Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5

Blue-tack? I don't recall seeing any of that in our car.

 

I put you in touch with my guy, see email.

 

Thank you Nils, glad you are appreciating the work we are doing, we are thankful & happy with how it is coming along.

Fortunately for me, this is not my first rodeo, more like my 6th personal restoration, plus the experience of closely following the restorations of at least a dozen other cars that belong to my clients. All the aforementioned has not only given me some experience as it relates to planning, methods, materials, resources, and most importantly what is authentic-for-period, but it has been eye-opening as far as all the restoration pitfalls or mistakes that are often made.

A key ingredient is working with someone who is both honest & competent, and let me tell you this latter quality is as rare as hen's teeth!

 

Question for Raymond:

Just curious, was the rear fog-light mandated for all European countries?

I notice the Transportation Authority Homologation car (not the FIA one) and a few of the early Test/Press cars had no rear fog-lights, does this suggest pre-production cars?
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As a follow-up to the previous post - Production cars consistently sport rear fog-lights, as we will be going with on GLA12997.

Also note that an aerial in the DS rear fender top was not always installed.
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Me too.

There is no denying the wing is an impressive thing, and it makes the Countach look even more striking.

Personally, I prefer the Countach without it for 3 reasons:

Lines - I believe the impressive lines of the Countach are enhanced without the wing, in other words, you can appreciate the trapezoidal lines of the design of rear of the car especially, without the wing. Without the wing, the eye is not distracted and the purity of the design is appreciated. I think that’s what some of us are seeing, and the old adage of “less is more” applies here.

Performance - I personally know (as do 2 other DD owners in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain area plus more besides) that the wing can add stability at high speeds. But, how often will you drive the Countach over 150mph? As Valentino says, it does nothing at road speeds, it slows the car down at very high speeds, and means even less rear vision.

Originality - Some may not know this, but the Countach was not Homologated with the wing either at road transportation authority level or for the FIA. Therefore, strictly-speaking, its an aftermarket piece. I know the factory got involved in fitting them just to be helpful to clients, but for purists, its a non-original thing.

All this said, although I reckoned without it, I can certainly appreciate the wing and do enjoy seeing a Countach with one fitted.
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As I mentioned, the car was Homologated at both Transportation Authority level and for the FIA without the wing
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The summer of 1986, half-a-dozen Countachs ready for delivery, nary a wing anywhere in sight
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As mentioned, I think one can appreciate the trapezoidal lines of the design of rear of the car better without the wing.

This way the purity of the original design is appreciated.

I forgot to say that IMHO, the later spatted cars (with wheel arches) look even more muscular & poised without the wing.
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The Super Countach was developed with no wing
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Detroit test-car had a wing, as did the yellow AUTOCAR magazine car (which maged 180mph with it) so there was a mixture of wing and no-wing
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I think the Countach's design has taken a generation to be truly appreciated

 

Ive been searching for a copy of the March 1986 issue of Auto Chromes and its road test, if anyone has this magazine and can scan & post I'd appreciate it. TIA
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CAR magazine June 1988:

"The present Countach is the world's greatest Supercar because it places unrivaled demands on the driver while at the same time offering unrivaled rewards"

I know when I owned by original DD back then I thought it was the best sports car money could buy...
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I had a HUGE collection of magazines from the 80s.

Shortly after I met my wife @ 1990, I came home and she announced that she had created some space for me by getting rid of all those old car magazines!

We've since built up the archives again...

Another magazine I'm looking for a scan of the internals is the June 1985 issue of Auto Hebdo (below)where they test one of the pre-production Countachs.
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The summary page shows the article and the images were done by noted historian Jean-Francois Marchet
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The 'speeding' rear wheel arches have turned out to be an iconic Gandini/Bertone design feature (Zero/Countach/Bravo/Diablo), and the benchmark Carabo-style doors that have become a trademark for many Supercars that came after the Countach. Lots of features in the Countach are seen in descending cars.