Countach, the ultimate supercar

Bob Wallace & Mel Nicols, early 1970s, Mel asked Bobby why the Countach went into production with the 4 liter engine as opposed to the originally intended 5 liter unit.

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DLA12645 which we procured in South Africa for a UK client, with less than 3,000 miles on the clock, I had Valentino Balboni take it home to Italy to oversee a major service, then it went to the UK.

Our idea of sublime.

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December 1983, the LP500S highlighted as the fastest production car in the world.

Magazines are the main way in which the Countach became beloved in the hearts & minds of the faithful, and are the way they are preserved for posterity.

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In the first image he has that pensive look is probably because he's giving important engineering feedback to Ing. Stanzani who's sitting next to him taking copious notes of the early Countach's many issues.

I think that block-padded seats were actually quite comfortable, inspired as they were by the famed 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero prototype.

BTW my Miura SV prototype 4758 was the only Miura I have encountered with the ashtray in that same position.

Being a prototype, I think some of the switches were there simply to provide an impressive array of science-fiction-like gadgetry.

I agree, by the way serial Countach owner Gerald Carroll had a shift boot fitted to his Countach's transmission tunnel, and it also looked out-of-place.

FWIW the later production LP400 got it's Periscope nickname from this LP500 application below even though it's function was debatable on the LP500 (Bobby installed door mirrors to be able to have effective rearward vision) and non-existent on the LP400.

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By the advent of the LP400 Prototype, the famed Stewart Warner gauges were employed, although the block-padded seats were still in use.

This is the look the factory ought to return their LP400 prototype to.

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Patrick Mimran's first job was to ensure that FIATs at Sant Agata were a thing of the past.

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A favorite portrait of Bob Wallace and the Countach he helped make a reality, here in the LP400 prototype.

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Not too long after that image was taken, the owner retained me to sell that LP400, I did so with the proviso that he put the original wheels back on.

 

Thankfully they were separated from the car, besides the kit-car looks, a wide rim with wide low-profile tires isn't ideal for the LP400's wishbone suspension IMO.

This was 1120194, it wore Geneva plates GE.4475 when imported by Massoud Amir Saleh, then it went to San Francisco based attorney Anthony Lombardo, then to my client on whose behalf I sold it, now it lives in Mexico (we also sold the Miura SV 4926 imaged with it in the 2nd picture), original wheels in place.

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David was my client (whose name I didn't mention for purposes of discretion), I sold this LP400 on his behalf to Roy Cats, during the full restoration by Driven Exotics, I lent consultation time to Steve to ensure certain details were correct, it turned out beautifully and is cherished by it's current owner.

 

LP400S posted by Legendary Motorcar Company, said to be a S2 but it looks like a S3, also said to be an original Blu Acapulco example.

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Correct, meanwhile I often omit my client's full names, some habits are hard to break.

 

Yes I do that often, sometimes I just use the first name, and other times I don't mention any name at all and simply supplant it with "my client".

The reason I sometimes omit mention of any name is simply as a matter of professional courtesy, I can't tell you exactly how many of the @ 70 Countachs I have sold which have been subject to a confidentiality understanding in terms of pricing or parties involved, but it's a significant percentage, so, I tend to favor discretion, and that's the pattern of practice I'm comfortable with. In the case of 1120194, I still recall the reason why I was specifically asked not to disclose terms by the seller. Proprietary information.

 

The beautiful LP500S ELA12666 making new fans in Dubai, UAE, this car spent most of it's life in the USA.

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