Lamborghini Countach £380,000
This low-mileage, German-registered beast is in good condition for its age – but it comes at a price, says Paul Hardiman
This 1985 German-registered Countach had no history to hand, but the car looks to have been in France for a time, judging by the security etchings on its windows.
With 73,310km showing (about 45,500 miles) it presents well. The finish is even, with some evidence of paintwork around the right door and bottom corners of the windscreen. The silver paint in the sidelight housings is fading slightly and there’s a little black overspray on the left window where the corner trim has been touched in, plus two small touched-in chips at the top left of the screen aperture, and on the left rear engine-lid hinge.
It’s all pretty good for its age and there is none of the rust above the windscreen that can afflict these cars. Opening the front lid reveals the spare is absent, but all the chassis tubes look good and undamaged, with no evidence of repairs, and there’s no scuffing under the chin. Door mirrors are a bit loose and floppy – easy enough to put right. Finish to the OZ wheels is good, and tyres are P Zeros with lots of tread. Around the back it’s the same story – the visible parts of the chassis are sound, wishbone bushes look unperished and the suspension joints you can see all look good.
The motor and transmission are dry on the outside and there are no drips on the floor. Coolant is full in the header tank and nicely green, oil clean, translucent and just over the max mark, with the original Agip lubes guide on the underside of the engine cover. The aircon pump looks as if it’s been off recently, a hopeful sign, and the coolant temperature sender looks new.
Inside, the leather looks too good to be original – there’s little wear or creasing. The dash top is shiny and not rippled, the headlining is perfect. Both electric windows work, as does the clock.
The engine catches quite easily after a little churn and soon settles down to a nice tickover. Countaches no longer seem as huge and intimidating as they once did, though it still needs care in narrow lanes, and the old dodge of sitting on the sill if you have to reverse still serves well – the massive hump to clear the six Webers obliterates most rearward vision.
It is untemperamental, steady at 82oc, volts at 13 and, when there’s room to give it a squirt, oil pressure of 7bar at 5000rpm and above. At tickover it’s 3.5bar. Synchros all work well, with third gear the least smooth to engage. The brakes pull up smoothly and straight. Remarkably, it starts again quite easily when hot. The aircon tries its best, weakly, but couldn’t be said to provide actual cooling.
With more power than the injected cars but slightly more subtle detailing than the 25th Anniversary edition, this is one of the more collectible Countaches. The stumbling block is the price, dictated by the owner rather than the selling dealer. It’s not UK registered but easily can be.