“Greatest“ Countach’s

Here's an accompanying document, the NHTSA's denial of the application set in motion the long gestation of the eventual creation of the factory-built USA fuel-injection Countach.

There is a surprising amount of material on this topic, good for a definitive Countach publication.

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I'd say the recent sale price confirms this to be one of the greatest. Congrats to the new owner. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Yes, most likely 2 words....The 70's
The Early 70's to be precise, hot color back then

 

What was the sale price? Certainly the founder of Lamborghini’s personal car would be up there. I’d still say the Wolf cars would command a premium without knowing the actual sales price(s).

 

3 million Euros.

 

Thanks. That doesn’t seem crazy to me for Ferrucio’s personal and only Countach.

 

Great info,with all this in mind ,would my comment regarding the US market playing a role in the go ahead of the qv engine,make some sense ? knowing with US stringent emission regulations,a bigger better breathing power plant was needed,in order for the Countach to live up to its reputation. Looks to me Lamborghini was eager to get inn to this very attractive $$$ market,

 

We've covered this before.

The QV engine was being developed in 1984 as the upgraded performance 4-valve unit of the 2-valve 5 liter engine, developed by Guilio Alfieri for just that purpose, long before the USA Fuelie engine was was developed in early 1986, the latter strictly as an emissions unit to conform to USA DOT & EPA mandates. The USA market was indeed important, but to put it in perspective, it was less than 1/3 of the market.

 

Reading back, and given the news of the sale of Ferruccio's 1121164, it's interesting to see what I said about the value of 1120001 https://lamborghinichat.com/forum/posts/146416407/ a couple of months back, I still feel the same way.

 

Less than one third? Would that be concidered important,or not so much? Just asking. Also 1/2 of(slightly less) the qv engines ended up fuel injected,Wich, I am sure was never part of Lamborghini's plan. Also the first injected qv cars hit the US market in 86,telling me this program/plan probably started a couple of years ahead of this, interesting conversation,although pretty self explaining.that is,if you ever developed anything.

 

Of the @ 610 Quattrovalvoles, @ 2/3 of the engines were Downdrafts, @ 1/3 were Fuelies.

 

Interesting,a while back you claimed the nmbr s to be 50/50,although back then the subject was nmbrs related to value. Regardless, 1/2 or 1/3,both Hugh nmbr s in market planing,and potential revenue.

 

Now the subject is Greatest Countachs.

This is mine, 1120001.

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Good choice

 

#001, what else...

 

Well if you have to ask the Mimran Countach Downdraft is currently my number 2!

 

2nd greatest.
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Mimran QV or the red Wolf Countach, in my case it was the Wolf Countachs in their S-Guise which turned me into a Countach Lover.

 

Raymond, now you mention this comparison, if may humbly say so, I personally rank the Mimran Countach above the Wolf Countachs and would therefore not exchange it for any of them, in fact I think I have heard you say something similar in the past IIRC.

May I take a moment to have a bit of fun making my case?

My criteria is the following:

Ownership - Mimran is an important owner because he is the man who saved the Lamborghini brand so it could go on to exist as we know it today, so he's quite important in Lamborgjini history, also, he was was actually owner and CEO of Lamborghini at the time when GLA12997 was specially built for him entirely at Sant Agata and delivered new to him there. By contrast, Wolf was influential but he never owned Lamborghini, and his cars were built partly at Lamborghini and partly at Dallara SpA.

Color - According to others, GLA12997's original Bordeaux Speciale paint is one of the most beautiful liveries ever painted upon a Countach of any kind, and more importantly, it is a true one-off color for all Countachs. By contrast, the only Wolf car in a one-off color is the dark blue (Wolf Racing Blue) 1002, I do like it but not nearly as much as Bordeaux Speciale.

Aesthetics - The overall aesthetic finish of GLA12997 of Bordeaux Speciale with gold wheels in clean wingless configuration is the pinnacle of Countach configuration for me, by contrast, Wolf's 0148 and 0202 are a pass for me because the black spats which do not look aesthetically pleasing to me, in fact their overall livery package with pinstripes & stickers is too busy for my eyes, their finish has the slightly crude feel of typical of sperimentale cars.

Performance - Given GLA12997's tuned Downdraft engine specification, it out-performs any of the Wolf Countachs, even the one with the tuned engine, of course we should expect this as it contains the ultimate performance engine variant which Lamborghini produced. The fact that this engine exists in the unique livery made for the man who saved the brand seals the deal for me.

Restored condition - Perhaps I am biased because I was so personally involved in the restoration, but I think GLA12997 exists today in superior condition to any of the Wolf Countachs extant, I heard numerous knowledgeable International personalities tell me at Quail last year that it was the nicest restored Countach they have ever seen in their opinion, so this underscores all of the other combination of points above for me.

I respectfully rest my case.

 

If it just had a wing & gold wheels!

 

Good try Joe

 

My favorite version would be a blu tahiti- white LP400S1, early one with SW gauges, dallara wing and silver bravos. My second choice would be a triple white 1985 QV with 5000s wing.

 

I have 2 triple white 1986 QVs (early 1986 - GLA12923 and GLA12947) each with a different wing - 23 has the large wing, 47 has the small wing.

I have not decided which is the greatest Countach and which is #2. Leaning towards 23 being the greatest because it's RHD and that really is the correct way to drive a car.