Countach, the ultimate supercar

yes the actual build date was 1988 but they were sold as MY89 as KLAs
The last build date may have been august. Just trying to verify that 16 cars where sold as 89 models as KLAs QVs (non anniversary style)

Anyone here as a KLA besides Keir?

 

Great pics Joe ! Thanks.
Now I know the the CF is the passenger cell only, the rest behind is still steel tube chassis.

 

To consider that these were done in the 80s was extraordinary. Too bad they didnt apply that method of production as it would have made the countach lighter. Pagani really had the fore sight on where future super cars were heading. What would be awesome is if someone found prints and build a ct like that...

 

Yes, the Evo was just an ideas/test car. Carbon fiber manufacturing has come a long way since then. Some concerns were how it would degrade & also detecting degradation. Also that a damaged section couldn't be repaired but rather replaced at great expense. Fast forward to now tho...Aventador

 

Great photos of the Countach Evoluzione Joe, I've never seen those before.

Horacio Pagani recently published a fascinating book on the history of Pagani and in there is a passage on how the Countach Evoluzione programme came about. From this book and talking with Horacio, I did a story on the Evoluzione for evo back in issue 150. I've pasted the words below...


"Those of you with long memories might well remember Lamborghini dabbling with a full carbon chassis car before, way back in 1985. The car was known as the Countach Evolutione and while it never made it into production, it does provide a fascinating insight into how Lamborghini viewed the potential of this new wonder material some twenty-five years ago.
Lamborghini had set up a special unit for the processing and developing carbonfibre back in the early eighties, giving the task of designing a complete car using composites to a Sicilian engineer called Rosario Vizzini.
From the word go, internal battles flamed, with the old guard at Lamborghini viewing composites with suspicion, arguing using aluminium was a better solution as it offered Lamborghini the same advantages for much less cost, yet would still give them the weight savings they were after. All this internal unrest eventually proved too much for Vizzini, who left the company for calmer waters elsewhere. As Lamborghini had obtained government funding to set up this research project area, Vizzani needed to be replaced and fast. The job was eventually given to a young engineer who had just started working for Lamborghini at the time but was very keen on developing these new materials for automotive use, believing they could bring very real advantages in terms of lightness and strength, offering Lamborghini an advantage in terms of future car design. His name was Horacio Pagani.

Pagani immediately got to work, starting with designing an all-carbon cockpit tub. This included the roof, floor, tunnel, sills, front and rear bulkheads and was built as a one-piece structure out of a Kevlar and carbonfibre honeycomb sandwich material, bonded together under partial vacuum at 140 degrees Celsius. The front and rear covers, front air-dam/bumper and wheelarches were also constructed out of carbonfibre, with aluminium panels used for the wings and doors.
With very little budget and a small team, he managed to complete the build of the Evolutione from scratch in only a few months, the first time in the world a road car had been constructed in this way and by late 1985 it was ready to be driven for the very first time. The result was a car that was 390kilos lighter than a standard Countach, despite the fact it retained the heavy tubular rear frame, which was still needed to attach the whole drivetrain to the carbon bulkhead.
The Evolutione was fitted with a special version of the QV 5.2litre engine, tuned to produce close to 500bhp and when the car was taken to Nardo for the first time, it broke through the magic 200mph barrier, a ‘first’ for a Lamborghini road car at the time. After further tests, it was decided the car would be sacrificed by being crash tested into a barrier (which it passed with flying colours). After this final test, it was decided not to continue with this composite project as Lamborghini were very concerned at the potential costs of using carbonfibre extensively in its cars. They were also worried that while having a full carbon tub was exceptionally good at protecting occupants in a crash it was very expensive to repair a crashed car as a new tub was needed and the very high replacement cost could make insuring a Lamborghini ruinously expensive for future customers.
Horacio Pagani was desperate to continue though and kept badgering the Lamborghini management to invest in an autoclave yet they continued to refuse, once telling him as Ferrari didn’t have an autoclave for its standard road cars, Lamborghini didn’t need one either.
Pagani was given other projects to work on, including designing the special 25th Anniversary Countach. As this wasn’t seen as a new project but more of an update in order to help the car comply with new bumper regulations in the USA, it was entrusted to Horacio Pagani (deemed an engineer at the time), rather than the usual Lamborghini design team.
Even so, Pagani kept on insisting Lamborghini should invest in an autoclave, though he was fast coming to the conclusion it was never going to happen. In the end, he took matters into his own hands by walking into a bank in Sant’Agata Bolognese one day and asked for a loan to buy his own autoclave. The rest, as they say, is history…."

 

Wonder what happened to the "tuned" engine from the Evoluzione..???

Joe: didn't even know of ANY DD Anniv cars in the US. What can you tell us about the
one in Nevada? Very cool that at least One made it over!

 

Joe,

Just sent you a PM but figured it would be cool to discuss this on the forum. : )

From your records how many TRUE US FI 2 valve factory Countach cars were produced? And is the VIN number the only way to tell the difference between a factory car and NON factory converted car?

I was almost 99% sure that between 1984 and 1985 the factory made a handful (12?) USA spec 2 valve FI cars....

 

Factory sources stated 37 FI LP5000s had been built.

 

I love it when random Wolf shots show up in this thread!

 

o/t

I heard of a car in Dubai, that needs a lot of work.

John H; know's about the car.

 

Any info on the engine ? Is it still a 4.0 or stroked ? Thanks

 

Hi does anyone have any leads as to the history of chassis 12590 before 1996? I am trying to piece together the first 10 years of the cars life - history is comprehensive since 1996. The car was also featured in a twin test in Classic and Sportscar in December 1999 with a TestaRossa.
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Thank you! In addition...

Just got confirmation that factory USA 2 -valve FI cars had FLA serial numbers. Euro 2 valve cars had ELA serial numbers. That is THE way to tell the difference between a car "made" to pass EPA/DOT by dealers, distributors and Lambo NA and the 37 built AT the factory.