We’ve seen some amazing work from @jonsibal in the past, some controversial, but always interesting nonetheless, and with all the controversy about the new 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 it was only a matter of time before this digital artist came up with a modification, and this time it looks really amazing, and feasible, he even calls it the ‘Retro Conversion Tuning Package’ on his IG account.
This isn’t his first Lamborghini creation we’ve featured here, he’s also the author of the very controversial Countach Speedster, inspired by Lamborghini’s own one-off, the SC20, he cut away the windshield on a classic Countach, and that stroked many owners and enthusiasts the wrong way, but let’s face it, this is just digital work, it’s not like he took a rare Countach and attacked it with a cutter … somehow I think this green render we’re showing here will go down a lot smoother, this is something viable, a retro style for the new Countach hybrid.
If we compare this bright metallic green Countach render to the original Bianco Siderale car Lamborghini unveiled in August, you can clearly distinguish a lot has been modified by Jon Sibal, but he does state all of these are just add-ons, they can be added to the real car, let’s just wait and see if an owner of one of the 112 units Lamborghini will be building on the Countach LPI 800-4 can be convinced to ‘modify’ his (or her) expensive homage from Sant’Agata.
One of the most obvious changes Sibal did is also the most talked-about one, a rear wing, and wide fenders, and personally, I do understand why Lamborghini didn’t feature these on their 2021 Countach recreation, this ‘homage’ model was meant to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the legendary Lamborghini Countach, hence we are talking about the 1971 prototype, not the later S versions, and that bright yellow Geneva Show car didn’t have any wide fenders nor a massive rear wing.
Still, a large number of comments about this 2022 Countach were about those, many people really had the later S or Quattrovalvole editions of the Countach in mind when they heard about Lamborghini doing an homage to the famous Countach, so Sibal added the wide wheel arches to the clean body lines of the new car, but he did integrate them nicely with the new design, not just copying the original ones from the Eighties, but really taking them into the 21st century for his Retro Conversion Package.
One thing many commented about was that large, black side intake, a necessity for the massive 6.5-Liter V12 engine in the rear that needs a lot of cool air to keep going, and no, it isn’t the NACA duct seen on the classic Countach, but again, the 1971 prototype didn’t have any side intake either, that was only added by 1974 on the production Countach LP400, so it’s nice to see Jon Sibal stood his ground on this and kept the black carbon fiber intake on the doors and rear fender.
I especially like the new front Sibal designed for this retro package, it clearly shows a lot more design influence from the classic Countach, with the small intakes at either side of the ‘bumper’, but also with the headlights mounted lower on the front fenders, the renders show some kind of flap above them, but that could just be cosmetic as real popup headlights are all but illegal these days, they would look cool but might pose an issue to keep the car street legal globally.
Just to be clear, I’m a real fan of the wheels he designed for this render, they are clearly inspired by the famous ‘telephone dial’ wheels found on the later Countach S and QV, and yes, I know the ’71 prototype didn’t have these, but you can’t fit narrow wheels on a supercar in 2022, so this would be a viable alternative for a modern-day Countach recreation, and I absolutely love the design on these.
And that leaves the rear wing to be discussed, and while I still think a 50th Anniversary Countach doesn’t need it, this one looks stunning, unlike many other digital artists that just fitted the classic, straight and angular Countach wing from the Eighties onto this new 2022 edition, Sibal did things differently. It is still clearly inspired by the classic rear wing Walter Wolf himself introduced onto the Countach, but it is ever so slightly redesigned to flow better with this new Countach, from the rear it is still a straight line, but from the front the wing ‘dips’ in the center to contour the engine cover, also the struts are more contemporary … this rear wing looks great.
Now I highly doubt we’ll be seeing any of the 112 Countach LPI 800-4 being modified in any other way than perhaps a change of wheels, but isn’t it nice to dream and create these ‘what if?’ renders of the cars we love and admire, despite all the controversy online after the unveiling at Monterey Car Week in 2021, all of the 112 units of this $2,000,000+ limited edition homage were sold out before most of us even saw the final car.
