Countach, the ultimate supercar

always interested to read your posts

 

Formula 1 Team Boss Gerard Lopez has a nice collection, among them a RHD QV with english plates: Auto-Kollektion von Gerard Lopez: Die geilste Garage Europas (Bildergalerie, Bild 16) - AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT

 

Think this car was sold by Furlongers here in the UK.
R

 

Correct, we posted about this a year ago in this thread, this is the ex-Ali Taffi QV which was sold by Simon Furlonger and then was supplied to Gerard Lopez.

 

Joe, do you "only" think that the car in the photo is 1120228 or are you sure that this photo "indeed" shows 1120228? If you are sure, please tell us why you are sure. Looking at that photo, I can't say whether this is 1120228 or another crashed LP400. But I tend to say that this photo does not show 1120228. 1120228 had an interior in the colour senape/naturale. The car in the photo has a very bright interior which should be white. Of course, it is difficult or even impossible to say without any doubts that the crashed car in the photo has a white interior. But the photo suggests that this is a car with a white interior. So, why do you conclude that the photo shows #1120228? No offense taken, I would simply like to know your ideas.

 

Where there 2 types of magnesium cast wheels used on the LP400S?

 

there is a thread on rims below. may be that could be discussed there. my understanding so far from discussions here is that :

1. there were the S1 bravos style - magnesium I believe

2. the S2-S3 campagnolo magnesium

3. The tecmagnesio -campagnolo magnesium (tecmagnesio) bought Campagnolo and I guess just continued making some. I got one of those as spare which is close to useless for my QV but may look good on a wall.

Some claimed early 5000S also have magnesiums

then Ozs took over.

I think this is the story for the rims. Someone correct this if I got something wrong.

 

I agree with you, without seeing a chassis ID plate or documentation, you have to leave some room for doubt, and that is the basis of the words "I think...".

The crashed car is a RHD, and it could easily be the right gold color. The description of the accident also fits the resultant damage the image shows. Also, the inside driving shot of the car appears to be Senape (you are right), but I have been fooled before where the shadows made an interior appear to be Senape when it was White. The crashed car is photographed outside in the really bright sunlight with doors open. In the end, who really knows for sure with much of Lamborghini lore? At least we can say the Countach has as good chassis!

 

Just a few additional thoughts.
I have Pictures of the famous Lp400 factory development car, we don't know where it ended up, with swiss plates of the that time swiss importer codeco sa. I suppose it was used by Leimer to test parts in daily use. Could it be it became 1121030 which is one of a few periscopa LP400(s)?
I mean we all know how short the factory was on Money, so nothing would be nearer than selling a test bed as a new car to fill the empty pockets...

 

I think that maybe we have 2 different identification problems here. First, was '1120228' the 'Convoy' Countach? And, second, was the smashed car '1120228' and thus (or not?) the Convoy car ? It is true that '228' is one of RHD cars of which Lamborghiniregistry.con has no info at all, but the car is listed there as being Rosso/Nero. No color/interior has been listed for the RHD '1120226' and '1120264'. I think that it is possible that the car shunted in the widely-known picture that I posted was actually the 'Convoy' Countach, the B/W picture possibly being misleading, but how do we know that it was '1120228'? A little mystery.

Cheers

Stefano

 

Indeed, that's what makes Lamborghini history interesting. Although, with the rarity of the cars, coincidences are few, and the ratio of my hunches being borne out as true has thus far been pretty high.

FWIW, 1120228 did start out as a gold RHD LP400, that was rebuilt by the factory into a Rosso/Nero LP400S.

Best,

 

350/400GT is really kewl.



Around 2005/06, at LoD, I could have picked a real nice Argento 400GT interim car, in place of the SE 30 .

It was on the showroom floor !

 

Dear Joe, I think that your latest message confirms what you wrote before. If 1120228 was a gold RHD LP400 and was subsequently rebuilt as LP400S, it seems highly probable that this modification was 'encouraged' by, for example, a very hard crash that forced the owners to rebuild the car completely. It was very probably 1978-1979 and the 'S' was already on the Sant'Agata production lines, so it was quite natural to ask to have her rebuilt like an 'S'.....and the wrecked RHD LP400 in the factory's courtyard could well be that car. Even if I don't have any proof of that, I think that this is highly probable (IMHO).

All the best

Stefano

 

Stefano, I have made many mistakes in my life. One of them that I distinctly recall was a decision I made in the 80s, when given the choice between an all-day drive in my Countach with my buddy, or, responding to an invitation by a lady who was a renowned Supermodel. All I can say is that as I age, I try to make fewer mistakes!

