The Lamborghini Countach LP 500 is now 50 years old

March 11, 2021 marks the 50th year anniversary of the iconic Countach from Lamborghini. The two-door coupé made its first appearance at the Geneva Motor Show as a prototype with an eye-catching yellow finish. The said unveiling of the Countach was so successful that the Italian sports car manufacturer had to speed up production to meet its customer demands. In such a small amount of time, Lamborghini transformed the futuristic-looking car into a small series production automobile.

During its development, the Countach was given the internal code number LP112. The prefix stood for the longitudinal position (“Longitudinale Posteriore” in Italian) of its 12-cylinder engine as it was Ferruccio Lamborghini’s desire to maintain the company’s image being in the forefront of style and technology — a good call from the Italian industrialist. Its final name, however, came from an expression of astonishment and bewilderment in the dialect of the Piedmont region. The name broke the company’s nomenclature having given its vehicles names associated with bulls and bullfighting.

The Countach owes its clean, futuristic lines to Carrozzeria Bertone Design Director Marcello Gandini, whose vision of a sports car can still be seen in Lambos, the Aventador and Huracán. Not only did Marcello come up with the sharp and striking dimensions of the Countach, but was also responsible for its scissor doors, a feature unique to Lamborghini’s 12-cylinder models. However, the Countach LP 500 was different from other bulls in Ferruccio’s stable. Lamborghini outfitted it with a platform frame rather than a tubular one and equipped it with a one of a kind 12-cylinder 4971cc engine — making it a beast befitting the house of the raging bull.

From 1974 to 1990, only a total of 1,999 Countachs in five different series were produced. Even so, the Countach remains to be one of Lamborghini’s most iconic models. 

Photos from Lamborghini 

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