About The Lamborghini Countach LP400
Excerpt from "Lamborghini LP400 Countach" by Winston Goodfellow, Sports Car International, 7/02.
Though the Miura is often described as the first supercar, it is its successor, the LP400 Countach, that truly defined the genre.
Ferrari's introduction of the Daytona in 1968 caused more than one eyebrow at Lamborghini to peak in surprise. Compared to the Miura, the front-engine 365 GTB/4 was old-fashioned. That made it all the more astonishing in Sant' Agata when magazines declared a new top speed king had been crowned. But Lamborghini was no longer the young upstart screaming for attention. It recognized the Daytona posed a serious threat to the Miura and that a dramatic response was needed. That response was the Countach.
On The Road
Some three decades after the Countach burst onto the scene, nothing else has its power to amaze. The LP400's shape is so much cleaner than that of its successors, the absence of wings, flares and a larger (and heavier) body revealing an artistry and symmetry that remains absolutely stunning.
The Countach's V12 is much like the Miura in that acceleration is quite linear.
Under full throttle the factory-installed sport exhaust lets out the most delicious bellow, one that overwhelms the cabin with a rich, complex baritone voice several times louder than stock.
The gearbox is also a world apart from the Miura. Shifts are positive, with each upshift giving you a delicious feeling of gears perfectly meshing. The slotted gate feels beefy and robust, ideal for guiding the stubby lever.
And like all lamborghinis, the LP's ride is a marvelous compromise between firmness and luxury. Pushed hard into turns, there is no body roll. The steering is nicely weighted, direct and quite communicative—the nose going exactly where you intend. And whether you are pottering at 20 mph on an empty freeway, you are jarred only when you hig a severe pothole.
You can't help but be amazed after spending time in a Countach. It may be impractical as ever, but nothing else looks like this. This beautifully pure shape is bewitching, almost unrecongnizable when compared to later versions. And the way it dishes up speed is incredible. Its limits are so high that, during the era, it must have truly seemed like it existed on a different plane.
Articles
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars 7/08
"Pure Craziness" by Tim Nevinson (pdf)
Automobile Magazine 12/06
"Lamborghini Countach" by Marc Noordeloos (pdf)
Classic & Sports Car 11/06
"Permission to Land" by Alastair Clements (pdf)
Octane 3/04
"Original And Best" by Les Bidrawn (pdf)
Octane 1/04
"The Top Speed Wars: Part 7" by Winston Goodfellow (pdf)
Sports Car International 7/02
"Lamborghini LP400 Countach" by Winston Goodfellow (pdf)
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars 9/99
"Lamborghini Countach" by Roger Bell (pdf)
LP400 Links
http://www.qv500.com/lamborghinicountachp2.php
http://www.lamborghiniregistry.com/Countach/CountachLP400/index.html