To replace the iconic Miura, Lamborghini would once again throw the design rulebook out of the window. Employing Marcello Gandini once more, Lamborghini launched the spaceship LP400 at the Geneva motorshow in 1971. Three years later the first customer cars were delivered.
In 1974 the Countach was a trailblazer. Its design both pioneered and popularised the wedge-shaped, sharply angled look popular in many high-performance sports cars. The "cabin-forward" design concept, which pushes the passenger compartment forward in order to accommodate a larger engine, was also popularised by the Countach.
For the 5000 QV, the penultimate and most popular iteration of the Countach legend, the engine was bored and stroked to 5.2 litres (5,167 cc) and given four valves per cylinder (quattrovalvole in Italian). The carburettors were moved from the sides to the top of the engine for better breathing — creating a "power bulge" on the engine cover. These engine changes meant that the car produces 455BHP @7,500rpm with 369lb ft @ 5,200rpm; some 70bhp up on its Testarossa rival and enough to propel the car from a standstill to 60mph in 4.1 seconds and on to 100mph in 10. The Downdraft 5000 QV was in fact the only Countach to be homologated for the FIAs Group B, intending to rival the likes of the 288 GTO and 959 before the cancellation of the series due to safety concerns. Such was the over engineering present with the Countach, even at peak production just three handbuilt cars a week were finished in Sant’Agata.
It is these facts and figures which make the downdraft QV the Countach to have, whilst the headlines have been grabbed the early Periscopica Countachs which have soared in value, peaking at auction as high as $1,800,000. In 2011, world-renowned period test-driver Valentino Balboni spoke the highest praise of the QV, ’It’s still clean and pure Countach. I think it’s the best compromise. In terms of power and drivability, for me it’s the best. This is the one which has the most charisma, I would say. Pure Countach: the right engine in the right car.”
This example of the iconic, penned by Marcello Gandini, Lamborghini Countach is a high performance 5000 QV ’88.5’ variant, named as such due to its four valve per cylinder heads (Quattro – Valvole). This specific car is believed to have been the New York Auto Show car for 1988. It arrived finished in Rosso Perlato Chiaro, a deep almost pearlescent finish, not overly saturated, which allows it to pair coherently with the gold Campagnolo magnesium wheels. The interior is trimmed in extensive Champagne leather, with dark red inserts and piping.
A specification that was bespoke at the time, and certainly encapsulates the iconic 1980s aesthetic of the Countach.
After unveiling at the New York Auto Show, the car had two subsequent owners before being purchased by Frank Drendel of North Carolina, with just 5,877 kilometres from new, in January 1997. The Drendel family was in ownership of an impressive collection, and notably Matt Drendel, son of Frank, would go on to purchase a broad range of the most desirable turbocharged Porsche Racecars, including 911 GT1, 917/30, and several 935s, before his untimely passing at just 35 years old in 2010.
In 1998, the car was sold to Al Burtoni of Milano Imports of Gilroy, California. Burtoni would undertake extensive modification this Countach, including high compression pistons, camshafts, ignition, low inertia connecting rods, as well as European spec headers, exhaust system, and Weber carburettors. This raised the output of the Bizzarrini Designed V12 from a claimed 440bhp, which was an optimistic figure, to a proven 538.4 Corrected bhp over 7,000rpm, on the TRD USA dyno in California.
Whilst the car was undergoing works, it was purchased by Miura and Diablo owner Dick Rasmussen, who eventually took delivery of the car to his home in Wisconsin on the 4th of September 1998. Upon purchasing, Rasmussen also had the registration "DA BULL" put onto the car.
Rasmussen would go on to care for this Countach until his passing in 2023; an over 25-year single ownership, covering less than 7,000km in this time. A request from Rasmussen was that whoever would be the next owner of the car would be selected by his family, and as such, the previous owner of the car did not simply just choose to purchase the Countach, he underwent a lengthy assessment by the family to be a worthy custodian of the vehicle.
Today, this exceptionally powerful Countach has covered only 13,000 kilometres from new and presents the opportunity to purchase an appropriately upgraded Lamborghini in excellent condition.
