The Lamborghini Countach turned 50 this year, the original 5-Liter prototype that is, the first production Countach, the LP400 at that time, was only made in 1974, and it received a very interesting nickname … the Periscopo, because there was actually an indent in the roof with a glass panel that allowed the view from the interior rearview mirror to pass over the roof … like a periscope, hence the Italian name Periscopo.
Between 1974 and 1978 a total of 150 of these narrow body, Countach LP400 Periscopo were built, in 1978 the Countach S, or LP400 S was introduced, after Walter Wolf, a Canadian millionaire with a famous F1 team had two Countach LP400 modified to use wide Pirelli tires on massive Bravo style wheels … Lamborghini saw the potential of such an extreme interpretation of the original Countach that they made it a production model … intended to be built alongside the LP400, but after customers saw the more aggressive LP400 S, orders for the ‘non-S’ dried up and Ferruccio halted production.
Top Gear Magazine’s Jack Rix shows you in eight ways why the LP400 Periscopo rules them all in a new video:
