The 'Cannonball Run' Countach Now Sits on the National Mall

Officially one of America's most important cars

A black 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S, famous for its starring role in the 1981 comedy The Cannonball Run, is the 30th vehicle inducted into the National Historic Vehicle Register.

Three minutes that launched a generation of car enthusiasts

The LP 400 S owned the film's opening sequence, tearing through desert roads east of Las Vegas for over three minutes with nothing but the V12 and its six Weber carburetors providing the soundtrack.

Hollywood's modifications, still preserved

The modifications made for the movie gave the Countach its distinctive on-screen look, including a prominent front spoiler, twin spotlights, three antennas, and a bank of 12 exhaust pipes at the rear.

Register No. 30

Lamborghini built its identity on being the alternative to Ferrari, the outsider, the rule-breaker, and earning a place in America's most prestigious cultural archive through a movie about an illegal road race is fitting in a way no engineering award could match.

Lamborghini's most potent cultural asset

The Cannonball Run car's induction into the Register reinforces that the Countach is the brand's most recognizable cultural asset, more familiar to non-enthusiasts than any V12 flagship Lamborghini builds today.

Pop culture earns a seat at the table

The Countach is the second movie car added to the Register in recent months, following the 1981 DeLorean from Back to the Future, signaling that curators increasingly recognize automobiles for their role in shaping American popular culture.

A rebel's reward

The Cannonball Run's fictional coast-to-coast race, with its all-star cast including Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, and Dean Martin, turned automotive rebellion into mainstream entertainment and gave this Countach a permanent place in American history.