Lamborghini

The development of the Countach was initiated by Ferruccio Lamborghini with the goal of creating a successor to the Miura. The Miura was widely acclaimed after its introduction in 1966, but by 1970 new competitors including the Ferrari Daytona had been introduced to the market and the Miura was showing its age. The Countach was styled by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, who was also responsible for the design of the Miura. Following the Miura's debut, Gandini began experimenting with a new, more angular and geometric design language in a series of concept cars for Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo and Lancia. In particular, the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo and 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero were direct styling precursors to the Countach. After a year of intensive development work, the first Countach prototype, designated LP500, was shown to the public at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. Subsequently, the Lamborghini engineering team spent three years refining this radical prototype into the production-ready LP400 Countach, which debuted in 1974. The scissor doors of the Countach were a prominent design feature carried over from the Alfa Romeo Carabo concept car. Due to the poor rearward visibility inherent in the car's design, a periscope was integrated into the passenger compartment roof, instead of a conventional rear-view mirror. The Countach was designed around the existing Lamborghini 3,929 cc V12 engine in a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. This layout was a first for a road-going V12, previously used only in the Ferrari P-series racing cars.