This 1,000-Mile Lamborghini Countach Has A Secret Pagani Connection

Culmination

The Lamborghini Countach is considered one of the most iconic supercars of all time, a subject of many young petrolheads' bedroom poster pinups. The design of the Countach has captured not just the generation during which it was launched, but also succeeding ones.

Being a Lambo, it isn't just about the striking looks; it's also about supercar performance featuring the brand's iconic V12. Towards the end of its run, Lamborghini refined its approach and applied its years of learning to culminate in the Countach, releasing a 25th-anniversary edition. Some regard it as the best of the bunch; one example is now on auction.

The Best Countach

A 1,000-mile red Countach is now up for sale on Piston Heads. While the Countach 25th Anniversary model was produced for two years, only 657 units were ever made. This particular car is just one of 600 made in left-hand-drive specification.

One of the key developers of this car was 1977 World Rally Champion Sandro Munari, and a very special person who began his automotive journey at Lamborghini. Some people don't know this, but Horacio Pagani's story began at Lamborghini, and his influence was significant enough that he was one of the lead designers on the 25th-anniversary Countach. In fact, despite the car retaining the same design language penned by the legendary Marcello Gandini, Pagani added multiple aerodynamic updates.

The Airboxes were enlarged, with the addition of the iconic vertical slats on the air intakes, which gave the 25th anniversary a whole new menacing stance. Also added to the car were the widest rear tires ever fitted to a production model at the time. Its engine is mechanically the same as the 5000 Quattrovalvole, but it received some fine-tuning for better drivability. It was a 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V12 that made around 455 hp and was mated to a 5-speed gated manual.

Meticulously Kept

Chassis No. 12031 has had three owners since its birth and has been maintained by Bob Houghton Ltd. It still has the original toolkit and spare wheel; the car itself is finished in Rosso over a Nero interior. Interestingly, although the car was ordered in the United Kingdom in 1990, its first owner was from Japan.

The car was there from 1990 until 2015, making its way back to Europe. Its seller is the current and third owner, who's only added 600 miles since acquiring it. A $25,000 mechanical refresh was done back in 2018.

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