Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5

All I'll request is that some images be judiciously placed within this thread in the near future!

Meanwhile my favorite image from CAR magazine's October 2012 issue entitled "Gods" is this one below
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Good points all round.

This has given me the incentive to go back to Ingegnere Luigi Marmirolli and find out the thinking behind the FIA Homologation of the DD engine at the end of 1987.
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One thing I have learned about sports car is that they become stars in the hearts & minds of collectors at different times and at different rates of speed. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason why a variant suddenly takes off, but most often it is for reasons of realization often fueled by the automotive press or specialists whose knowledge runs deep and whose perception is clear. A discovery by historians about something important in the car's development or production adds to this, and can cause collectors who have grown up with these iconic cars to see them with added respect and reach for their checkbooks.

I'll tell you a story - not 6 or 7 years ago I was offered a McLaren F1 in exchange for my 288 GTO and some cash, a deal I could have made. However, I didn't have enough regard for the F1 and I thought the GTO was ascendant so I stuck with it. My GTO did ascend, well into 7-figures. But how was I to know that 6 years later the F1 would could be an 8-figure car? If you had told me of that possibility when the deal was offered to me, I'd have laughed. I guess the moral of the story is expect the unexpected where desire & newly-affluent collectors combine in appreciation of a particular car. And never listen to me, I'm clueless about where values are going!
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You are definitely qualified to espouse that opinion because you have significant experience with all the variants.

For my part, I have always espoused that all the variants are different and that I appreciate them all in different ways.

That said, there is no doubt that the DD has become highly desirable, as the faithful continue to learn about the cars. To keep it honest, we can measure that in terms of value, and simply say the DD is the most powerful variant of the Countach.

I think what you are talking about that some in other threads do not not understand is that driving a DD is an automotive kick in the pants. Its a drivers car, raw & powerful, and even if slightly more so, that slightly makes a difference in feel on the road.

The other thing I have not heard anyone say is, nothing sounds like a Downdraft, with that glorious induction 'whistle' pre-overrun.

Here below is what our esteemed Dott. Stefano Pasini thought of the Downdraft he tested when the car was new.
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Triple Bianco 88.5 DD @ the 50th, note wiper parking position.

Another car known to have @ 100,000 on the clock
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German Bianco/Arancio DD @ the 50th
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Is there anything like a Lamborghini engine with a row of trumpets?

 

I read that thread and responded to a couple posts.

As my dad used to say: don't ask a question unless you're ready to accept the truth in response.

Meanwhile I can't believe the CBS 60 Minutes program is nigh-on 30 years old?
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Fantastic.

I do like this image of your car, in fact I think its one of a series of great automotive images of recent times.
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John's fantastic and much-enjoyed (twice restored!) DD, sporting P7s.
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Speaking of P7s, stay tuned, there will be an announcement sometime in the near future regarding the new P7, and we'll start a new thread dedicated to it.
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Downdraft & a stack of Marchesi & Co chassis at Sant Agata, summer of 1986
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The Harrison DD in New Zealand in the early days, pic by Paul Clemence.

I used to think it was the o0nly DD in NZ, but I do believe there is another...
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Good questions but, really, this has all been discussed Ad Nauseum in the broader Countach thread, and to some degree in the 25th Anniversario thread, both of which I started. Also, as we can see in other threads, the generalization of "basically the same" is always met by people who know better who will say "not the same".

The infamous straight-line speed of the LP400 is courtesy of its obvious pure & slimline bodywork.

 

One owner from new!