To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Countach, Lamborghini Design Director, Mitja Borkert, reinterpreted the iconic super-car. the new Countach LPI 800-4 was debuted at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering during the 2021 Monterey Car Week. The model which honors the original Countach project LP112 with a limited run of 112 units, all of which have been spoken for. The LPI 800-4 is a true testament to Borkert’s forward thinking ideology which remains thoroughly devoted to Lamborghini’s DNA and core philosophy.
“I feel like the first fan of the brand,” says Mitja. “So I am always trying to stay [as] the little boy that’s fascinated with our brand. Sometimes, I am walking around the company and take a look at the finishing line, what are the colors and the cars that the customers have chosen. So, I am trying to stay fresh in terms of fascination for the brand. Being at Lamborghini, it’s not hard thing to stay fascinated, but being [here] means arriving in the morning, passing by the museum and then you see the Countach, for example. When entering our design center I have placed a Countach model that we have rebuilt ourselves, and some years ago Marcello Gandini came to visit us and he signed the model. The Countach means so much to me because it is the starting point of our design DNA, you can see and feel all of our creations.”
“The Countach LPI 800-4 is a visionary car of the moment, just as its forerunner was,” says Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann. “One of the most important automotive icons, the Countach not only embodies the design and engineering tenet of Lamborghini but represents our philosophy of reinventing boundaries, achieving the unexpected and extraordinary and, most importantly, being the ‘stuff of dreams’. The Countach LPI 800-4 pays homage to this Lamborghini legacy but it is not retrospective: it imagines how the iconic Countach of the 70s and 80s might have evolved into an elite super sports model of this decade. It upholds the Lamborghini tradition of looking forward, of exploring new design and technology avenues while celebrating the DNA of our brand. It is a Lamborghini that innately expresses the marque’s enduring and emotive power: always inspirational and thrilling to see, hear and most of all drive.”
The new Countach’s design is only matched by its advanced and forward thinking powertrain. The LPI 800-4 boasts 770 horsepower delivered via a ‘V12 hybrid engine with 48 v e-motor and supercapacitor technology delivering 780 cv from thermal unit and 34 cv from electric one.’ According to Lamborghini the mission of the new Countach was to combine the vehicle’s celebrated and iconic design with 21st century tech. Retaining a v12 engine was a critical element of the new Countach, and now combined with an electric powerplant the LPI 800-4 is capable of a top speed of 220 miles per hour and a not to sixty two mph time of just 2.8 seconds. These impressive performance feats are thanks in part to a dry weight of just over 3,500 lb delivered through the use of a monocoque chassis and body panels made from carbon fiber.
“There is this design language of the Countach that started 50 years ago with the concept car LP500 in Genève 1971, and with the new Countach we are celebrating the design DNA,” says Mitja. “That is also the very reason why we did the Countach, because usually we are not doing original cars and we are not bringing back an old model. It was the intention from us to create the Countach of the twenty-first century: a car that is using the technology of today. This is what the Countach is about, plus in terms of design it is a car where I said ‘I want to have the most beautiful version of the Countach in general’. So, I wanted it to be from the beginning as a car that is very puristic, very clean, almost with a design language that is human when you look at the car it has some muscular shape on the rear fender. We took inspiration of course from the previous versions of the Coutach, but for me I am finding out three models that I like so much as the LP500, the LP400 Periscopio, and the Quattrovalvole.
The biggest challenge I would say is [that] when the Countach was born in 1971, the car industry in general was not yet developed enough in terms of aerodynamic. Because we remember this from the cars at the time, it was the starting point where the engineers understood the importance of aerodynamics. So, the first versions of the Countach were driving fast, but there were no wings integrated into the basic shape of the car to create what we call today [as] downforce. In the end of the day, all the challenges that Lamborghini and Marcello Gandini had on the interpretation from the concept car were the same challenges I also had with the new car.”
The all new Countach incorporates elements from all five previous generations of the Countach which spanned over nearly 20 years of production. Interestingly enough the Countach is one of few Lamborghini models that’s name is not associated with a bull. The Countach is often referred to as the forefather of modern supercars thanks in part to it’s popularity as an automotive poster. The most notable elements of the LPI 800-4 are adapted from the LP 400 and LP 500 versions. These elements include an aggressive hood and long rectangular grille. The iconic scissor door have also been integrated into the design of the new model. One of our personal favorite features of the LPI 800-4 is the carbon fiber rear diffuser a quad exhaust system.
According to Lamborghini the new Countach’s power delivery system is entirely unique in mild-hybrid technology, as the LPI 800-4 powertrain creates “a direct connection between electric motor and wheels, preserving the pure V12 behavior.” The electric motor’s supercapacitor is said to deliver three times more power than a lithium-ion battery that is the same weight. Another innovative element were the new model’s moveable air vents, which were produced via 3D printing. Inside the car forward thinking features include a photocromatic roof which by the touch of a control goes from solid to transparent. Connectivity and Apple CarPlay are managed through the center consoles 8.4 inch HD touchscreen with a selection of features such as a ‘Stile’ button that explains the car’s design philosophy.
“We have a beautiful selection of the most iconic colors of the Countach,” notes Mitja. “We would also like for it to stay with the glossy color on that car. Basically, we have a selection of colors that are very close to the classical colors that you would know from the famous posters, and we always have a contemporary version of those colors. We try on the Countach to stay with the colors that are existing.”
The particular example which was on display during Monterey Car Week was finished in Bianco Siderale paint, which honors Ferruccio Lamborghini’s own Countach LP 400 S with a hint of pearlescent blue. Interior of the new Countach was completed in a red and black interior with throw back elements like geometric stitching that pays homage to the bold shapes of the 70s and 80s. This example sported 20” (front) and 21” (rear) wheels in the ‘telephone’ style of the 1980s wrapped in P Zero tires. Owners who will start recieving examples in the first quarter of 2022, were able to choose from a selection of intersting and unique paint colors such as Giallo Countach and Verde Medio.
“There is always the challenge to provide something completely different for the interior,” says Mitja. “For the Countach, we wanted to have a design that was much more elegant. The Sián is more radical because the general design theme is more like a modern jet fighter kind of Lamborghini, and the Countach from the exterior was the dream to have something very puristic, and that’s why I wanted to have an interior that is on the lining of the elegance of the exterior.”
