Lot details
Registration No: E401LYH
Chassis No: 12249
Mot Expiry: June 2010

Ferruccio Lamborghini's success as a tractor manufacturer allowed him to indulge his passion for high performance cars. By 1963, however, his hobby had matured into a secondary business - Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A was formed and the company's first car, the 350GT, launched. It received much acclaim, as did the 400GT that quickly followed, but it was the Gandini styled Miura of 1966 that really marked out Lamborghini as a serious competitor to its more established Italian rivals of Ferrari and Maserati.

The company's famous `bull' badge reflected Ferruccio's birth sign, Taurus, as a result of which most of the firm's model names have related to the world of bulls and bull fighting. The Countach moniker is an exception - in the local Piedmontese dialect the word is an exclamation of shock and is reputedly the one uttered by Nuccio Bertone on seeing the prototype of the Miura's scissor-doored replacement. Enthusiasts the world over were equally stunned by the brutal shape of the new Gandini-penned Lamborghini when it was unveiled at the Geneva Salon in 1971, and it is doubtful if any car since can claim to have had such an immediate and lasting effect on the automotive senses.

Countach production began with the LP400 in 1974, of which some 157 examples were eventually built. This was replaced by the LP400S - the car that spawned the Pirelli P7 tyre - in 1978. The new version featured revised suspension but lacked the periscope roof of the inaugural car. A total of 237 of this iteration were reputedly made. 1982 saw the introduction of the LP500S with its 4.7-litre V12 engine offering some 375bhp. Then, three years, later came the first of the Quattrovalvoles - the LP5000S QV with its four-valve per cylinder, 5.2-litre engine kicking out 455bhp. In this form, the Countach was allegedly capable of some 190mph and would reach 60mph from rest in under five seconds.

The Countach engine was mounted longitudinally (hence the model designation LP, which means Longitudinale Posteriore in Italian) in the centre of the tubular steel spaceframe. The upper body was fashioned in aircraft-grade aluminium while the underbody was made of glassfibre. The V12 engine was mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox mounted ahead of it. Suspension was independent all round with coil springs and telescopic dampers.

This particular example was first road registered as `4 GON' on November 11th 1987 and is reputed to be one of the very rare RHD 88 ½ QV Side Skirt models, of which sources suggest a mere 14 were made. Chassis No.HLA12249 is finished in Acapulco Blue and trimmed in cream leather with blue piping. It is understood to have covered a mere 33,000km (circa 20,400 miles) from new, courtesy of five owners. It reportedly has "a full service history" - most of the stamps are from Lamborghini dealers; the balance being marque specialists. In recent times the car has benefited from a new clutch; AP racing brake discs, callipers and pads all round and a Lamborghini stainless steel exhaust system. The vendor describes the Countach as being in "very good" condition with regard to its engine, five-speed manual gearbox, electrical equipment, interior trim, bodywork and paintwork.

For many, the Countach remains the supercar of all time. Its combination of neck-snapping performance and jaw-dropping design will always guarantee a reaction from young and old alike. With a total of only 2,042 examples reputedly made during a production run of 16 years, each and every Countach can now be regarded as a collectors' item. The very rare version being offered therefore provides a unique opportunity to acquire one of the world's all time great cars in its definitive form.