This 1985 Lamborghini Countach Could Fetch $1.1 Million at Auction

Its painstaking, four-year restoration cost over $700,000. The rebuild of its 5.2-liter quattrovalvole V-12 engine alone totaled more than $77,000. Now, this immaculate, show-quality 1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV “Downdraft” supercar is heading to auction through RM Sotheby’s.

As for that “Downdraft” moniker, it refers to the more potent European version of the Countach LP5000 that Lamborghini unveiled at the 1985 Geneva Salon in Switzerland. In place of the power-sapping Bosch fuel-injection system fitted to U.S. examples, these Euro QVs came with a sextet of throaty Weber 44 DCNF downdraft carburetors.

The result was an additional 35 hp—taking the V-12’s output to 455 hp—as well as more immediate throttle response and enhanced supercar performance. Key figures include a zero-to-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds, and a 195 mph top speed.

“These ‘Downdraft’ cars sit at the very top of the Countach food chain, and continue to be revered as the most powerful, and most fun to drive, Countachs produced,” says Harvey Stanley, RM Sotheby’s director of Private Sales. These variants are also more coveted and collectible, with their prominent engine-cover power dome and protruding rubber impact bumpers, the latter being non-U.S. spec.

This Countach, presented in the marque’s Nero Tenebre color scheme complemented by a black-leather interior, is one of just 300 built. It’s also one of only 13 carbureted QVs imported stateside. Records show it came off the Sant’Agata Bolognese assembly line in July of 1985, and was delivered to Portman of London, a U.K.-based Lamborghini importer at the time.

According to Stanley, the car had been earmarked for Stanislaw Zagórski, a New York–based Lamborghini collector, as well as a famed artist and graphic designer. It was Zagórski who created iconic album-cover designs for everyone from Ray Charles, Miles Davis, and Isaac Hayes, to Cream and Roberta Flack. He also illustrated numerous covers for Time magazine.

Whether Zagórski took delivery of the car is unclear—Portman went under in 1992—though records show it was shipped to the U.S. in September of 1985. A year later it was sold to Whiteford Bean, of Norwood, Mass., who kept it until 2011.

Its next caretaker was prominent Lamborghini collector Richard Molke of New Jersey, who immediately commissioned a full engine rebuild. Seven years later, his check book opened again when he called on Dugan Enterprises, a Southern California–based Lamborghini specialist, to carry out a full chassis rebuild and repaint. That bill alone came to $601,783.

Molke celebrated all the good work by showing the car at the 2021 edition of the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering—during Northern California’s renowned Monterey Car Week—where it was part of the display for Lamborghini’s reveal of its 803 hp Countach LPI 800-4 hybrid.

In October of 2021, Molke passed the car on to its current owner, a well-known Northern California–based collector, who continued with the restoration work through Dugan and other marque specialists. His bills so far total just over $140,000.

Part of that investment included acquiring extras, such as a second set of OZ wheels—this time in gold to complement the original silver ones—and a second engine cover, one without the trademark rear wing. According to Stanley of RM Sotheby’s, this will allow the next owner to show the car in various body combinations depending on their personal taste.

Today, the car shows 33,010 kilometers (approximately 20,511 miles) on the odometer, and is being offered with a copy of the handwritten build ledger, the original owner’s manual, the tool kit, and a file of restoration invoices and photos.

“Such a finely restored example of Lamborghini’s most powerful Countach would certainly make a striking addition to any supercar aficionado or Sant’Agata enthusiast’s collection,” says Stanley.

The car is part of the RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auction, which will take place at the Monterey Conference Center between August 13 and 15. There, this classic Countach is estimated to fetch between $900,000 and $1.1 million.

Click here for more photos of this 1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV “Downdraft” supercar.