This is the most beautiful Countach I have ever seen in my life.

The Countach has been my favorite since I was a kid. And all these years later it still looks like a car from the future. This is one of those rare timeless designs that ages like an Eames chair.
 
The Countach has been my favorite since I was a kid. And all these years later it still looks like a car from the future. This is one of those rare timeless designs that ages like an Eames chair.

Seriously, 40 years later and it still looks like it just landed from Mars. And it looks soooooooooooo much better without the wing.
 
As a kid I had a poster of a black Countach with no rear wing and I agree it is a look that works.

The anniversary model with all the wings and slots, and the Diablo were steps backwards stylistically. They got it right again with the Aventador.

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Years ago when I worked for a car stereo company we sold Alpine units. We always told perspective customers that this is the radio that comes in a Countach. Which it did and we had a large poster showing it. "If you can't afford the car, you can afford the radio that comes in the car." We moved a lot of units that way.
 
I have to admit that I actually like the wing, but it is the best looking car ever either way. Not "pretty" like a Muira, but still somehow more stunning. Bertone was pretty hit and miss as a designer. For every masterpiece, there was it's polar opposite of fugly, but they established themselves as the most fearless and innovative design house around at a time when even Pininfarina was holding back with a much more conservative approach. The wild concept cars that came from Pininfarina in the wake of Countach were "bold", but gimmicky and instantly dated.

Alas, it's a car I could never own. I drove a triple white 85 model in Newport Beach back in the day... sort of.

At 6'4" I was wedged so tightly into it that it was both physically painful and dangerously impractical. My head was mashed against the roof making visibility near zero, my knees were wrapped around the steering wheel tighter than leather covering it while my legs below the knee were both scewed mercilessly to the right in order to reach the typical Italian offset pedals. With my knees effectively stuck to the steering wheel, I could only use a small section at the top of the wheel to guide it's direction, and the lack of power steering combined with the lack of leverage and the added resistance of having my knees pressed against it made steering damn near impossible. Every bump in the road was like a full body beating at the hands of Zeus.

Ten minutes in that car cured my desire to ever own one, but I still love it just as much. It will always be #1
 
Saw this today. It sometimes looks awkward in photos but it's got great presence when you see it up close.

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back in the 80's, Autoweek did a thing where they got 8 or 10 of (what were then) the fastest cars of the day and took them to Nurburgring (i think) and wound them all the way out. of the Countach they said it was the scariest car they ever drove fast. too much down force in the front and a bunch of lift in the rear. they didn't like it.

i believe the Ruff Turbo Carerra 911 won at 189+
 
back in the 80's, Autoweek did a thing where they got 8 or 10 of (what were then) the fastest cars of the day and took them to Nurburgring (i think) and wound them all the way out. of the Countach they said it was the scariest car they ever drove fast. too much down force in the front and a bunch of lift in the rear. they didn't like it.

There were similarly nasty reviews for the Murcielago; accelerates like crazy and didn’t brake well. But people buy Lamborghini for the look, people who want to race buy Ferrari or McLaren.
 
back in the 80's, Autoweek did a thing where they got 8 or 10 of (what were then) the fastest cars of the day and took them to Nurburgring (i think) and wound them all the way out. of the Countach they said it was the scariest car they ever drove fast. too much down force in the front and a bunch of lift in the rear. they didn't like it.

i believe the Ruff Turbo Carerra 911 won at 189+

I remember it well.
  • 1987
  • Road & Track "World's Fastest Cars" special issue
  • The Ruf CTR "Yellowbird" topped out at 211mph

Full article with pictures: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a29347/the-worlds-fastest-cars-1987/
 
I remember it well.
  • 1987
  • Road & Track "World's Fastest Cars" special issue
  • The Ruf CTR "Yellowbird" topped out at 211mph

Full article with pictures: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a29347/the-worlds-fastest-cars-1987/

there must have been more than one of those tests. those are completely different cars than the one i read. they had a very new Testa Rossa and a Berlinetta Boxer, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a Jag XJHE, a regular Turbo Carerra and a Ruff, the Countach and maybe one or two others, can't remember.
 
there must have been more than one of those tests. those are completely different cars than the one i read. they had a very new Testa Rossa and a Berlinetta Boxer, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a Jag XJHE, a regular Turbo Carerra and a Ruff, the Countach and maybe one or two others, can't remember.
Yup. I distinctly remember both of the issues mentioned. The thought of trying to manhandle half of those cars around Nürbürgring is terrifying. Doing it in a Countach takes balls as big as church bells.
 
This is a great video of Jay Leno talking about his 1986 Countach after driving it for decades. He claims that he used it as his everyday car for years—what a badass!
 
The Countach was a shit car. It is stunningly difficult to drive, and impossible to see out of.
 
And Miuras are more likely to self-immolate and burn to the ground than make it to the grocery store successfully. But that's hardly the point.
 
I suspect you're trying to apply logic where it doesn't belong. Thinking of the Miura or the Countach as anything other than fantasy machines is a mistake. The Miura was created by Wallace and Dallara on their own initiative and it was basically something they did on their espresso breaks to amuse themselves. Ferrucio Lamborghini wasn't supportive of the project at all, and Gandini was barely 30 years old when he penned the design. Lamborghini had only been an automobile manufacturer for three years when the chassis was displayed at Geneva. Hell, no one even gave a moment's thought as to whether the engine would fit in the car at all.

They made a little over 600 Miuras over the course of eight years. By contrast, FIAT probably made that many cars before lunch on any given day. And this is during a time riddled with political strife, labor union troubles, protests, and changes in ownership. And these cars were being built by hand (by Italians, mind you). They were probably more concerned about keeping the lights on at the factory than anything resembling quality control. And then by the early 70s you have to add the gas crisis to the list of challenges.

Meanwhile the design houses, particularly Pininfarina, Zagato, Bertone, Italdesign Giugiaro and Carrozzeria Ghia, were creating flamboyant designs that gave no thought to usability or practicality. They were literally dream cars, absurd concept machines that had no relationship to the reality of driving them on the road. And that is what the Miura and Countach are—they're ludicrous fantasies come to life that somehow run (occasionally) in spite of themselves. They were huge gambles from a tiny operation struggling to make its name in the world.

And during this period just a few miles down the road you had "real" cars like the Maserati Ghibli and the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. Those cars certainly have their idiosyncrasies, but they're far more grounded in reality than... well, anything that ever rolled out of Sant'Agata. Those cars came from well established (albeit small) companies with decades of racing and manufacturing experience, and global distribution besides.

The Countach and the Miura were brain candy, nothing more, and approaching them rationally and trying to measure them against normal cars is a pointless waste of time.

But sweet Jesus, they're lovely.
 
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