1971 Lamborghini LP500 Countach (1 made)
Chassis #1120001
Engine #

The LP500 (Longitudinal Posterior 5 Litre) first appeared at the March 1971 Geneva show. The car apparently received its name shortly before the show when someone at Bertone's Grugliasco plant saw it and exclaimed "Countach" (pronounced "COON-tahsh" or "CUN-touch", Italians use both pronunciations). The expression is from a local Piemontese dialect that seems difficult to translate without offending someone. It is the sort of thing a northern Italian male might say to express appreciation of a particularly attractive female.

The Countach was designed by Marcello Gandini and built by Bertone as a two seater with a very small passenger compartment and minimal luggage room in the small, hot area just aft of the engine. The overall design was a very clean and slippery wedge that later sprouted all manner of bulges and vents. The interior was fairly simple in design though the dashboard and digital readouts would have been more at home in a space ship. This would be totally revised starting with the next prototype. Visibility to the front and immediate sides was great but attrocious to the rear due to only having the one tiny rear window that didn't allow for much of a view. The rearview mirror, a simple pariscope design that pointed up and over the roof, was an interesting but uneffective feature. The doors were the most captivating feature of the whole car, certainly the most memorable part of my first encounter with a Countach as a boy. The doors swung up and forward supported by gas filled struts and must have been influenced by those on Bertone's 1968 Carabo. The design left little room for rolldown windows and so these were simply small letterbox size cuttouts that were hardly of any practical use.

The first Countach was only a prototype show car, little more than a hasty mockup, though a roadworthy one. As much revision would need to be done, the LP500 came to be a rolling testbed for future modifications that would find their way onto the eventual production car. The semi-monocoque chassis of this first car was very different from the more complex chassis of the production models. This car had a space-frame of square-section steel tubes and sheetmetal stiffeners welded together with a handmade steel bodyshell.

The engine/transmission layout was probably the most innovative seen in a road car to this time. While most mid-engined cars, even today, have their transmissions mounted behind the engine, this car would be different. The transmission would be place ahead of the engine which placed it between the driver and passenger seat. This help distribute weight more evenly front to rear giving a ratio of 42/58. Power from the engine was then transferred down and back under the engine by means of a driveshaft in its own sealed tunnel in the engine sump to the final drive at the rear of the engine. The solution was a sound one that has been carried over onto the production Countaches and subsequent Diablo line. Engine access seemed reasonable though anything more involved than routine servicing could be tight.

The engine on the prototype was a 5 litre (4971cc) V12 with a bore of 85mm and a stroke of 73mm. The engine was fed by six horizontal Weber 2 barrel carburators and spark was fired by one 12 point distributor driven by one of the engine's four overhead camshafts.

Not long after the Geneva show the first 5 litre engine (4971cc) proved to be too fragile and was quickly but unintentionally destroyed in testing while flying down the highway at flat out speeds. The engine caught fire after the explosion but the car was saved from completely burning to the ground.

The first Countach was eventually crashed into a wall at MIRA's England test facilities to check the ability to pass safety laws. It was likely crushed sometime later as no one we contacted could locate the remains. It's design was historic and important enough that one wonders why a replica was not constructed or the original LP500 restored for the company's museum. Only one was produced. It no longer exists.

1976 Countaches were eventually produced in its many forms over the years. Truly one of the great exotics of all time.


NOTE: If anyone knows what happened after crash testing, if the car was crushed or simply placed in a scrap heap, please contact our office and provide photos.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Lamborghini LP500 Countach
ENGINE
Type	60° V12 Longitudinal, Mid-Mounted DOHC per bank
Valves	2 per cylinder
Bore/Stroke	85mm x 73mm
Capacity	4,971cc
Carburation	6 Twin-throat Webers 45 DCOE 96/97
Max power	440bhp @ 7,400rpm
Torque	366 ft/lbs @ 5,000rpm
Compression	10.5:1
TRANSMISSION
Gearbox	5-speed + reverse All-Syncromesh
Clutch	Single dry plate hydraulically operated
STRUCTURE
Chassis	Square section steel tubes with sheet metal stiffeners.
Body	Steel
Builder	Bertone
Suspension	Independent, coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers
Axle Ratio	11/45
Brakes	Girling ventilated discs
Wheels	Campagnolo cast magnesium 7.5 x 14J
Front Tires	205/70 VR 14 Pirelli P7
Rear Tires	215/70 VR 14 Pirelli P7
MEASUREMENTS
Overall Length	4010 mm / 156.4 in
Overall Width	1870 mm / 72.9 in
Overall Height	1030 mm / 40.2 in
Wheelbase	2450 mm / 95.5 in
Front Track	1500 mm / 58.5 in
Rear Track	1520 mm / 59.3 in
Weight	1130 kg / 2486 lb
Fuel Tank	2 x 70 L / 2 x 18.4 gal
PERFORMANCE
Top speed	290 km/h / 179.8 mph