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LamborghiniCountach-S

SPECIFICATION
Engine:
(Quattrovalvole) 60 degree V12 85.5 x 75 mm, 5,167 cc; dohc; max power 455 bhp at 7,000 rpm

Transmission:
Five speed manual

Suspension:
Iindependent front and rear by double wishbones, coil springs and dampers

Brakes:
Vented Disc Brakes

Dimensions:
Wheelbase: 98.4 in in (250cm);
Track: Front, 60.4 in (153.5 cm);
Rear: 63.2 in (160.5 cm)

Max speed:
Approx 190 mph (306 kmh)
Lamborghini Countach 1973/90


This extraordinary machine was almost impractical, with performance that could be seldom be used to the full, an automotive vision translated into reality. When it was first seen as an ideas car on the Bertone stand at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show nobody suggested that production would eventually reach a thousand cars.

The production car

The production Countach appeared towards the end of 1973, with a space frame designed by Paolo Stanzani. Marcello Grandini's body lines for Bertones 1971 car were retained with the doors hinged at the front and opening upwards to give access to the practical two-seat cockpit. The first production version had a 4 litre installed fore-and-aft behind the cockpit. To achieve a near-even weight distribution, the gearbox was ahead of the engine and the driveshaft to the rear wheels ran though the magnesium cast sump. The first Countach was a 175 mph/280 kmh car.


Slow production

It was a labour-intensive car, and labour problems hampered production. The LP400S came in 1978 and the LP500S with a 4,754 cc V12 in 1981. Four years later the Quattrovalvole with a four-valve-per-cylinder 5,167 cc V12 was introduced. At last the Countach was a supercar with acceleration to 100 mph/161 kmh in precisely 10 seconds. To many it was the supercar of the 1980s.


A late Countach, identifiable by the "strakes" ahead of the wheels where earier cars were rounded.

Photo Autopresse
MCMXCI, Edito-Service S.A. D1 078 03-12

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