That said, according to Messrs Robert Westall & Paul Clemence, 1120228 was returned to the UK in red/black livery, and subsequently registered MGU445W, NUR777 and then AGF59W. See the image below depicting what it looks like in recent times. It was a 1976 LP400 returned to the factory, and in 1980 and upgraded to LP400S spec. This means it sat around at the factory for some 3-4 years. I hope I am not simply adding to the confusion!
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If I remember correctly - here I am quite sure - the authors of the "convoy article" mentioned that a blue/gold car had been under construction when they received the gold LP400 in order to bring it to the UK. The blue/gold car must be the ex Silveira 1120222, so I don't doubt that the crashed convoy car was 1120228. However, I have doubts about the convoy car being the crashed car in the photo. To me, this car does not look like a car with a senape interior, and #1120228 had a senape/naturale interior, for sure. However, old b/w photos might be misleading, and they did not build a lot of RHD LP400.

My conclusion for now is: the convoy car had the chassis no. 1120228, but we can not be 100% sure that the photo of the crashed car shows the convoy car.

Best regards

Christian

 

Yes, this sounds reasonable and speaks for the theory that the crashed car was carrying chassis no. 1120228. I was tempted to add "indeed" but I was able to refuse

 

Do I spot Raymond's car in the background?

 

No, that's Mike Pullen's LP400S S1 Lowbody # 112100.

 

I see, interesting! Same "chianti" shade though?

 

Dear Stefano,
frankly it sounds strange to me, as you wrote this date in your Countach book published by Automobilia… I’ve checked… see page 23…

BTW Maybe your books are missing several details, but are still the most intimate and emotional. In a world of “data sheet books”, I think it’s very important to understand the Lamborghini feeling of the golden years.

Warmest regards,

Lorenzo

 

...
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NO, that very nice car is more prune, there is also another one, one of the Johl Brothers had also a similar colour.

 

Oh my God Lorenzo, you are right, I did write that date then and I forgot it..... I am really getting too old to remember what I have written in my wasted youth. ))))

At least it is not bad to see that what I wrote then has been confirmed today. And thank you for your very, very kind words. Lamborghini in those years was a true matter of passion andcwe were proud of being part of that small, very focused family.

Believe me, we were not always regarded so highly.... Maserati people were always looking down to us Lamborghini enthusiasts (Fangio had raced their cars, you know, and they had won Indy....), but our revenge was that Sant'Agata was making Countaches while Modena was putting their trident on nasty cheap Biturbos built in the Innocenti plants in Milan. 2 different branches of my family owned dealerships of both Marques and I know that we were happy with Lambos while I still shiver at the horrors of the Biturbo.

A small anecdote that I unearthed from some very remote part of my rusty memory when a guy interviewed me about my books. When I thought that I could probably write my first Lamborghini 'Catalogue Raisonné', I contacted the most important automotive publisher in Italy, Automobilia. Its publisher, Bruno Alfieri, would afterwards become a friend and I did also perform surgery on his eyes twice, but then he didn't know me. Over the telephone he just said 'Why do you want to write a book about Lamborghini? I wanted to, I've sent 2 very good motoring journalists to Sant'Agata before in 2 different occasions to write a large book and they came back empty-handed. Nothing is there anymore, no archive, nothing. What can we do?' I was upset by the idea that these guys wouldn't make the effort to find the stuff for a book about my favourite Marque, so I said 'I have the pictures and Emilianauto has the cars, and I've driven them all!' It was a sort of a bluff, but it worked and so we made the 1st Catalogue, a huge success. Good memories.

Some very nice people (and a very nice lady....) came here in Bologna a few weeks ago to visit Lamborghini and they interviewed me for 'Discovery Channel' about the fascination of classic Lamborghinis and the Miura in particular.... I hope to be able to tell you when the program will be released.

Sadly, 'emotional' books are not what the current owners of Lamborghini want, their next self-hagiography will be a large expensive coffee-table book authored by people who simply weren't there in those times and, I think, loathe old cars. Just see the condition of 1120001 in the Museum (that, BTW, I helped build when the President was still Giuseppe Greco, but that car was not there yet.)

Ok, apologies for the rant, but thank you for resurrecting so many happy or, at least, emotional memories from those glorious years. Have a nice evening!

Stefano

 

According to my Silhouette related research the Convoy car was without doubt 1120228. I cannot be certain if the pic of the crashed LP400 is the same car but if anyone knows the date this pic was taken this would be most helpful.