Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5

Oh yes, will enjoy the Countach to the day I die. Don't think I'll ever get mine up towards the top end. Don't trust the brakes that much ;-)

 

Just fell over... THIS IS AMAZING!

 

When I did the Countach grouptest in Italy with Valentino for Octane Magazine (Jan 2011), I quizzed both Valentino and Peter Dron about the Countach used in this famous Fast Lane feature and whether the car was specially prepared.

Valentino told me it was a regular Countach owned by Pierluigi Martini (apparently, Lamborghini used to do special 'deals' on Countaches to well-know race drivers around this time) but it had covered around 6-10,000km, so was well run in.

The only mod on the car was to the air-box feeding the carbs after Lamborghini discovered you could get a few extra horsepower at high revs by lifting the air-box lid covering the top of the carburettor trumpets. To achieve this, Valentino used to add several extra cork gaskets to lift the lid further away from the top of the carbs but still allowing the engine to breath cool air ducted from outside and the standard engine-cover to open and close.

Together with the lack of wing on the car (which dramatically reduces drag) and higher tyre pressures (for minimum rolling resistance) the car achieved the big speed recorded in this article.

Valentino also confirmed standard QV engines were known to produce more than the stated 455bhp at the time but Lamborghini decided not to declare this at launch because they were convinced Ferrari would increase the (395bhp) peak power in the Testerossa to match the Countach and the fact the Countach V12 was actually producing nearer 475bhp (Valentino's figure, not mine) would allow Lamborghini to up the Countach's quoted power for zero cost and jump ahead of Ferrari again!

As we now know, there was never any need to do increase the quoted power on the Countach because Ferrari never got close to 455bhp with the Testerossa, so this extra bhp advantage was never declared..
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This test was perfromed with his car: Countach Quattrovalvole Test Sport Auto 1987

Keke's car was for sale about 10 years back (for a long time) for a price you would nowadays get only the engine and gearbox...

 

This one ran also very well, german Auto Motor & Sport 1986: Countach Quattrovalvole Test

Makes sense, when we overhouled my engine because of a leaking head gasket we drove here shortly without the cover on top to adjust the carbs, amazing difference, I always thought that box design was really bad.
http://www.countach.ch/HeadGasket/Step23/index.html
but I never believed the 455bhp, those are italian horses, measured without the cover on top of the carbs and most likely with an empty muffler box, not comparable with those from Stuttgart...