LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH
by David Gidman
In 1970, Ferruccio Lamborghini tasked Paolo Stanzani and his staff
with creating a successor to the widely acclaimed Miura. The project
was code named “LP112”. From the beginning of the project Stanzani’s
collaborators included test driver Bob Wallace, assistant engineer
Massimo Parenti and designer Marcello Gandini of Bertone. Stanzani
and Ferruccio agreed that the Miura’s successor required a mechanical
design that enabled the greatest possible performance as well as a body
that was both aerodynamically efficient and aesthetically daring. These
principles were first introduced in the Miura’s development and enabled
the commercial success of that model. Despite Ferruccio’s preference
for comfortable grand tourers, he recognized the commercial value of
a more uncompromising sports car like the Miura and gave Stanzani’s
team permission to further push boundaries with the LP112 project.
The resulting design incorporated successful aspects of the Miura,
such as the rear mid-engine, rear wheel drive layout along with many
new engineering and styling innovations. Lamborghini’s engineering
team addressed several flaws in the Miura design. Improving high-
speed stability and reducing lift-off oversteer as well as addressing the
limited maintenance access, uneven weight distribution and cooling
issues endemic to the Miura’s transverse engine layout. After a year of
intensive development work, the first prototype designated LP500 was
shown to the public at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. Subsequently the
Lamborghini engineering team spent three years refining this radical
prototype into the production-ready LP400 Countach, which debuted
in 1974.
The Countach name originated in late 1970, near the beginning of the
LP112 project. Previous and subsequent Lamborghini car names are
associated with famous bulls and bullfighting, but the Countach broke with
this tradition. The name originated from the word “contacc” an exclamation
of astonishment in the Piedmontese language from the north western
region of Italy. Lamborghini used a system of alphanumeric designations
in order to further distinguish Countach models. This designation begins
with “LP”, an abbreviation of the Italian “longitudinale posteriore,” meaning
“longitudinal rear”. This refers to the engine orientation or position. For
94 wirrallife.com
the prototype and early production models, “LP” was followed by a three
digit number designating nominal engine displacement, “400” for 3.9-litre
engines and “500” for 4.8 and 5-litre engines. Therefore, the full name of
the first production Countach was the Lamborghini Countach LP400. As in
the Miura, “S” was added for later high performance variants. This naming
scheme was disrupted by the 1985 LP5000 Quattrovalvole equipped
with a 5.2-litre engine, also called the 5000QV. The LP- designation was
dropped entirely for the 1988 25th Anniversary Edition, also called the
Anniversary. This alphanumeric designation is still used today but the
engine displacement has been changed to the power output from the engine
commonly known as BHP.
At the start of the LP112 project in 1970 Ferruccio commissioned Gandini
and his team at Bertone to develop a body for the then-unnamed prototype.
Chief engineer Paolo Stanzani supplied the design team with chassis
information so that body design could proceed while the mechanical details
of the prototype were finalized. Shortly before the 1971 Geneva Auto Show,
the finished chassis was shipped to Bertone where the prototype bodywork
and interior was installed. The resulting Countach LP500 prototype was
unveiled at the 1971 Geneva Auto show, where it’s unconventional design
drew great public interest and extensive press coverage. The LP500 prototype
had a crisp, wedge-shaped design that compared to the Miura was wide and
very low but shorter in overall length. The nose of the prototype tapered
sharply to a thin grille. The uninterrupted slope was enabled by headlights
in retractable housings that flipped down inside the body when not in use.
The prototype’s body lacked bumpers, aerodynamic spoilers, side mirrors
and any other addition that would have interrupted the lines of Gandini’s
design. Trapezoidal shapes appeared throughout the body, including in
the windshield, side windows, door openings, hood and engine covers
and taillights. Air was supplied to the engine and side-mounted radiators
through louvered vents immediately behind the side windows, although
road testing quickly demonstrated these vents alone were inadequate to
control engine temperatures.
The interior of the prototype was equally notable to contemporary
audiences as the exterior, as it incorporated new technologies and bold
styling decisions. Gandini initially sketched a dashboard with all-digital