Born special

Holding up 50 years later in both numbers and design. As this is the fourth Lamborghini meant to continue the manufacturer’s V12 lineage we will find, as you might expect, another 12-cylinder inside of it, albeit the smaller of the two seen in this model. Countach LP400 was powered by a 3.9-liter V12 rated at 370 horsepower, which may not be all that impressive today, but considering that its production started in 1974, and lack of ABS let alone traction control, underestimating the rodeo with this bull would be a mistake. When you consider it being middle engined, weighing only 1300 kilograms, taking you to 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds, and reaching about 290 km/h, it is clear that they were serious with their intention for it to be the supercar of the 70s.

Speaking of the car’s MR layout and speed, one thing always worth mentioning is the recognizable and purposeful design. While Countach was not the first car to obtain this specific type of design with a low front end and sloped roofline, it was the first production car in the world to introduce it and forever change the way supercars are built. The creative mind behind this phenomenon was Marcello Gandini, who was already known for designing other notable sports cars for different manufacturers. The majority of high-performance cars nowadays have inherited this MR design, and a lot of them even use scissor doors, which was also introduced to the world of production cars by Countach.

Born special. This particular car was finished in January 1975 and delivered to one of Lamborghini’s VIP clients – Albert Silveira. Albert was a Haitian diplomat and businessman who engaged primarily in hotel business and car collecting. Being a wealthy and influential man, he had ordered many cars from Italian manufacturers with specifications to his preference. This Countach was not an exception. It was painted in Ferrari Rosso Dino and had a Tobacco interior. Silveira being a special client allowed him to get his car tuned by Dallara Automobili SrL. The work included engine balancing, new high-lift camshafts, bigger intakes, bigger main jets for the carburetors, free flow headers, and an open exhaust system bringing the power output to 60-70 horsepower over the stock configuration. After the car was shipped back and forth between Europe and the United States, as well as its feature in Car & Driver magazine, the car was sold in 1975 to Gary Doll, a businessman based in Cape Coral, Florida. In letter correspondence between Doll and Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini SpA, his ownership of the car was acknowledged, and it being a special order for Silveira with all his requested modifications was mentioned. In the 1980s it was sold to a New York-based car enthusiast. Not much is known about the owner’s identity, or circumstances of the deal. In the year 2000 it was sold to someone in California, then in 2010 the car was registered in The Netherlands, most likely purchased by Dutch car collector Paul van Doorne. Since at least 2023 the car has been available on display in Nationales Auto Museum in Dietzhölztal, Germany, allegedly owned by Friedhelm Loh – a German billionaire businessman, who owns a group of manufacturing companies as well as the museum itself.

Matter of preference. It may be quite hard to grasp the significance of a car with over 50 years of history simply because of its long lifespan, but most car enthusiasts are aware of and have a certain appreciation for Countach. A large number of them will also say that it’s the most beautiful V12 Lamborghini ever produced, if not the number one among all Lamborghini models. And while we acknowledge its contribution to the automotive world, and the special nature of this particular car, ranking it above everything mentioned before might be a stretch. If you asked me if I would personally pick any other V12 Lamborghini over the Countach, I would say probably not the first three models, but would rank the Miura higher. As for the later models, I would definitely prefer Countach over the Revuelto, and probably even Gallardo, but the rest are more appealing.