The loudest, longest automotive wolf whistle of all: Lamborghini Countach
By Straight-Six, published on 19 October 2010
To quote the great Jeffrey Lebowski (aka The Dude): “Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women!” As ever, the Dude inverted what he really meant to say, but that bizarrely only served to heighten the impact of the thinking behind it.
Now, there’s a parallel to be drawn between the Dude’s musings about objects and women with what we hereby claim to be the sexiest, raunchiest and most downright provocative car of all time: the Lamborghini Countach. Turns out the word “Countach” is used by the male residents of the Piedmontese region to mark their sighting of a breath-taking woman.
And so, the Italians have done one better than Mr. Treehorn and managed to treat cars like women and objects all at the same time. Absolutely brilliant.
Without jamming a 24-page report in your eyes, we’d like to point out that Countach was indeed the world’s very first supercar, made from 1974 to 1990. And while it managed to give us scissor doors and enough flat, trapezoidal panels to satisfy an entire origami class it also possessed a V12 that was as close to God’s voice as it gets and interior ergonomics to satisfy the most demanding of orangutans.
Engines went from the original 4-litre V12 (353 hp) all the way to a 5.2-litre V12 (455 hp), with the model line-up spanning the original LP400 to the 25th Anniversary edition. Word is the car was constructed around the all-new Pirelli P7 tires, at that time the widest ever fitted to a production car. Oh, and you had to reverse it by sitting on the door sill, with the scissor door upright, and looking backwards – a place the Countach was never designed to go.
Sure, the purity of the original design was quickly lost, but we remain very much on the fence about whether this evolution was for the worse. For the first time ever, we can safely say we adore the original LP400 Countach as much as the 25th Anniversary edition (well, almost). In any case, the impact of the raging bull never dimmed with time, whatever the designers threw at it.
While the Countach may always carry the stench of the excess of the late 70s and 80s (cue immense shoulder-pads, large poufs of hair and medallions resting an inch above hirsute chests), it is forever seared into our mind’s eye as the quintessential and prodigal supercar.
PS: the video below features a bronze-coloured Countach LP400S enjoying an autumnal drive on the wide roads of the US or Canada. No voice-over, no music and no bullshit. Just the sight and sound of the world’s most flamboyant supercar
The loudest, longest automotive wolf whistle of all: Lamborghini Countach
To quote the great Jeffrey Lebowski (aka The Dude): “Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women!” As ever, the Dude inverted what he really meant to say, but that bizarrely only served to heighten the impact of the thinking behind it. Now, there’s a parallel to be drawn between the Dude’s musings about objects and women [...]
5 Responses to “The loudest, longest automotive wolf whistle of all: Lamborghini Countach”
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Straight-Six
22 October 2010
Tim,
I’m starting, getting through and ending my days with that devil of an engine sound! Glad you enjoy it as much as we do…:)
Cheers,
Straight-Six
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Tim Jackson
23 October 2010
Thanks Straight-Six,
Living in the US on the left coast, I do get to see many fabulous motors, but growing up in the North West UK, I got to see a Porsche 911 or maybe a 928 once in a blue moon.
In the past 5 yrs, I’ve had the fortune to drive a couple of gems, a ’90′s 512TR, my dream car growing up…plus a moment, well 10mins of sheer heaven, a ’70 365 GTB convertible, which after driving, elicited the comment: “If I flame out on the freeway tomorrow, I’ll be a happy man” and put a huge smile on my face the remainder of the day!Amazing how much of an emotional response one can get from a gorgeous machine…12 cyl. engines are something. That Flat 12 Boxer of the 512TR was orgasmic pulling hard in 3rd!
Cheers,
Tim
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Straight-Six
23 October 2010
Lucky man! Too true that nothing resonates and embraces like a sumptuous engine note. And 12-cylinders are something all to themselves.
I have to admit that the most orchestral-like experience was a couple of laps of a circuit in Italy in a RUF CTR Yellow Bird prepped only for track work. I swear I could literally hear every part of the engine at work. It was complex, multi-layered and audiolicious. And so very visceral.
Yeah, who needs Class A narcotics anyways…?
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Tim Jackson
24 October 2010
Which reminds me of my all time favourite DVD, “Rendevouz” by Claude Lelouch…
Cheers,
Tim
Tim Jackson
22 October 2010
That was a lovely way to start the day, listening to a V12…
Cheers,
Tim