Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5 | Page 585 | FerrariChat
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Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5

Discussion in 'LamborghiniChat.com' started by joe sackey, Oct 25, 2015.

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  1. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    #14601 Rossocorsa1, Apr 22, 2021
    Agreed
     
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  2. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14602 joe sackey, Apr 23, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
    Here's one of my all-time favorite images of one of the pre-production Downdrafts after a day of hard testing by famed journalist and famed auto-tester José Rosinski, a man known for driving Lamborghinis as fast as they would go such that Bob Wallace made sure the Miura allocated to him had an engine that was tuned.

    Can you spot the non-standard feature on the car's rear panel?

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  3. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14603 joe sackey, Apr 23, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
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  4. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14604 joe sackey, Apr 23, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
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  5. em42

    em42 Formula 3

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    #14605 em42, Apr 24, 2021
    Hard to see but great detail spotting!

    Is it a pre-production car with a Prova plate?

    Thanks for sharing.
     
  6. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14606 joe sackey, Apr 24, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
    Correct, it used one of a handful of Prova test plates assigned to Lamborghini SpA, in this case BO 604.

    Rosinski also tested this very early white Downdraft which I believe was the Geneva Salon car, although I can't prove that.

    He also obtained and published the factory's original dyno sheet, hand-recorded in the engine room on the fabled Schenck dyno, showing clearly that some Downdrafts had @ 470 bhp.

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  7. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14607 joe sackey, Apr 24, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
    Not to harp on Rosinski, but he belonged to an era of enthusiast journalists who really did their work well and inspired us to love these cars.

    In the days before the internet he was was one of the people responsible for spreading the word about the Countach's greatness, it didn't hurt that he (unlike some other journalists) could actually drive these cars well.

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  8. em42

    em42 Formula 3

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    #14608 em42, Apr 24, 2021
    Rosinski was a great journalist and a great driver. And he also had quite interesting memories of the Miura!
     
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  9. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14609 joe sackey, Apr 24, 2021
    We adore the Miura, but let's be clear, from a driving perspective it's no Countach!
     
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  10. nyc

    nyc Karting

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    #14610 nyc, Apr 24, 2021
    This is GLA12948?
     
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  11. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14611 joe sackey, Apr 24, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
    By the way, the source of this detail came to me via the factory's original DGM 14753 OM illustration given to me by Ingegnere Luigi Marmiroli, this illustration featured the prototype car with a few unorthodox details besides the rear badge placement.

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  12. em42

    em42 Formula 3

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    #14612 em42, Apr 25, 2021
    Wow! This blueprint is wonderful, and such a great provenance! Thanks for sharing.
     
  13. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    #14613 Rossocorsa1, Apr 25, 2021
    Just saw a video post for an 800 mile car at Rose Lux Motors. In the post, they reference a few very odd things. First he says the car was completely disassembled in 1989 by the original owner to “preserve” its originality. Then, it was reassembled in 2018. Can someone make sense of that? Also, it mentions that the owner had a number of parts “chrome plated”. You can see all the chrome in the screen shot I took of the engine. You can also notice that the brake calipers are red. Near the end of the video it becomes clear that it’s a fuelie that was converted.

    You can view the video by scrolling to the bottom of the page - https://www.roseluxmotors.com/our-collection

    You can also view it on their Instagram page
     
  14. Spyder-Man

    Spyder-Man Formula 3

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    #14614 Spyder-Man, Apr 25, 2021
    Believe they are asking 1million for the privilege of ownership.
     
  15. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    #14615 Rossocorsa1, Apr 25, 2021
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  16. mrtiticus

    mrtiticus Rookie

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    #14616 mrtiticus, Apr 25, 2021
    Yes!
     
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  17. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14617 joe sackey, Apr 25, 2021
    Correct.

    You're welcome.

    The Chief Engineer for most of the Downdraft's production was Luigi Marmiroli, he gave me a whole series of factory illustrations relating to this variant, some of which are on page 1 of this thread.

    There are a handful of these out there.

    If that's the ask for a converted Fuelie with mods, what should be the ask for an original Downdraft without any?

    Effort + Attention to Detail = Excellence.
     
  18. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14618 joe sackey, Apr 25, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
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  19. Lemacc

    Lemacc Formula 3
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    #14619 Lemacc, Apr 26, 2021
    Very rare items.
     
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  20. SupercarGuru

    SupercarGuru F1 Rookie
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    #14620 SupercarGuru, Apr 27, 2021
    I don't believe this car is an original Downdraft example. I was told it was converted to carbs at some point.
     
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  21. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    #14621 Rossocorsa1, Apr 27, 2021
    Correct. It's a fuelie conversion.
     
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  22. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ

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    #14622 joe sackey, Apr 28, 2021
    George Evans did a handful of these in the late 80s & early 90s.
     
  23. Rossocorsa1

    Rossocorsa1 F1 Veteran

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    #14623 Rossocorsa1, Apr 28, 2021
    The conversion is less an issue for me, but the chrome playing is horrible.
     
  24. johnhoughtaling

    johnhoughtaling Formula 3

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    #14624 johnhoughtaling, Apr 28, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2022
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  25. sp1der

    sp1der F1 Rookie

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    #14625 sp1der, Apr 29, 2021
    He prefers it wingless already!
     
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