What Do You Think of the Returning Lamborghini Countach?
Lamborghini introduced the Countach LPI 800-4 over the weekend, undoubtedly hoping to rake in some of the wealth that’s been amassing in the upper echelons of society. Supposedly retailing somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million, the vehicle is effectively an Aventador with some retro-inspired bodywork with the powertrain of the new Sián.
While a 6.5-liter V12 and electric motor providing a combined maximum output of 802 horsepower is nothing to sneeze at, there was some level of expectation that the Countach design might even outdo the truly wild Sián FKP 37 Lamborghini previewed in 2019. But producing something striking is difficult when you’re simultaneously attempting to marry the concept with a 50-year-old design everyone has been fetishizing since before they were old enough to learn what that meant.
There is literally no point in my life where I wouldn’t see an original Lamborghini Countach and be forced to stop and ogle it, undoubtedly advising everyone who had been fooled into accompanying me to do likewise. But something tells me the remake won’t be getting that treatment.
The Countach LPI 800-4 is indeed reminiscent of the original and brimming with retro-inspired touches that make the car look like it was dreamt up while the original model was still in production (1974–1990). But it ultimately ends up looking more like an homage to the Diablo (after they killed the pop-up headlights) than the angular menace that was the Countach and fails to extend any unique touches to the interior. Frankly, it seems like a misstep on a vehicle that’s primary selling point is how much it’s supposed to remind you of another car.
What we have here is a presumably capable 800-horsepower supercar with an appearance package that’s intended to be sold to those people that are so rich that they’ll buy whatever limited edition bauble they can get their hands on. Frankly, that sounds like most modern vehicles retailing about $250,000. But the Countach really needed to be a cut above to make it seem like the manufacturer wasn’t simply trying to capitalize on the name and seems to have missed that target.
That’s not to suggest the car isn’t loaded with cool features or unworthy of praise. Intakes have been integrated into the doors to enhance cooling, much like its predecessor, and the integrated headlamps are roughly the same size as the original’s daytime running lights. There’s even an option to set up the car to give you a brief history lesson of Countach’s design as part of the interior display. But it doesn’t go far enough to convince pilots that they’re driving anything other than a revamped Aventador.
Granted, the classic Countach’s instrument cluster is little more than a series of pods lined up in a box and would clash if installed into a modern automobile. But Lamborghini could have easily reimagined the digital display as a revamped version of what we saw in concept vehicles from the 1980s (e.g. Nissan CUE-X, VW Orbit, Oldsmobile Incas) without needing to do much else to the interior. Though we may be looking at this all wrong.
Instead of viewing the Countach LPI 800-4 as an unworthy successor to an ocular buffet, perhaps we should consider it as another way for people to get access to some of the best bits of the even harder to get Sián. The 769-horsepower, 6.5-liter engine synched up with the supercapacitor-powered, 33-hp electrical motor is a pretty sweet piece of engineering in itself. And the Countach is just 3,516 pounds, which is over 100 pounds less than the Sián.
Lamborghini said the combo resulted in a 2.8-second zero-to-62-mph time with a top speed in excess of 221 mph. But the remaining hardware is from the Aventador, resulting in identical dimensions and a final product that resembles a composite between the original Countach and the Aventador with some Sián taillamps.
Expectations have been subverted and it’s difficult to say whether that’s good or bad, especially since our collective inability to buy one probably makes any opinions we have completely irrelevant.
[Images: Lamborghini]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I’ll tell you what I think, it’s hideously fncking ugly. It looks like it was built out of leftover crap they had lying around in the garage, it looks like it was drawn by a four-year-old who didn’t have enough time to finish it. Tasteless, boring, half baked and utterly forgettable Crush it. .
What if instead of outright greed and taking the easiest route with a rebodied Aventador, Lambo instead took a much braver path and made a much more faithful to the original looking new Countach, made it a full analog car and made it the cheapest thing in their lineup? There's way more folks who can afford a $200,000 car than a $3M car, and, those are the folks who worshipped the original when they were kids.