Countach, Style or Performance?

With a Countach you have style, exotic looks that exceed an Aventador, and old school slant, a muscle cars sound, raw power, torque, exclusivity, an investment, the car your buddies had on a poster as kids......

Should I go on?


And that supercharged Mustang would still lose. He'd be too busy putting his cell phone camera away when the light turned green.

 

Great post.

 

Today a Countach isnt about realising the dream of worlds fastest car, its about realising our age groups boyhood fantasy..

 

+1 and Italian design in the 70's and early 80's was at its peak with nearly all of the super car makers.

 

The Countach is to date the most visually stunning road car ever made. To put things in proper perspective, the world's fastest and most expensive road car today, the Bugatti Veyron, doesn't even come close. It was and is sensational like no other car has ever been.

 

Sure, agree absolutely, but it's also soooo sweet when you blast past some much newer cars like 360 Ferraris and the like... I find the Countach still fast enough (especially DD QV) to be satisfying on the performance front as well. Ok not the fastest but fast enough.

 

most of the sports cars i own would probably be handily despatched at the lights by a ford windstar, so it ends up being not about speed, but design, sound, and whatever thing it is about the car you own that connects it to your soul...

 

Unless you are on a track, performance is almost irrelevant........to me.

Again, only speaking for myself, I can walk up to a 400gt, Urraco, Countach, Aventador, F-40, 458 Italia, etc....I have never thought of top speed, hp, which one is faster, which handles better. I am only in awe of the styling and contruction of the vehicle.

I just want to clarify the use of bragging. It seems you are using it in a harmless way as an expression. I can honestly say no Countach owner has ever bragged about what they got.

 

+100
Realistically my Mini Cooper S is faster on almost any winding road, last time I chased a 500+ HP Corvette...

 

fantastic.

Just my opinion, but my vote goes to style, no matter the variant.[/QUOTE]

I agree. And with regards to style, there are roughly four looks to the Countach imo . And that is why there is a debate among the four. As a collector, I would like one of each, as they all represent something different....a different syle.

1. LP400: Has a style all its own. A pure, clean design. The original. Not mistaken for any other variant ever. Even the naive can tell it is different and in its own category style-wise.

2. Low-body: First of the flared, more aggressive, but less pure-looking variants. The low body is only noticed by the cognoscenti, as it looks pretty much exactly the same as the other flared cars to the average person.

3. High bodied variants (LP400S S3, LP500S, QV, FI, DD etc): This is the shape millions grew up with and everyone knows. The poster cars. The quintessential look for the Countach. What everyone thinks of when you say Countach. I include the 88.5 in this category because the little strakes down low are pretty subtle, and 99% of the rest of the look is there. I think in the long run, the sub-variant within this group will not matter as much value-wise, because all in this group have pretty much the same style. Just like a Speedster doesn't vary much in value for normal, super, or super 90 engines, I think the same dynamic will apply to the subvariants here in the long run.

4. Anniversary: As much a different look as from the LP400 to the flared variants. Love it or hate it, a very different look, while still very aggressive. More eighties look than the others, and fits well with the eighties Testarossa and that whole genre. Still, a Countach but its own style. Now, all my opinion: I love them in black and silver. Still cool in white. This Not so much in red, yellow, or other Skittles colors as those colors exaggerate the strakes too much which are exaggerations by themselves to begin with.

I think serious collectors will want one of each variant above just to have one of each style, not for any performance reason.

 

I look faster than everything out there, and isn't that what matters?

 

LOL, yeah I guess it does

 

I think among any group of enthusiasts, the discussion about performance will come up & be a factor. Look at most all American muscle cars, which nearly all had a variety of optional engine choices. The highest performance ones are going to be more desirable. Doesn't really matter if the modern cars can beat them by the numbers. I think the comparisons really only apply to other cars of that era, or other Countaches.

 

People always ask how fast it is, or how much horsepower. I tell them it's slow by today's standards. 400 hp in a modern car wil blow my doors off, but I don't care.
In terms of future value, It won't even be close.

 

How fast are you guys wanting to go? Honestly all these
"soccer mom cars are faster" analogies don't hold water to me. I have yet
to be "blown away" by anything. It's not like you should be taking one of these to the
track or anything which is where these "max" performance numbers would matter.
ie. it's about the style, heritage, and legacy.

