 'LP' stands for 'longitudinale posteriore', which means 'longitudinally in the rear' in Italian and refers to engine orientation and placement, whereas the 500 stands for the 5.0 L (310 cu in) engine displacement they intended to use). Painted bright sunflower yellow, the concept car was well received by critics at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971. Sporting Gandini's original design concepts, the car's design required extensive modification to qualify for mass-production. The two most notable changes were necessary because air-intake proved insufficient to cool the engine. The prototype had slatted, 'gill-like' intake ducts on the rear shoulders, and these were replaced with massive "air box" scoops that extended out from the vehicle's streamlined body. In addition, NACA style air ducts were cut into the body of the car beneath the B pillar, which required eliminating the prototype's traditional door handles and replacing them with handles of a unique configuration set into the portion of the ducts carved into the scissor doors. Aluminium-honeycomb sheeting, a concept utilized in the prototype design, was also dropped in preparation for production.

The car did not survive; it was sacrificed in a crash test at MIRA facility to gain European type approval, even though its construction method was utterly unlike production vehicles.

LP400

Countach LP400 (front)

Countach LP400 (rear)

The Countach entered production as the LP400 with a 3929 cc engine delivering 375 metric horsepower (276 kW; 370 hp). The first production Countach was delivered to an Australian in 1974. Externally, little had altered from the final form of the prototype except at the rear, where conventional lights replaced the futuristic light clusters of the prototype. The styling had become rather more aggressive than Gandini's original conception, with the required large air scoops and vents to keep the car from overheating, but the overall shape was still very sleek. The original LP400 rode on the quite narrow tires of the time, but their narrowness and the slick styling meant that this version had the lowest drag coefficient of any Countach model. The emblems at the rear simply read "Lamborghini" and "Countach", with no engine displacement or valve arrangement markings as is found on later cars. By the end of 1977, the company had produced 158 Countach LP400s.^[26]

In recent years, the original LP400 has become collectible, and in June 2014, a 1975 model sold for GB£953,500 at Bonhams' Goodwood Festival of Speed auction.^[27]

LP400 S

Countach LP400 S (front)

Countach LP400 S (rear)

In 1978, a new LP400 S model was introduced. Though the engine was slightly downgraded from the LP400 model at 355 PS (350 hp; 261 kW), the most radical changes were in the exterior, where the tires were replaced with 345/35R15 Pirelli P7 tyres; the widest tyres available on a production car at the time, and fiberglass wheel arch extensions were added, giving the car the fundamental look it kept until the end of its production run. An optional V-shaped spoiler was available over the rear deck following the popularity generated from the rear wing of the Walter Wolf Countach, which, while improving high-speed stability, reduced the top speed by at least 10 mph (16 km/h). Most owners ordered the wing despite this disadvantage. The LP400 S' handling was improved by the wider tires, which made the car more stable in cornering. Aesthetically, some prefer the slick lines of the original, while others prefer the more aggressive lines of the later models, beginning with the LP400 S. The standard emblems ("Lamborghini" and "Countach") were kept at the rear, but an angular "S" emblem was added after the "Countach" on the right side.

There are three distinct Countach LP400 S Series:

• Series one: The first 50 cars delivered with Campagnolo "Bravo" wheels in 1978 and 1979. The very early 1978 cars had the original LP400 steering wheel. Small Stewart-Warner gauges, 45 mm (1.8 in) carburettors and a lowered suspension (lowbody) setting is a trademark feature of this celebrated first series. Halfway through 1979's production, bigger gauges were employed. 50 cars were built, and the last one is 1121100*.
• Series two: These cars are recognized by their smooth finish dished-concave wheels, and still retain the low body setting. 105 cars were built, and the last one is 1121310*.
• Series three: It is claimed that from chassis number 1121312 onwards, the cockpit space available was raised by 3 cm (1.2 in). These cars are recognized by their raised suspension setting. 82 cars were built, and the last one is 1121468*.

