Origin: Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy
Engine: 12-Cylinder
Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
This is one of seven Lamborghini Countachs in Mr. Rich’s collection and one of two from 1987.
The first Countach was built in 1971 to be both a successor to the previous Lamborghini, the Miura, and competition for the Ferrari Daytona. It took three more years to refine the prototype, with the first Countachs hitting the European market in 1974. While previous Lamborghinis were all named after famous bulls and bullfighting terms, the Countach was a departure. Its name is based off the Piedmontese (a romance language spoke in northwestern Italy) word contacc, an exclamation of astonishment. It directly translates to ‘plague’ or ‘contagion,’ but is used to express something along the lines of, ‘Oh my goodness!’
All seven of the Countachs are technically LP5000 QVs, which started production in 1985. The LP stands for longitudinale posteriore, Italian for ‘longitudinal rear,’ referencing the engine’s location in the back. 5000 QV refers to the type of engine: a 5.2-liter Quattrovalvole. A variant of the LP5000 QV was the only Countach that sold in the United States because it was specifically built to meet the United States federal safety and emissions standards. These US models included a safety bumper and a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system.