Car Lust--Lamborghini Countach
Today there's a twin-pack, the first-ever Car Lust and Car Disgust for what is fundamentally the same car. Obviously this betrays some conflicted feelings on my part, but more than that, it shows how small changes can ruin the basic essence and appeal of a very compelling car.
Back in the dark ages of this blog, I raved about the Lamborghini Miura--one of the earliest of the true exotics, and still one of the most compelling supercars ever made. Its Marcello Gandini-penned organic lines had "a fierce beauty that broadcast [the Miura's] status as a feral predator of the road."
From the Miura's animal-like ferocity, Gandini and Lamborghini moved on to pure, malevolent, evil. The Lamborghini Countach first debuted in 1971 as a show car, leaving stunned reaction in its wake, and then went into production essentially unchanged in 1974, with a 4-liter V-12 armed with no fewer than six Weber carbs.
The Countach is most famous in its later, tarted-up form (more on that later), but it isn't as dramatic to me as the original Countach LP400. The name Countach means, in the rural dialect of the region, "Holy smokes!" Or, you know, something somewhat stronger than that. The name is apt.
This car takes my breath away, like a punch right to the solar plexus. Its visual threat triggers my fight-or-flight instinct; but I can't take my eyes off it. Everything about the car is glittering, malicious cruelty, menace expressed in purposeful, viciously wedgy aggression. The Countach is the coolly vicious Cleopatra, the overly vengeful warlord reigning over the other wedgy sports cars of the 1970s.
Okay, maybe I'm going too far. But there's something chillingly beautiful about the original Countach, an expression of barely veiled cruelty atop the obvious supple muscle. I'd compare its combination of elegance and menace to Ian Fleming's James Bond--that Bond had a thin veneer of culture and style that concealed the carefully controlled violence beneath. That's the Countach LP400 to me.
It's hard for me to imagine the reaction to this car back in 1973--a time when most cars on the road looked like this. But in the extravagantly over-the-top 1980s, of course, the Countach really came into its own as an adolescent boy's dream.
By the 1980s, the Countach had evolved into the 5000 Quattrovalve, with wider tires, ground effects, and a big honking rear wing. Much of the LP400's baleful purposefulness had been diluted by the 5000 Quattrovalve's me-too visual gimcrackery, but the fundamental appeal was still there, backed by a 5.2-liter, 48-valve version of the V-12. The Countach was still fast, it was still hot, cramped, and basically useless for anything but full-throttle running, and it was still single-minded in its desire for mayhem.
Like its Ferrari counterpart, the Ferrari Testarossa, the Countach was immediately adopted as a mainstream automotive superhero; teenagers put Countach posters up on their wall right next to Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Joe Montana. The Countach was the dictionary definition of Car Lust for an entire generation.
The Countach's all-pervasive popularity in the 1980s is perhaps best summed-up by its central role in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, that pitch-perfect satire of 1980s culture and trends. Most of the great cars of the 1980s--the Corvette, the Trans-Am, the Testarossa, and the Porsche 911--are represented in the game under fairly obvious aliases. But the Countach gets pride of place; the Countach's doppelganger, the Infernus, is the fastest street car in the game, and the player receives his own white Countach roughly halfway through the game. Cruising through a fake Miami in a Countach Infernus, wearing a bright blue suit and listening to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean ... well, for me it's a little bit of dream fulfillment.
I don't actually want to like this car. It's too easy, too obvious, too popular. People who don't like cars like the Countach. But, especially with the LP400, I don't have any choice in the matter; I'm drawn to it despite my will. The Countach is so visceral that it speaks directly to my id.
Well, mostly. The next post will outline the exception.
The top picture came from JustinsSite.com, the second from Lamborghini Blog, the third from Balti-Classic Cars, and the fourth from Flickr user Djivy.
--Chris H.
