Official Countach Value Thread

Bonhams Lot 337
1975 LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH LP400 'PERISCOPIO' COUPÉ
Registration no. BVU 985N Chassis no. 1120070 Engine no. 1120068
Right Hand drive.

Estimate
£ 450,000 - 550,000
US$ 766,000 - 936,000


Sold for £850.000 + commission

 

Bonhams Lot 352
1983 LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH LP500S COUPÉ
Registration no. RYP 547Y Chassis no. ZA9C0050LA12550
Right Hand drive.

Sold for £100,000 + commission

 

LP400 WITH COMMISION $1,622,280 MUST BE A NEW RECORD

 

At $200K, that car got sold "cheap" by prior sales. what gave?

 

Prices all over the board.

 

You can read more about the car here:
http://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/lamborghini/countach/1983/235755

 

Mileage is high relatively speaking but if everything checked out someone got a reasonable deal. Congrats to the new owner. Proves once again that a single sale doesn’t make the market.

 

Both sales have me a scratching my head , and in the same auction ? 1.6M is very high, 200k scarcely explainable if that car looked like what it did. Auctions can be funny sometimes and this certainly was. I suspect people will look back at this 500s sale and say wow for a long time.

 

Why is it scary game, if you don't participate?

 

Just returned from this auction, the LP400 was very nice but the original white leather with blue inserts was starting to show its age, the 5000S was a very well known UK car, looked okay but required a rebuild but was no way that much cheaper, as stated earlier auctions are strange

Stephen Keen

 

Any reserve? You take your chances at an auction, without one. Maybe the Lp400 sold first and so high that everyone left, expecting the 5000s to soar as well. The last few numbers on right hand drive Countachs made this a good buy, and (probably) a disappointed seller.

 

yeah. if you look at the hires image, the 5000s requires work and the mileage is high for the countach so no premium there. this car must have live a hard life in his first owners hands and maybe that is what differenciates it? Still a car in a tired shape would not have brought $100K years ago.
The 1.6MM for a non original paint 400 is quite astounding...

 

40 year old cars DO NOT have their original paint by now unless it's in an extremely flawed state. I would say 100% of Countaches have had the paint redone by now as people like these bad boys to look their best. The paint from those years did not last for more than 10-15 years max depending on the environment the car was stored in. So the non original paint had no effect on value one way or another...

Geno

 

Paint will last forever if properly maintained. I have a close friend of mine who bought a 86 DD brand new. He still has the car. It is absolutely stunning to this day. In fact it is better than new. He wet sanded and buffed it when it was delivered to him, because the finish from the factory was not acceptable.. Never had any paint work. One of my cars was repainted in 1981 and it is still the same as it was the day it was repainted

 

+1

 

Depends on usage as well. Road chips being a big problem. My 930 still has the original paint, and it is fantastic but the mileage is 22k. Lamborghini paint quality was never a selling point. The 60 minutes video at the plant comes to mind.

 

Problem is most don't get maintained. Old laquir pain was crap and thin. With years of expanding due to temps and driving will make 40 year old paint look bad specifically on top of the hot engine lid and wing when it comes to the Countach. Your friend's car must not be driven much and is stored is a temperature controlled environment. I own a 2300 km DD that looked great but had checking in the paint, minor stress cracks and bubbles in the wing. So it received the ultimate $40k complete strip repaint by Classic Couch. Either way I see no value is original paint on a car unless it's virtually perfect.

Geno

QUOTE=blown daytona;143210408]Paint will last forever if properly maintained. I have a close friend of mine who bought a 86 DD brand new. He still has the car. It is absolutely stunning to this day. In fact it is better than new. He wet sanded and buffed it when it was delivered to him, because the finish from the factory was not acceptable.. Never had any paint work. One of my cars was repainted in 1981 and it is still the same as it was the day it was repainted[/QUOTE]

 

He uses it...my guess 200-500 miles per year. His paint has aged without flaws. I guess that is what happens when you own a high end body shop.... you know how to care for it. He taught me one trick with my own cars. When you turn the car off and park it, open the lid to let the heat out Some wings just had problems, but on the QV's I think that most did not

 

Not quite, even without referring my notes I can think of several Countachs here in the USA (including the oldest LP400) that still absolutely have their original unstable lacquer paint paint.

Having said that, your general notion is correct, I would agree that many have been re-painted.

 

I know the man who bought it, and what a steal!! This is the famed World Record car with a factory blue-printed engine! Documented.

 

yes. I don't get that sale especially with unknown car going for as much or more.
One would think even if driven hard, the Robinson blue printing is worth some and its a known car.
So may be there are deal to be still had

 

I just advice a member of my LCB to buy a BULL with its original paint & interior, car is now at Top Motors since last week who said it is still in its original condition..

this is not the 1st Bull with its original paint, my Jarama GTS #10528, which belonged to my father in the '70s had also its original paint when I bought it !

Some collectors will pay attention to original conditions of the car while others will give priority to a fully restored car !

 

Both of my 83 Countach still have orignal paint except for the wing and fender flairs on one of them.