Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5

Bloody hell! That is mega quick. 195!!! Even by today's standards.

Joe, was the car one of the ones which had a better tuned engine? Also, I take it the wing was not fitted.

R

 

Still remeber buying the mag,I was 13 and couldn't wait to get home and devour it.

 

Did the car really reach 195? I know the DD can (as proven by a gentleman in Germany, I believe), but can the LP5000S?

 

I would suggest the answer is no. Purely based upon BHP figure difference between the DD and the 5000s. I think the 195 / 190+ car is the exception rather than the rule. There was talk in this thread earlier, that some DD's were pushing close to 470BHP output. All, being handbuilt, are slightly different in engine output. I think the car in the Fast Lane test was one which had a high output. If so, that would give it nearly 100BHP over the 5000s.
R

 

test car...
Ben

 

fastest wingless DDs managed a top speed close to real 300 Km/h on tests.
300 Kmh were not achieved in 1 single test done with the right equipment.

an LP400 was clocked at the same, or bit higher, top speed by italian magazine, using good testing equipmnet

DD is powerfull but not even close to 200 mph or 320 Km/h

the first producton lamborghini to brake the 200 mph barrier, clocked at 325-326 and more Km/h was the diablo.

200 mph REAL top speed was achieved thanks to few more hp, more torque, longer gears and WAY WAY better aerodinamic.
the diablo is an aerodinamic marvel compared to countach...expecially wide countach S, 5000s , qv with wings.

do not get me wrong: i love the countach, i love the DD. and i like countach more than i do like diablo. but the fact remain the top speed of countach never reached the factory claim

 

i just read my post again and want to add something:
i have ALWAYS been impressed by the performance of the DD countach

whoever got the privilege to drive a good WEBER quattrovalvole in perfect running order, (even better one with an ANSA SPORT and with carbs tuned accordingly), will tell you the car is terrific fast for its age.

i mean the car was still quick some 20 years after it was released.

the best thing of the DD is the acceleration till 200 Km/h: there a DD is not much slower than a 2wd diablo and probably feels even quicker since it is more "wild" to drive.

a DD was a powerfull beast in its time. only the supercharged limited supercars that came after the QV (F40, 959, etc...) could beat its performance
and i do not think the coeval 288 GTO is really quicker than a good quattrovalvole in the straight line. And that is an incredible achievment for a production car and an evolution of a 10 year old car Vs a monster built and designed almost from scratch specificly to compete in the group B

what i meant in my previous post is that DownDraft biggest pro is not its top speed, because of its bad drag coefficient. it is this that keep the top speed number "low" in the countach, whith the exception of the slim LP400.

i also believe the anniversary revised design (even if not everyone personal favourite), improved countach aerodynamics a bit and raised the top speed in the latest countach model

 

One thing the Countach gets criticized for is its drag coefficient, but it wasn't meant to be slippery. It was meant to be stable in a time which most cars got pretty light in the top end...

 

Yes, it was good and stable at speed. it was a succes since the car feels solid at speed
it was a huge step forward over the miura in the handling compartment

in the same way the diablo is as stable as the countach but much more efficent from an aerodinamic point of view

 

Correct.

And driven by a F1 driver who was not afraid to die.

 

Of course, the standard 455 bhp-engined cars came in around 180 mph.
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Another known 455 bhp car achieved 180mph tested electronically
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The higher-output engines that put out 470 bhp or more first asserted years ago by Dott. Stefano Pasini has recently been confirmed by none other than the engineer in change of those engines, Ing. Luigi Marmiroli.

I obtained this information by speaking to him recently. I learned that one of such 470 bhp engines was put into the Countach Evoluzione and it bested a true 300 kph.

This image below was given to me by Marmiroili and it has never been published anywhere besides this thread (as is the case for a significant amount of material herein posted).
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Bear in mind your data is based on magazine tests, dependent on a proper-tuned car and the right circumstances, which in many cases was not up to par. Simply possessing a 455 bhp Downdraft Countach does not mean it will go 180 mph (although some clearly did). A perfect storm of car, driver & conditions is always required in top speed tests, and I believe Messrs Martini & Dron found that perfect storm that night. After all, Pierluigi Martini stated (confessed) that his Countach regularly 'saw' that speed he achieved with Dron.

BTW, Marmiroli told me there was a team of engine builders who were responsible for all the VIP cars and the tolerance of increased out put of their engines was 3 - 4% above standard.
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Emilio, there will be a good comparo magazine piece upcoming!

I love the 288 GTO, and you'll be interested to know that one of the Prototype 288 GTOs was fitted in Downdraft carburetted configuration.

I agree with you that a finely-tuned DD feels potent even today, despite being 30 years old.
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French-registered Downdraft, recently
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Rick Lee in his 88.5 DD in the UK
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I know this Image (or a similar one) and always wondered why they still had the smog pump installed...

 

I'm fairly confident you are thinking of another image, this one below, taken by Ranier Schlegelmilch, with the air-box affixed.

The image Marmiroli gave me with the exposed velocity trumpets has not been published before it was posted in this thread.
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Both correct, is this an enlarged airbox?
I wonder if the arabian Version with the alu box was more efficient than the fibre glass air box.
http://www.lambocars.com/images/countach/lp500qv35.jpg

 

This looks to have been taken at this years Arts and Elegance show at Chantilly, France. I was there in my car and on arrival, were directed to the Supercars parking site. I had people running in front of the car and generally running in our direction to take pictures.

I sure as hell felt like a rock star that day. Even parked up with some serious hardware, the car got a lot of attention. When I came to leave the event, it was hard to drive through people crowding around.

Good times
Rob
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And another from your excursion to France!
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I think it is the same standard one as used in the FIA Homologation certification
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I missed the second part of your post, I'm not sure the alu box is better, and its only real purpose is a desert climate application. The real issue I have is that is not stylized for an iconic sports car, it looks like it belongs on a truck (& it does!)
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Here is the one on Jay Leno's Downdraft.
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