Vehicle Description
Chassis No. ZA9CA05A0JLA12234
Engine No. 1449
The Lamborghini Miura, the world's first supercar, was a nearly
insurmountable act to follow. Its successor needed to be a
forward-thinking purpose-built sports car, oozing futuristic design
cues and cutting-edge engineering. Under Lamborghini's orders, no
holds were barred for the new "LP112" project, which would
eventually become the Countach, one of the quintessential supercars
of the 1970s and 1980s.
For project designer Marcello Gandini at Bertone, another
renaissance was required. Gandini had already stunned the world
with his revolutionary wedge silhouette design exhibited on the
1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo and 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero concepts, and
aimed to take his composition even further. Compared to the
undulating curves of the Miura, Gandini's new brushstrokes were
angular, and he incorporated various geometric patterns onto his
wedge-shaped canvas. The Countach debuted at the 1971 Geneva Motor
Show after a year of development, and the car was production-ready
by 1974. The road-ready Countach LP400 was an instant trend-setter.
The Countach's V12 engine was one of the first to be longitudinally
mounted, which improved weight distribution by placing the V12
behind the driver and the transmission in front and, of course, the
car's wedge silhouette with its signature scissor doors would
influence supercar design for in the decades to come.
Although the Countach fit perfectly in Hollywood action movies and
on the walls of teenagers' bedrooms, U.S. lawmakers thought
otherwise. Ever-tightening restrictions formally kept the Countach
off the North American market for years, until Lamborghini
officially brought the supercar icon stateside in 1985 with its
penultimate rendition of the poster car: the 5000 QV. As its
Quattrovalvole (QV) name implied, the Countach's venerable V12
powerplant now boasted four valves per cylinder and was bored and
stroked to 5.2 liters. Those examples bound for the United States
were fitted with larger bumpers, side marker lights, and crucially,
Bosch KE Jetronic fuel injection. In U.S. trim, power jumped to 420
horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque, which was delivered to the rear
wheels through a five-speed manual transmission with a sturdier
clutch and limited-slip differential. The rarer U.S.-market
Countachs could reliably be distinguished from their European
counterparts via the twin "humps" on each side of the engine cover
compared to the larger single hump on top that contained the Euro
market examples' top-mounted "downdraft" Weber carburetors. The
revised engine cover and trunk were now made of Kevlar, and
restyled rocker panels now allowed better brake cooling.
After Chrysler Corporation acquired Lamborghini in 1987, the 5000
QV was updated with central locking, improved cockpit ventilation
with a better heating system, and a new ZF synchromesh transmission
that replaced the Porsche-sourced unit. Production for the 5000 QV
concluded in September 1988 with only 610 Countach 5000 QVs built,
just 66 of which were produced for the U.S. market.
This U.S.-market 1988 Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV was produced
September 1987 finished in Nero Tenebre over a Nero leather
interior and comes from the factory with Gold Ruote O.Z. "Phone
Dial" alloy wheels and optional rear wing. The car was delivered
new in October 1987 to a young commodities broker in New York, who
delicately enjoyed the special supercar with light use until the
early 2000s when it was stored among a curated group of high-end
collector cars. Remaining with its original owner for an incredible
37 years, the Countach reemerged in May 2025 to the delight of
those attending the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance. In its first
official public outing in decades, it captured a class win in the
Concours de Sport 50th Anniversary of the Lamborghini Countach
category.
Never before offered for public sale, this Countach 5000 QV is
offered in exceptional original condition with just 3,287
kilometers, or approximately 2,043 miles at the time of cataloging.
The clean CARFAX Vehicle History Report records an extremely low
odometer reading of 2,715 kilometers by November 1991-a sure sign
of the careful and measured use of the car by the then 33-year-old
owner. Regular service visits through the early 1990s are
punctuated by a final record in 2004 after which the car was taken
off the road by its original owner until just this year. Its fluids
were replaced by the skilled technicians 1600Veloce in March 2025
in preparation for the concours. The car remains shod in its
original wide Pirelli P7 tires and retains its original unused tool
kit, new in bag jack, owner's booklets, and spare wheel. Its
Greenwich class-winning trophy is also included, a tangible
testament to this example's originality and excellence.
This Countach is a veritable time capsule back to the late 1980s
that retains original finishes and equipment down to its original
tires. Naturally, the car has already drawn accolades and renown
for its originality in the short time it has returned to the public
eye after some 20 years of hiding. As a result, it should find a
home as a superb addition to any supercar collection with a primary
focus on the finest low-mileage examples of their kind.
