Style icon: 50-year-old Lamborghini Countach remains a design inspiration

Fifty years since it was first exhibited at the Geneva International Motor Show, the triangular, scissor-doored Lamborghini Countach "never wants to grow old."

Lamborghini said that with its distinctive lines, the Countach is still the design inspiration of all the new vehicles made in Sant’Agata Bolognese.

"There are works of art that always remain contemporary, and the shape of the Countach is one of them.” Lamborghini Head of Design Mitja Borket said. 

“Its design is made of perfect proportions, characterized by a very pure and essential style. Its distinguishing trait is given by a single longitudinal line that visually connects its front with its rear," Borket illustrated. 

The angular car is an "element of visual continuity between past and present," he added.  "It is the summa of the DNA of all of Lamborghini’s design, the tradition of the stylistic language from the origins up until present day.” 

Keeping wide low to the ground, the fascia of the Countach features diagonal lines on the front hood, which lead to the engine compartment out back, elements "which make it immediately recognizable even from a distance."

The shape of the passenger compartment, low and square, combined with the classic slant of the windshield, all became Lamborghini signatures. 

The futuristic styling came from the imagination of designer Marcello Gandini, and the vision of company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini. 

With a four-liter V12 mounted in the middle of its chassis, the first Countach  named LP 400 can walk the talk. The engine produced 370hp, a maximum speed of 309 kph, and a zero-to-100 kph time of 5.4 seconds. 

Photos from Lamborghini

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