Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5

Image Unavailable, Please Login HLA12149 I don't have much, which is good news as I think it has exceptional provenance.

Delivered new in July 1987, UK supplied and registered E731KYL.

E731KYL, 732 and 733 were all UK RHD red QVs supplied by Portman Lamborghini. E734KYL was a UK supplied black LHD QV.

Most UK Countachs have been on numerous number plates with numerous owners - this one has stayed on the same number plate, stayed in the UK and if unused for 21 years, that is good in itself to establish its history.

Apart from the photos above posted by Joe, about the only time car has been in public domain is in the LM002 and powerboat photos above. I'm pretty sure these photos were done by Portman Lamborghini, I the late 1980s, as the red LM002 was their demonstrator then. (Ah, what great insight - just noticed it has "Portman" written on its bonnet!)

Have names of two of its owner which I can PM you if that helps?

Robert

 

Yes...definitely E731KYL too, although not massively clear on that photo as it is from the web.

 

the playboy's car

 

We have no idea just from two undated photos. TBH Portman may have plonked these plates on a different car to drive it to the photo shoot. There were several red RHD QVs knocking around at that time.

 

.....which has had quite the opposite history to E731KYL!

 

Interesting, I hadn’t spotted the Countach in that boat/LM002 group shot carried the same registration plate as the Countach I posted earlier. The only thing that didn’t look quite right on the car were the seats, which lacked the perforations & piping present on my Countach. Seen this before, though, so not exactly sure whether both of these features were optional?

 

Owner has no interest in restoring the car but would sell if the right offer comes in. If this car is of any interest to anyone, PM me and I will pass all sensible offers across to the owner..

 

The car that you think was in the image was first registered in August 1985, two years before E731KYL, and sported a well known personalised plate. My guess is that HLA12139 had not been delivered by the date of the photo shoot and another car had to be located, using one of the pre-prepared plates already allocated to Portman, to disguise the personal plate and to make it appear contemporary.

 

Checking further, I think that the rosso LM002 must be the Earls Court show car JLA12079 imported in October 1987 on EE 545 AK and subsequently registered on E834 LYU. If so that means that the image must have been taken at least a couple of months after E731KYL was delivered and not beforehand...