The Lamborghini Countach has returned with classic wedge-shaped design
Limited edition model has been built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original.
Lamborghini has resurrected the Countach name to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original poster car of the 1970s.
The Countach LPI 800-4, to give it its full name, is a limited edition model, with just 112 being made.
Based loosely on the Sian hypercar, Lamborghini has fitted a wedge-shaped body with simple lines and panels that evoke memories of the original.
It borrows the powertrain from the Sian, meaning it has a 6.5-litre V12 petrol engine combined with a supercapacitor – a faster alternative to a traditional battery – making it one of the first vehicles to use this kind of hybrid technology.
The pairing makes a total of 803bhp, with a 0-60mph time of 2.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 221mph.
Lamborghini says the new Countach is not meant to be a retrospective homage on the classic car, but is instead supposed to imagine what the Countach would be like if the model line had continued to today.
Inspiration from the original came in the form of the wedge-shaped silhouette that would go on to inspire supercar design of the era. The new car also has a long, low rectangular grille and headlights, while the bodywork is smooth and clean, lacking the fussy design common to many modern cars.
Other features include a quad-exit exhaust pipe as seen on the original model, hexagonal rear lights similar to those found on the Sian, and the firm’s iconic ‘scissor doors’.
Mitja Borkert, head of Centro Stile, Lamborghini’s design studio, said: “The first Countach has been present in our Centro Stile as a model for some years now.
“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 a negotiable 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.”
The Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 gets the latter part of its name from features that distinguish the model. LP references the longitudinally mounted engine, the ‘I’ refers to the hybrid technology, 800 rounds down the power output and 4 denotes its four-wheel-drive system.
The model made its public debut this weekend at Monterey Car Week in California.
