The Evoluzione was designed and built in 1987 under the direction of Horacio Pagani, by the newly-formed ‘Composites Department’, they decided to change the steel space-frame of the original Countach to a chassis/body construction in composite materials.

The cockpit, including the floor and roof panels, the central transmission tunnel, the door sills and the front and rear bulkheads were all made in one piece of composite materials. A honeycomb and aluminum foil sandwich material, Kevlar and carbon fiber bonded together under partial vacuum at 140 degrees Celsius.

Various body parts were also changed to composite ones, the front lid, the engine cover and boot lid, the front spoiler, which used a simpler design and was a little lower than the original Countach and the wheelarches, which were now connected through sills with air-cooling vents for the rear brakes. These sills would later be used on the Anniversario in a slightly altered design, the wings and the doors remained in aluminum Thanks to the extensive use of light-weight composites, the total weight of the Evoluzione was only 980 Kg, or about 500 Kg less than the Countach QV5000S, this and a minor tuning of the engine, now with 490 Bhp, made the Evoluzione reach a top speed of 330 Km/h. at the Nardo test track. This engine was ‘blue-printed’ and still used the same transmission, but with a modified gate to allow a shorter ‘throw’ between the gears.

The car was never painted and the riveting of the body parts remained visible when you opened the door, even the carbon fiber and Kevlar kept their natural gloss under their thin layer of glue to keep them in shape. On the inside the same rough appearance was evident, only two seats and a small carbon-fiber dashboard were used, with a tachometer, water temperature, fuel level and oil pressure gauges. A few pieces of carpet were used to mask the many colored wires which used to be connected to various test and recording equipments, no air-conditioning, no headlights, no horn and not even a wiper were installed.

The wheels remained, but got carbon-fiber disc covers, these didn’t allow enough cooling for the brakes and were later removed. Various new ideas were installed on the Evoluzione before it was crash tested; an electronically controlled damping system with variable ride height, an ABS braking system and a four-wheel drive with variable torque split were installed. Even a fully retractable wiper system was installed on it, various parts and even some of these latter designs were later used on the Anniversario and the Diablo VT.

But production of a composite based Countach was too expensive, and in case of an accident the complete shell would have to be replaced because repairing a composite body/chassis is very hard if not impossible, therefore the Evoluzione performed a last test: the crash barrier test, which revealed valuable information on the impact resistance of this kind of chassis structure.

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In 1976 Lamborghini produced three further examples. One was built for Ermanno Spazzapan (chassis 1120188) and another for Albert Silvera (1120222). Walter Wolf also took delivery of a second Countach Speciale (1120202) which received the special five-litre engine originally fitted to his red car.

Each of these vehicles was highly customised.

Walter Wolf’s example was painted blue with the wheelarches and front spoiler finished in matt black. He had a body coloured electrically adjustable rear spoiler fitted along with a public address system. The upper surface of each retractable headlight was emblazoned with a Canadian flag and the wheels were painted gold.

Ermanno Spazzapan’s Countach Speciale was painted red with matt black wheelarch extensions and a matching front spoiler. It came with a unique twin plane adjustable rear spoiler and silver wheels.

Albert Silvera went a couple of steps further with his blue example. In addition to the wheelarch extensions and front spoiler, the front bumper, wiper, window frames, wing mirrors, wheels, ducts, vents, grilles, tail fascia and exhaust shroud were all painted gold. A gold pinstripe was also added along each flank.

A handful of LP400s were also sent back to the factory to be uprated to Speciale trim by their owners.

The Countach Speciale eventually became a production reality when Lamborghini introduced the LP400 S at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1978. By this time the wheelarch extensions, front spoiler and optional rear wing had been subtly reworked by Bertone’s head stylist Marcello Gandini.

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In September 1974, Wolf received his first ‘customized’ Countach, a bright red LP400, chassis nr. 112.0148, this car was equipped with the special 5.0-Liter engine and large Pirelli P7 tires, which required enlarged wheel-arches, a front spoiler and an adjustable rear wing were also installed. Along with a special F1-type steering wheel with ‘Walter Wolf’ engraved in it, special AP disc brakes with eight calipers and a Borg & Beck double-disc clutch, it all added up to an unique Countach.

Only a year later, in early 1976, Walter Wolf bought his second ‘special’ Countach, this one with chassis nr. 1.120.202, was modified the same way as his first car, the 5.0-Liter engine was put into this chassis, but it remained a Lamborghini property, it wasn’t owned by Wolf himself. This car was finished in a brilliant Bugatti light-blue, with natural leather upholstery, gold colored wheels and pin striping. The wheel-arch extensions were black and this time the rear wing was electrically adjustable from within the cockpit. This car also featured Walter Wolf signets and Canadian flags. This particular car was recently restored and is currently owned by a German.

Wolf’s third ‘special’ was actually the first LP400 S built. He had the same 5.0-Liter engine installed, together with his double-disc Borg & Beck F1-type clutch and the eight-caliper disc brakes, which were now fully adjustable from within the cockpit.

This car was finished in an aggressive dark blue/black and featured special Walter Wolf Racing hubcaps, but on the 1978 Geneva Auto Show, where it was displayed as the first LP400 S, it didn’t have the rear wing installed, however Wolf did have it installed before he took delivery of it.

Walter Wolf was also the lucky guy who received a Miura SV as late as April 1975, this car with chassis number 5092 was built from spare parts three years after the Miura production was halted.

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