The Lamborghini Countach is a mid-engine sports car first introduced to the world in 1974. It is the spiritual successor to the Lamborghini Miura supercar and continued Lamborghini's supercar run, eventually being the bridge for the Diablo which would replace it in 1990.
The first prototype emerged in 1971, and production lasted until 1990. It did not pioneer but did popularise the wedge-shaped, sharply angled look popular in many high performance cars since. It did make popular the "cabin-forward" design concept that pushes the passenger compartment forward in order to accommodate a larger engine.
The word countach is an exclamation of astonishment in the local Piedmontese language - generally used by men on seeing an extremely beautiful woman. The closest translation into English would be "far out!" (archaic) or "Holy Shit!"(indecent). The name stuck when Nuccio Bertone first saw "Project 112" in his studio. The prototype was introduced to the world at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. All previous Lamborghini names were associated with toros (Ferruccio Lamborghini contrary to a popular belief, has never supported bullfighting, but he was born under the sign of Taurus and hence named his first cars after famous bulls or bulls' breed).
In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number three on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s, and it was listed as number ten on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 1980s. The name Countach comes from the excited expression of people who first saw the car. To this day, the elements introduced from the Countach have become the staple of supercar design such as the mid-engine layout, extravagant flip-up doors, wide door sills and flamboyant wheel wells.
Styling
The styling was by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, the same designer and studio that had styled the Miura. Gandini was then a young, inexperienced designer—not very experienced in the practical, ergonomic aspects of automobile design, but at the same time unhindered by them. He produced a quite striking design. The Countach shape was wide and low (42.1 inches), but not very long. Its angular and wedge-shaped body was made almost entirely of flat, trapezoidal panels. There were curves, notably the smoothly coke-bottle wing line, but the overall appearance was sharp.
The doors, a Countach trademark, were of a 'scissors' fashion—hinged at the front with horizontal hinges, so that the doors lifted up and tilted forwards. This was partly for style, but just as much because the width of the car made conventional doors impossible to use in an even slightly confined space. Care needed to be taken, though, in opening the doors with a low roof overhead.
Aerodynamics, however, were quite poor for such a sleek-looking car&mdash, apparently, to Lamborghini, looking fast was more important than going fast.
The pure style of the prototype was progressively enhanced or cluttered (depending on one's point of view) by the evolution of the car to improve its performance, handling, tractability, and ability to meet mandated requirements. This began with the first production model, which included several vents which were found to be necessary to cool the engine adequately. These included the iconic NACA duct on the door and rear fender of each side of the car. Later additions, including fender flares, spoilers, carburator covers, and bumpers, progressively changed the aesthetic values of the car.
The Countach's styling and visual impression caused it to become an icon of great design to almost everyone except automotive engineers. The superior performance characteristics of later Lamborghini models (such as the Diablo, or the Murciélago) appealed to performance car drivers and engineers, but they never had the originality or outrageousness that gave the Countach its distinction. The different impressions left by the various Lamborghini models have generated numerous debates and disagreements over what constitutes 'classic' or 'great' automotive design (elegant looks and style, vs. technical and engineering superiority).
Engine
The rear wheels were driven by the traditional Lamborghini V12 engine mounted longitudinally in a version of mid-engined configuration. For better weight distribution, the engine is actually 'backwards'; the output shaft is at the front, and the gearbox is in front of the engine, the driveshaft running back through the engine's sump to a differential at the rear. Although originally planned as a 5 liter powerplant, the first production cars used the Lamborghini Miura's 4 liter engine. Later advances increased the displacement to 5 liters and then (in the "Quattrovalvole" model) 5.2 L with four valves per cylinder. All Lamborghini Countaches were equipped with six Weber carburetors until the arrival of the 5000QV model, at which time the car became available in America, and used Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection. The European models, however, continued to use the carburetors until the arrival of the Lamborghini Diablo, which replaced the legendary Countach.
Construction
The Countach used a skin of aircraft-grade aluminum over a tubular space frame, as in a racing car. This is expensive to build but is immensely strong and very light (in spite of its size, the car weighs approximately 1500kg (3,300 lb)). The underbody tray was fiberglass.