Lamborghini Countach

The Lamborghini Countach is a rear mid-engine sports car built in Italy from 1974 to 1990. Marcello Gandini created its wedge-shaped coupe body at Bertone, and the first prototype appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971. Automobili Lamborghini assembled the vehicle in Sant'Agata Bolognese as the successor to the Miura.

Paolo Stanzani directed the mechanical layout, placing the five-speed manual transmission ahead of the longitudinally mounted twelve-cylinder engine to balance vehicle mass. Deliveries of the initial LP400 model started in 1974 with a 3.9-liter engine that produced 276 kW (370 hp) and reached a top speed of 288 km/h (179 mph). Scissor doors opened upward along front hinges to aid entry across wide side sills. In 1978, the LP400 S introduced fiberglass wheel arch extensions to cover wider tires, along with an optional V-shaped rear wing mounted on the rear deck lid.

Engine displacement increased in 1982 with the LP500 S, which adopted a 4.8-liter V12 to satisfy United States emissions standards. In 1985, the company launched the 5000 Quattrovalvole, featuring four valves per cylinder and six downdraft carburetors above a 5.2-liter block. Horacio Pagani redesigned the air intakes and body skirts for the 25th Anniversary edition in 1988, which accelerated from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 4.5 seconds. Production ended in May 1990 when the final silver 25th Anniversary rolled off the assembly line into the company museum, before the factory replaced the line with the Diablo.

A black LP400 S appeared in the opening chase of the 1981 film The Cannonball Run, driven by Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman. Between 1981 and 1983, race organizers used the vehicle as the official safety car at the Monaco Grand Prix. The design served as the visual basis for the Autobot characters Sideswipe and Sunstreaker in the 1984 animated television series The Transformers. In 2004, Sports Car International placed the Countach third on its list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s. Total factory output reached 1,999 cars across sixteen years of manufacture.