LP500 S

Countach LP500 S

1982 saw another improvement, this time giving a bigger, more powerful 4,754 cc (4.8 L) engine. The bodywork was unaltered, however the interior was given a refresh. This version of the car is sometimes called the 5000 S, which may cause confusion with the later 5000 QV. 321 cars were built.

LP5000 Quattrovalvole

Countach LP5000 QV (front)

Countach LP5000 QV (rear)

In 1985 the engine design evolved again, as it was bored and stroked to 5,167 cc (5.2 L) and given 4 valves per cylinder—quattrovalvole in Italian, hence the model's name, Countach LP5000 Quattrovalvole or 5000 QV in short. The carburetors were moved from the sides to the top of the engine for better breathing—unfortunately this created a hump on the engine deck, reducing the already poor rear visibility to almost nothing. Some body panels were also replaced by Kevlar. In later versions of the engine, the carburetors were replaced with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection. Fuel injected 5000QVs produced 414 bhp (309 kW; 420 PS). The European carbureted (also known as "Downdraft" or "DD") versions used six Weber carburetors providing a nominal 455 PS (449 bhp; 335 kW) at 7,000 rpm and 500 N⋅m (369 lbf⋅ft) at 5,200 rpm of torque. 610 cars were built in this specification, 66 with fuel injection.

Countach LP5000 QV with US specification bumpers

25th Anniversary Edition

Countach 25th Anniversary Edition (front)

Countach 25th Anniversary Edition (rear)

Named to honour the company's twenty-fifth anniversary in 1988, the 25th Anniversary Countach, although mechanically very similar to the 5000QV, sported considerable restyling. Notably, enlargement and extension of the rear 'air-box' intake-ducts was among other refinements undertaken (extending them to a more gradual incline further in-keeping with aerodynamic-streamlining), while the secondary pair of debossed ducts, originally situated further behind them, were brought forward and relocated directly on top, encompassing refashioned fins now running longitudinally rather than transversely, this allowed the airboxes, located behind the radiators to be rotated from a transverse to a longitudinal position, allowing better airflow from the radiators out through the secondary fins. Additionally, further reconstruction of an already modified engine-bay cover, from a concept consisting of dual-raised sections and tri-ducting, to one that embodies a centre-raised section incorporating dual-ducting become another feature. Various redevelopments to the rear-end were made; most notably the introduction of a rear bumper extending outwardly from the lower-portion.

These styling changes were unpopular with many—particularly features such as the fin strakes within the primary rear-intake-ducts openings, which appeared to mimic the Ferrari Testarossa, though providing crucial improved engine cooling. Nonetheless it was only outsold by the QV model. It continued to featured 345/35R15 tyres. The Anniversary edition was produced up until 1990 before being superseded by the Lamborghini Diablo.

The 25th Anniversary Edition was the most refined and possibly the fastest edition of the Lamborghini Countach: 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) in 4.7 seconds and 295 km/h (183 mph) all out.^[30]

Walter Wolf Countach

Walter Wolf Countach (front)

Walter Wolf Countach (rear)

In 1975, Walter Wolf, a wealthy Canadian businessman and owner of the Wolf F1 Racing team in the 1970s, purchased an LP400; however, he was not satisfied with the LP400's engine and asked Gianpaolo Dallara, the chief engineer of Lamborghini at that time, to create a special high-power version of the Countach. It was the "code No. 1120148" Walter Wolf special with an engine identical to the 5.0 L (310 cu in) engine from the Countach LP500 prototype,^[31] which produced 447 horsepower (333 kW) at 7,900 rpm and enabled the car to attain a supposed maximum speed of 315 or 324 km/h (196 or 201 mph). This model also featured the upgraded wheels, Pirelli P7 tires, large fender flares, and front and rear spoilers of the LP400 S model. It was painted red with black fender flares, and was designated "LP500 S" like the standard Countach model from the 1980s, and was the stepping stone that led to this later production model. Two other Wolf Countaches were produced, one painted blue, No. 1120202 (currently in Germany) and one navy blue, No. 1121210 (this car was owned by Wolf for a long time, but was eventually sold, it is currently owned by Japanese businessman Shinji Fukuda). Both of the later Wolf Countaches used the original 5.0 L (310 cu in) engine commissioned by Wolf, transplanted to each car in turn.^[32]

