Return of the legendary Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 was unveiled in California. Photos: Lamborghini
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Countach, Lamborghini has unveiled an all-new model, the Countach LPI 800-4 at The Quail, Carmel, in California.
The futuristic limited-edition model pays homage to the Countach’s iconic status as a revolutionary design and technology rule-breaker and recreated for the 21st century, says Lamborghini.
Produced in a run of 112 units, the number denotes the ‘LP 112’ internal project name used during the original Lamborghini Countach’s development. It will be priced at $2.64 million (NZ$3.75m) and the Countach LPI 800-4 will be delivered from the first quarter 2022 to owners worldwide.
The production of the original Countach ran from 1974 to 1990 with a total of 1983 built.
There will be a limited number of the Countach LPI 800-4 produced.
The LPI 800-4 produces peak Lamborghini performance of 0-100 km/h acceleration in just 2.8 seconds, a 0-200 km/h in 8.6 seconds and a top speed of 355 km/h.
With its aspirated V12 engine combined with Lamborghini’s hybrid supercapacitor technology, the Countach LPI 800-4 retains the sound from its Longitudinale Posteriore (LP) mounted powerplant combined with the hybrid (I) technology developed for the Sián.
“The Countach LPI 800-4 is a visionary car of the moment, just as its forerunner was,” says Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.
“One of the most important automotive icons, the Countach not only embodies the design and engineering tenet of Lamborghini but represents our philosophy of reinventing boundaries, achieving the unexpected and extraordinary and, most importantly, being the ‘stuff of dreams’.
The limited edition Countach LPI 800-4 (front) and the iconic Countach (rear).
“The Countach LPI 800-4 pays homage to this Lamborghini legacy but it is not retrospective: it imagines how the iconic Countach of the 70s and 80s might have evolved into an elite super sports model of this decade,” said Winkelmann.
“It upholds the Lamborghini tradition of looking forward, of exploring new design and technology avenues while celebrating the DNA of our brand. It is a Lamborghini that innately expresses the marque’s enduring and emotive power: always inspirational and thrilling to see, hear and most of all drive.”
The Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 is instantly recognizable as the elevated descendant of Countach generations: testament to the lasting impact of the original Countach design that became the poster car of the 1980s and a symbol of automotive and lifestyle ultra-cool.
The Countach LPI 800-4 has an aspirated V12 engine.
The Countach moniker – a fitting expression of surprise and wonder in Piedmontese dialect and pronounced ‘Coon-tach’ – is one of very few Lamborghini model names not connected to bulls.
“The first Countach has been present in our Centro Stile as a model for some years now”, explains Mitja Borkert, head designer for Lamborghini.
“Whenever I look at it, it gives me goosebumps and it serves as the perfect reminder for me and the entire design team to design every future Lamborghini in a visionary and futuristic way. This is an unnegotiable part of our DNA, the essence if you so will.
“The first Countach shaped the Lamborghini design DNA like no other car; the new Countach translates that unconventional and edgy character into the future,” said Borkert.
“The Countach’s distinctive silhouette with the essential line running from front to rear, sharp angles and lines and idiosyncratic wedge shape, innovated modern super sports design as well as future Lamborghini models.
“The Countach LPI 800-4 develops the characteristic lines of the Countach’s five models over nearly 20 years, concentrated into the purest realization of iconic automotive design.”
