New Lamborghini Countach meets its ancestors

WHILE few people will deny that it’s a beautiful piece of machinery, the new Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 has come under fire for not being revolutionary enough. Even the designer of the original Countach, Marcello Gandini, has criticised the modern recreation for not being as courageous or as groundbreaking as the original.

But now Lamborghini has made it easier for us to decide for ourselves, by lining up the new Countach with two of its ancestors in a photo shoot in Italy.

This is the first time Lamborghini has taken its new creation out to play since its global unveiling last year.

For the occasion, Lamborghini brought along the first Countach LP 400 as well as the last Countach 25th anniversary model ever produced.

Although the new supercar hasn’t been received with universal praise, Lamborghini certainly hasn’t had any trouble selling them, even at $2.6 million (about R40m) apiece.

Production will be limited to 112 units, and all were sold before the car’s global debut, with customer deliveries expected to begin in the first quarter of this year.

Beneath the skin, the new Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 is relatively similar to the Sian, meaning it’s powered by a mid-mounted 6.5-litre normally aspirated V12 petrol engine, paired with Lambo’s hybrid supercapacitor technology.

The V12 pushes out 574kW at 8500rpm and 720Nm from 6750 revs, and the gearbox-mounted electric motor adds 25kW and 35Nm to the tally. With a combined output of 599kW, the Countach can sprint from 0 – 100km/h in just 2.8 seconds, according to factory claims.

The chassis and body panels of the new Countach are made from carbon fibre, allowing for an impressive dry weight of 1 595kg.

“The first Countach has been present in our Centro Stile as a model

for some years now,” Lamborghini design head Mitja Borkert said when unveiling the new model last year. “Whenever I look at it, it gives me goosebumps 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.”

Regardless of what you think of the new one, you can’t deny that the original Countach was an icon of its time. In fact, if you were a child in the 1970s or 1980s, you almost certainly had a picture of one on your bedroom wall.

From 1974 to 1990, 1 999 Countachs in five series were produced, allowing Lamborghini to survive the most difficult years of its history.

ONLY 112 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4s will be produced – and all of them were sold before the supercar made its global debut.