Countach Turbo S

The Countach Turbo S is a series of two prototypes privately developed by engineer Franz Albert. Two were produced but only one is known to exist. The Turbo S weighed 1,515 kg (3,340 lb), while its 4.8 litre twin-turbo V12 engine had a claimed maximum power output of 758 PS (748 hp; 558 kW) and 876 N⋅m (646 lb⋅ft) of torque, enabling the car to accelerate from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 335 km/h (208 mph). A turbo adjuster, located beneath the steering wheel, could be used to adjust the boost pressure from 0.7 bar to 1.5 bar at which the engine performed its maximum power output. The Turbo S has 15" wheels with 255/45 tyres on the front and 345/35 on the rear.^[33]

Countach QVX

The Countach QVX was a short-lived Group C sports racing car built in 1985. It was not built or designed by the Lamborghini factory, but instead used a Spice Engineering-built chassis and an engine derived from the Lamborghini Countach's V12. Lamborghini's British importer commissioned the car. Financial issues restricted it to one race, despite numerous entries in 1986, and a handful in 1987, but its one race showed the car had potential.^[34]

F1 Safety Car

Between 1980 and 1983, Formula One employed the Countach as its Safety Car during the Monaco Grand Prix.^[35][36]

Countach Evoluzione

The Countach Evoluzione was a one-off prototype and testbed car built by Lamborghini in 1987. It was created by Lamborghini's engineering team (including Horacio Pagani^[37]) in order to test multiple technologies for the Countach's successor. The Evoluzione used a substantially different chassis and body than the production Countach and lacked interior trim, soundproofing and air-conditioning. It was continually modified for testing purposes and all body panels were left unpainted.^[38] Although there was no production version of the Evoluzione, the Countach Anniversary Edition and the Diablo would incorporate some of its engineering, including carbon fiber/Kevlar composite body panels.^[13][39]

The Evoluzione was built on an all-new chassis with engine, suspension and wheels from the Countach LP5000QV production model, although all these components would be modified in the course of testing. While based on the production LP5000QV motor, the engine was blueprinted for greater performance and produced approximately 500 horsepower (370 kW), an increase of 45 hp.^[13][38] The transmission was modified with a short throw shifter but was otherwise the same as the production version.^[13][38] The Evoluzione accelerated from 0-60 mph in approximately 4 seconds^[38][39] and had a reported top speed around 200 miles per hour (320 km/h).^[13][38][39]

The most radical change from the production Countach was a new chassis and body incorporating many composite materials, including Kevlar and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics and aluminum honeycomb panels. The tubular steel space frame chassis of the production Countach was completely replaced with a new composite unibody structure. The front trunk lid, rear engine cover, front air dam and wheel arches were made of carbon/Kevlar composite, while the fenders and doors used more conventional but still lightweight aluminum panels. Aerodynamic wheel covers made from composites were also tested but were found to increase heat build-up and brake fade.^[13] These changes resulted in a radical weight reduction of approximately 876 lb (397 kg) pounds compared to the contemporary LP5000QV production model.^[39] The new body also reduced the drag coefficient by approximately 10%.^[39] The 1988 Countach Anniversary edition incorporated features of the Evoluzione body, including several composite panels and air intakes integrated into the lower door sills.^[13]

Lamborghini engineers used the Evoluzione as a testbed for many other technologies during its existence. These included a 4WD drivetrain, electronically controlled ride height, active suspension, ABS, and retractable, low-drag windshield wipers.^[13][38][39] Some of these features would be used in later Lamborghini road cars, such as the Diablo.^[13]

Although contemporary publications mention the possibility of a limited production run based on the Evoluzione,^[38][39] the car never entered production.^[13] The single Countach Evoluzione prototype was destroyed by the Lamborghini factory during crash testing and no longer exists.^[13][37]