Mochi Mochi on June 05, 2008 at 11:36 AM
At the time... there just wasn't ANYTHING like it. It was awe inspiring, and remained so for so many years to follow. As stated, it's hard not to like the Countach. It is emblematic of "the super-car". It has become an icon. In that way I love it and hate it at the same time. It's iconic status gets in the way of the car. It's like asking yourself if you like the Mona Lisa. You can't really do it, what's the criteria? Is it possible to separate the exposure and reproduction (in print, on tv, in posters, magazines, commercials, video games) from the original. I don't think it is.
I remember the first time I came across one on the street. I was completely enthralled - I WANTED one. Now? Ha! Aside from the miniscule likelihood of ownership, I just don't want it. Not that my desire or lack of desire for ownership adds up to a hill of beans, and it doesn't. But how many people IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS would ever really want and hope to possess the Mona Lisa? What the hell would you do with it? This kind of makes me question the sanity of people who own super-cars.
Great article Chris, wonderful writing and ideas.
Steaming Pile on June 05, 2008 at 11:57 AM
@mochi - Jay Leno would put it in an honored spot in his garage.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on June 05, 2008 at 03:00 PM
"Everything about the car is glittering, malicious cruelty, menace expressed in purposeful, viciously wedgy aggression. The Countach is the coolly vicious Cleopatra, the overly vengeful warlord . . . an expression of barely veiled cruelty atop the obvious supple muscle."
Well stated, sir. Remember the "Far Side" cartoon captioned "How Nature says 'do not touch'"? The original Countach design is how Nature might say "Not To Be Messed With!"
Like Mochi, I can't imagine myself ever actually owning one, even if I had the scratch to afford it. Don't get me wrong, it would be fun to drive and be seen in . . . but how do you work up the nerve to leave it sitting unattended in a Giant Eagle parking lot? Where do you put the groceries? How do you convince the cop who just pulled you over that his radar gun really was working right, you really were only doing twenty-five in a twenty-five zone? Most important of all, considering the reputation Italian supercars have for reliability, how do you restructure your investment portfolio so you can budget for the repairs?
David Colborne on June 05, 2008 at 03:50 PM
Heck with restructuring the budget - where do you even GET parts for a 30-year-old Lamborghini? Heck, I sometimes have issues finding parts for my 15-year-old Dakota. You're definitely not running down to Kragen, that's for sure.
The problem with owning a Countach is that, at some point, it became more about the exposure. As Mochi pointed out, how do you separate the message from the car? When you sit in a Civic or a Camry, you're not saying a whole lot about yourself - there's a certain anonymity. You can project your own personality without letting the car get in the way. This even holds true in something sportier like a Corvette. A Countach, on the other hand... I mean, you almost have to start wearing white leisure suits with a purple dress shirt and a neon green tie, don't you? The car is just so BIG, image-wise, that it consumes you. You're not the owner of a really nice Italian car - you're the driver of a LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH. It's almost the automotive equivalent of Excalibur - whether you want to be King of England or not, wielding Excalibur has certain responsibilities.
joe on June 05, 2008 at 06:36 PM
not to dumb the conversation down (or not?) but man i think this was a transformer i had as a lad...
Rob the SVX guy on June 05, 2008 at 07:34 PM
Split windows are so hot. I forgot about this car. What next Chris?
Brian on June 05, 2008 at 08:53 PM
Gotta love the sound of that thing. Nice choice in video, very lean & mean. And +1 for the original looking far more classic than the later 25th anniversary edition. I definitely had a miniature hot wheel of this car. There's another V12 on NSXER's youtube, a little smaller.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mutb7KgA9NM
Miniature!
Probably the only one I'd dare to afford, a scale model. Maybe he's planning on doing a Countach version of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vJZBTaAdAQ
mochi mochi on June 05, 2008 at 09:09 PM
The sound of the engine is amazing. The only thing that sounds better than a V12 with 6 Webers is a flat 12 with fuel injection and velocity stacks.
