Lamborghini reinvents the Countach

COUNTACH! Some fifty years after the iconic Lamborghini supercar was revealed at the 1971 Geneva Show, Sant'Agata has revived the nameplate for a limited run of 112 homage models based on the underpinnings of the Sián FKP37 hybrid hypercar.

Due to be revealed at The Quail motorsport gathering at Pebble Beach this year, credit for the styling of the Countach LPI 800-4 goes not to Marcello Gandini, but to Mitja Borkert's team at Lamborghini Centro Stile.

“The first Countach has been present in our Centro Stile as a model for some years now”, explains Borkert.

“Whenever I look at it, it gives me goose bumps and it serves as the perfect reminder for me and the entire design team to design every future Lamborghini in a visionary and futuristic way.

"This is an unnegotiable part of our DNA, the essence if you so will. The first Countach shaped the Lamborghini design DNA like no other car; the new Countach translates that unconventional and edgy character into the future.”

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Given that the hard points are shared with the Sián, it's unsurprising that some of the proportioning looks similar. The Sián already carried over a number of design cues redolent of the Countach such as the trapezoidal bonnet feature line, the scissor doors, the sculpting of the roof that paid tribute to the original persicopio and six-point rear light graphic. The nuovo Countach extends that theme still further.

Retaining the distinctive silhouette with the instantly recognisable fly line, the car's front end hints at a secondary set of pop-up lamps with an indented detail line, while slatted box intakes on the rear haunches, vast side intakes (we won't call them NACA ducts because they aren't) and quad exhaust tips.

The wheels are interesting, their five-hole theme tipping the hat to the original's Campagnolo alloys without being an overly literal recreation. It would have been easy to source a set of lookalike Vossen LC-103 forged alloys but Lamborghini clearly didn't want to go too far down the retro path.

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“The Countach LPI 800-4 is a visionary car of the moment, just as its forerunner was,” says Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.

“The Countach LPI 800-4 pays homage to this Lamborghini legacy but it is not retrospective: it imagines how the iconic Countach of the 70s and 80s might have evolved into an elite super sports model of this decade. It upholds the Lamborghini tradition of looking forward, of exploring new design and technology avenues while celebrating the DNA of our brand.”

It's fairly understandable that Winkelmann would take that tack, having painted himself into something of a corner after the unveiling of the 2006 Miura concept by saying, “The Miura was a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. Retro design is not what we are here for. So we won't do the Miura.”

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But here we are 15 years later with a car with at least one toe in the past. Peer under the skin, however, and there's a foot in the future. Where the last of the Countach Anniversary models generated a peak power figure of 335kW and torque of 500Nm, the new car can do a bit better than that.

It's good for 599kW as a combined system output, with 574kW coming from its 6498cc V12 normally-aspirated powerplant and another 25kW from its supercapacitor-powered 48v electric motor mounted directly on the seven-speed single-clutch gearbox. Peak power arrives at 8500rpm, while the peak torque figure of 720Nm is available at 6750rpm. So it'll need some revs.

Lamborghini quotes performance figures of 2.8sec to 0-100 km/h, with 200km/h arriving in 8.6 seconds en route to a top speed of 355 km/h. By contrast a Countach QV could achieve 200km/h from standstill in 17.0 sec, which means the new Countach's 0-200 time is to the old one what the old one's is to a Fiesta ST's. That's progress for you.

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The cabin is a good deal more sophisticated than its slightly crude forebear and, at first glance, the dash layout is almost indistinguishable in layout from that of the Sián. Look a little closer at some of the detailing and there's a nod to the past.

The old Countach's box section binnacle gets a hat tip in the seat design, with bold box sections stitched into the comfort seats, with that square stitching theme extending onto the dashboard. Press the 'Stile' button on the 8.4” HDMI centre touchscreen and the system explains the Countach design philosophy.

Lamborghini is offering a wide range of heritage paint options, mostly in solid colours, such as the iconic Impact White, Giallo Countach yellow and Verde Medio green. Should you prefer a more contemporary paint finish there are hues such as metallic Viola Pasifae or Blu Uranus.

The show car at The Quail, and which is pictured here, is painted in an ultra-subtle shade of pearlescent blue called Bianco Siderale. The factory claims that this in itself is a hat-tip to Ferruccio Lamborghini’s own Countach LP 400 S, complete with red and black leather heritage interior. Given that Ferruccio's car was a white 1980 low-body vehicle with a solid black interior, that's perhaps a bit of a stretch, but Lamborghini always fond of a tall tale or two.

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The 112-car production run is another nod to the heritage of the Countach, the number a tribute to the ‘LP 112’ internal project name used during the Countach’s development. The fortunate few buyers will take delivery from quarter one of next year.

Pricing? Nothing has been officially revealed just yet, but given that the Sián commanded $3.9m, it's fair to assume the LPI 800-4 isn't going to be too far off the mark.

While celebrating half a century of Countach is a worthy endeavour, it's hard to reprise a legend. There will be some who feel that Lamborghini should have left well alone, that delving back into the archives to revive the Countach badge can only ever result in a pale shadow of the original's impact and legacy.

But while the Countach LPI 800-4 now plays in a pool of many rather than one, there's no doubt that if you're ever lucky enough to chance upon one of the 112 cars, it'll be memorable.

Hit or miss? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH LPI 800-4 specs