Seeing a Lamborghini Countach on the road is a rare sight these days, at the time of writing a Countach is at least 33 years old as the final units in the 25th Anniversary version were built in 1989, but recently Automobili Lamborghini SpA changed things up by releasing an homage to the legendary Countach at the 2021 Monterey event … the hybrid-powered Countach LPI 800-4, but so far none of the 112 units of this limited edition model has been delivered to her customer, but that didn’t keep Lamborghini from taking their latest prototype onto the open road, accompanied by two original Countach from their official museum, the first Countach LP400, and the final 25th Anniversary unit.
The Verde car is often considered to be the first production version of the Lamborghini Countach, also known as the LP400, despite it not looking exactly like the customer cars, more specifically the side windows would be totally different on the production Countach LP400, but also the intakes under the front bumper, still, several sources contribute chassis number 112 0001 to this green production prototype Lamborghini Countach.
This original Countach LP400 has been on display at the factory museum since the early 2000s, but more recently this very special car underwent a complete restoration, during which she was returned to her original configuration, still in Verde Medio, however, back in 1973, when this specific Countach LP400 was shown at the Geneva Motor Show, she was finished in red over a black suede dashboard but black leather on the seats, with dual windshield wipers and several other, unique features, but by the 1973 Paris Motor show, this Countach retained only one wiper and became the green shade over a brown interior and the silver front bumper we see today.
It was this exact Lamborghini Countach that was used to create the ‘master mold’ in wood that would be used to construct the body panels for the Countach production models, it was October 22nd in 1973 when this ‘master’ was sent to St.Agata, but chassis 112.0001 was used more recently for something truly special: the recreation of the actual 1971 Lamborghini Countach prototype, the yellow car commissioned by Albert Spiess.
A second very special Lamborghini Countach that joined this ‘generation’ drive was the silver metallic 25th Anniversary, chassis number KLA12085 is officially the last production Countach ever made, finished in ‘Argento’ in June 1990, however, some sources state that the factory actually completed two additional Countach after that date, from spare parts, for a customer in the UK and a client in the Far East, but the official end of the Countach production line occurred in June 1990 with this famous silver over grey car that was kept at the factory ever since, also note it is one of the rare Countach that does not have the rear wing fitted.
With only 150 units of the original Lamborghini Countach LP400, the number of 25th Anniversary Countach is more than four times greater, at 657 units, making the latter the most produced Countach in history, and with the limited production run of just 112 units on the 2022 Countach LPI 800-4, she will retain that title forever.
Personally, I find the 25th Anniversary edition of the legendary Countach the least interesting one, for me the Quattrovalvole (610 units) is the one I admire, sure the original, narrow-body LP400 demand the highest prices these days, but I prefer the wild looks of the QV model, the deeply concaved wheels, the massive 345mm wide rear tires, that massive rear wing, which I know actually decreases top speed, and that deep front spoiler … that’s the car I had as a poster in my bedroom, in red naturally.
For me the Countach 25th Anniversary was made too smooth, the lower side sills with their air intakes look too 80s for me, just like the intakes on the side of the front spoiler, and I prefer the box-style intakes behind the side windows and the pure rear fascia and taillights, while I really don’t like the rear bumper on this celebration model, but I do acknowledge the fact this later model celebrates 25 years of Automobili Lamborghini SpA, but I’ll take a QV over it any day of the week.
Just over 31 years since the last Lamborghini Countach rolled off the assembly line in Sant’Agata, they present the LPI 800-4 at Monterey Car Week in August 2021, a hybrid-powered homage to the 1971 Countach Prototype, exactly 50 years later, with a limited production run of just 112 units as a reference to the LP112 internal code of the Countach back in the Seventies, and while all 112 cars were sold out before the public unveiling, the 2022 Countach was very controversial, to say the least.
We published a rather in-depth article in which we compared the classic Countach against her contemporary counterpart, so if you want to know more about the aforementioned controversy, or just want to read up on how this new Countach was inspired by a 50-year old classic, feel free to read up on that in our comparison.
Bottom line is that Automobili Lamborghini SpA managed to find 112 clients to sign a contract for $2,000,000+ so they could add the new Countach to their collection, deliveries are foreseen to start in the first quarter of 2022, so within a few weeks we might be seeing the first customer cars appearing online, I for one can’t wait to see what color combinations were chosen for this illustrious V12 hybrid model. By the way, if you want to create your personal Countach LPI 800-4, just take a look at our virtual car configurator and put together something really special, you can even opt for items the factory will not be able to supply, so head over there now.
We’ve seen the first iteration of a Lamborghini Hybrid when they unveiled the Sián FKP37 back in September 2019 in Frankfurt, but the electric motor that delivers an additional 34 hp wasn’t powered by a battery, instead, Lamborghini fitted a Supercapacitor behind the seats, still, the Sián was Lamborghini’s first-ever hybrid that was sold to the public, albeit in very limited numbers, just 63 units of the Coupe and 19 units of the Sián Roadster.
Many saw the Countach LPI 800-4 as just a re-bodied Sián, which in her turn was still based on the Lamborghini Aventador, but strangely enough, the power output on the Sián got listed at 894 hp (785 hp from the V12 engine and 34 hp from the electric motor), but on the Countach version we only get 814 hp, comprised of 780 hp from the Aventador Ultimae engine with the extra 34 hp electric power, a 48-volt unit bolted directly onto the gearbox for instant response and additional performance.
We all know the successor to the Lamborghini Aventador has been in development for a while now, and it has been confirmed several times it will be a V12 powered hybrid, the NA V12 line will end when the final unit of the Aventador Ultimae rolls from the assembly line, probably by August 2022, although Winkelmann did mention we might be seeing a track-only, non-hybrid V12 in the future, but the fact remains that both the Sián and this Countach LPI 800-4 will be marking the end of an era, two very limited production models based on what will be the last of the pure V12 Raging Bulls.
Make sure to check out the official video from Automobili Lamborghini SpA on the road trip of these three generations of what is probably the most legendary Lamborghini ever, her majesty the Countach.