The video is really nice. I think it gives a clue as to what one does if you own a Countach. You take it somewhere remote where no one will see you and where there are no other cars (read collision insurance). Then you hire a camera man to video tape you as you drive by. I'm guessing that's what Jay Leno does, then he can replay it on big screen anytime he likes. Wow that 25th anniversary edition really left a bad taste in my mouth.
bigrig on June 06, 2008 at 02:15 AM
The opening scene to the first "Cannonball Run" movie, 'nuff said...........
Steaming Pile on June 06, 2008 at 05:35 AM
@bigrig - I had to do a deep search for a minute there. I do remember a scene in Cannonball Run where two heavily-stacked women in jumpsuits and big late-70s hair were pulled over. The one driving kept her driver's license in whatever stood in for a bra with that outfit. She slowly unzipped the jumpsuit a little bit (to show maximum cleavage), pulled out the license, which had assumed the contours of one of her cans, and handed it to the dumbfounded officer, who was too stunned to write the ticket. This scene was repeated later in the film, except it was a lady cop this time, and not the kind who spends summers playing softball in Provincetown...not that there's anything wrong with that.
mike lawson on June 06, 2008 at 01:09 PM
re; video
Fap! fap! fap!
/nuff said
Hucbald on June 06, 2008 at 03:20 PM
I was in high school in 1973, and the Countach inspired me to get a 1974 Fiat X 1/4. Hey, It was as close as I could get. LOL!
The early clean models were spectacularly beautiful at the time, but the boddy cladding and whale tails of the later versions s... er, stunk (I'm guessing your next entry is a diatribe against that... let's see if I'm right).
JMO on June 06, 2008 at 05:51 PM
Those crazy Italians. God bless them.
Still, I would have a black '63 stingray split window first...then possibly this car.
Carl on June 06, 2008 at 06:02 PM
When was the last time anyone saw a Lambo on the road? {LA denizens excepted, of course.] Can anyone really, truly care an iota about this monument to wretched excess? At about the same time that the Countach made its debut, Ferrari was producing the Daytona, a so much better looking and driving car. And as much as it is derided these days, a Miata makes so much more sense and is actually a more satisfying drive. (I say this never having driven a Lambo, but I have driven the Pantera, a remarkably similar looking car. I must say that it was frightening in a very good way, but would I want to sit in one of the things for more than 15 minutes? I would not.)
mark on June 06, 2008 at 07:38 PM
@carl
Not just LA, also in Orange County. There were several that made their home in San Clemente a couple years ago, where I worked. There was a Veyron once, too.
Imari Stevenson on August 03, 2008 at 09:26 AM
Hey guys
On July 30th, I just bought a customized Lambo Countach for the first time ever in my life. I've been waiting 16 years and a month for this to happen. Right now, I'm having electricity failures. Could someone please give me some advice when generally dealing with a supercar like this??
Ian on September 11, 2008 at 02:00 AM
Guess the Countach is my all time favorite Lamborghini. The Diablo and Gallardo are both a step back from this classic model.
Actually, a lot of the old Lamborghini models from the 60'ties and 70'ties looked much better than todays models:
http://www.transportspecs.com/the-12-most-secret-lamborghini-models-ever-produced/
Kirk C, on March 01, 2009 at 01:25 PM
I want an early countach, in that green,
a white 5000'S with blue int,
a green espada W/tan int, in the same color as that 400 LP countach,
an Urraco 300 in the met brown,
a lambo tractor in the white color,
a 400GT 2+2 in British racing green, with cognac int,
Kirk C, on March 01, 2009 at 01:32 PM
Ferrari cant come close even with their new V-12's no way,
ill take the sweet sounding bizzarrini designed 4 litre lambo, and be done with it,
almost animalistic in its sound,
I mean when you see an Espada go by and you hear that noise of that 4 liter 12 its really something to listen too,
much more pronounced and hairy sounding than even a matra or any of ferraris 12's,
ivora on April 28, 2009 at 02:32 AM
Nice cars, aren't they? ;) Hope to have one some day... So far can only watch and download wallpapers with the cars of my dream - http://file.sh/car+wallpapers+torrent.html