 

Older cars are like older people. they may be capable, but their best days are behind them!
yes, I ought my QV for style and design. I love Gandini styled cars.
HOWEVER! I took mine out for a drive against a 360CS 430 Diablo SV and Roadster. We jumped between cars and drove them back to back over some very twisty roads. Result: The QV held it's own; was the one the rest of the owners wanted to drive; was still bloody fast. Diablos had smoother delivery and slightly more mid range torque; the CS had amazing brakes and could fly into corners at 130mph and loose 50mph without problem and boot it out of corners; the 430 was accomplished but not up to the CS in overall feel. We took country road corners at 120+ the QV was screaming on it's tyres but kept up.
Yes a CS or indeed many moderns would be e point to point and clearly in a straight line at the top end, due to aerodynamics etc, but a posers car? No! Does what it says on the tin? Yes. Still capable and fast? Yes, unless you are a serious quality driver and like the idea of prison if caught.
Would I want a AMG with flashing warnings, safety devices that switch it all off? NAFChance!
Yes it has style.
Does it have performance? Just go out and thrash the arse off it and see! I do. Often! It still does what it says on the tin!
All of the above may be fantasy and can not be used in any criminal prosecution!
xx

 

LOL

Very true.

The engine note and the feeling from driving many of these older cars is so much more exciting than many of the newer cars. It is not just about top speed, but about the experience of the ride in total.

 

You could also say it was the fastest production car in the world when new...

 

Actually no.

Here is one example: whilst Countach production was still ongoing in 1984, a world production Supercar speed test was performed and the Countach (below) was beaten by a Porsche Turbo. Other cars were faster in terms of both acceleration & top speed.

The Countach is clearly all about stunning, dramatic & avantegarde styling, and in that regard it is King of the Road. I think (without speaking for him) the OP's point is that all this bar-room chatter about "more horsepower" etc misses the point of the Countach and is largely both redundant & irrelevant.

After all, think about the car's very name: Countach! Its an expression of Style....
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In 1975 Motor magazine in the UK actually tested and compared the Countach LP400, Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer and the 3.0 Litre Porsche Turbo. They didn't record the top speeds but the Countach was considered to be the fastest. From memory the 0-60 times were 5.6 Countach, 6.1 Porsche Turbo and 6.5 for the Boxer. Overall, it was either the Countach or the Boxer that was the fastest production car in the world at the time. These 2 cars were the ultimate expression of Style AND Performance. They were and still are absolutely stunning cars. Imagine what it was like seeing one back then. They were in a different league to anything else.

The Countach that the Porsche Turbo beat was a 5000S (4754cc) which was probably the slowest version having no more power than the 3929cc cars but more weight? The 5000 QV (5167cc) was faster than a Porsche Turbo.

Great pic of the LP500 Prototype, Joe. That was such a fantastic looking car. Lamborghini should make a copy of it.

 

You make some great points. However, the thing about Countachs tested is that their performance results have been inconsistent. At various points from LP400 to Annivesario there have been other production cars that have been faster both in terms of acceleration and top speed.

The only consistently undeniable quality where the Countach reigns supreme for all cars of that era is styling, avantgarde, stunning and dramatic as it is. That's my central point, and I think, that of the OP.

FWIW I think you'll find the LP500S has slightly more torque than the 4 litre cars, but the LP500S is essentially the same weight as the LP400S. Weight increased with the QV.

 

This takes me back to my youth - I remember the Guinness book of records at that time (mid 70's) had the LP400 and the 365BB as equal fastest production cars with a top speed of 186mph. I know this is all academic and nostalgia but (like Paul) I still like to occasionally stretch her legs and for me this is also an integral and enjoyable part of Countach ownership.
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My darling wife rang me at work 2 days ago.

"Hey honey I am pulled up next to a thing called a Gallardo..It says it's a Lamborghini"

Me
"That's right honey"

Wife
"Wow it looks like a mass produced sporty Toyota, the Countach looks so much better, it looks like what a Lamborghini should look like" Are these Gallardo's worth much?

Me
"Well the Countach is old school and its probably worth the same as a used Gallardo"


I think the words of a car novice such as my wife sum it up.

No disrespect to Gallardo owners...I love the Gallardo and have considered one as a daily drive.

 

Until the 5000 QV was introduced the original production 375 BHP LP400 may have been the fastest Countach as the LP400S was heavier and I've read had 50 BHP less due to smog controls. Power was only about equalled by the 5000S but was heavier so must have been slower just as the bigger engined 5.0 Litre 512 Boxer (less power, more torque but heavier) was slower than the 4.4 365 Boxer.

I remember reading that the Porsche Turbo 3.3 beat the Countach and being disappointed but its top speed may have been hindered by having a rear wing if it had one? Again from memory, so I may be wrong, Motor said that the Countach was the fastest car they had ever tested at MIRA. There were pictures of very long skid marks when they launched the car. Does anyone have these Motor articles? They were published over 3 weeks for each car, the 365 Boxer (reg. KPD 622P), Countach LP400 (reg.?) and the 3.0 Porsche Turbo (reg. 2 GOO). Due to its practicality more than anything the Porsche was the winner.

I don't remember any cars being faster than these until the advent, at least 10 years later, of the more expensive Porsche 959 and Ferrari 288 GTO.

The Countach looked very fast and it was very fast as was the Ferrari Boxer.