Every Single Lamborghini Countach Version, Ranked

The newest Countach, the LPI 800-4, is also the most decisive—and it’s not even close. Introduced during Monterey Car Week in 2021, the modern-day supercar is outrageously powerful thanks to a hybrid-assisted 6.5-liter V-12 that makes over 800 hp. It’s not the electrified powertrain that caused so much controversy, though.  Instead, it was the fact that the vehicle was a limited-edition Aventador that cost $2.8 million, something that led some to label it a “cynical cash grab.” Five years later, the car has so far failed to be the type of investment many assumed it would be.

It only took four years for Lamborghini to decide the Countach was in need of a makeover. The biggest difference between the LP 400 S, which debuted in 1978, and its predecessor was its reworked exterior, which featured more prominent wheel arches, wider tires, and an optional rear wing. Those changes may have passed without notice by themselves, but together they combined to give the car a more muscular appearance (and earn it an appearance in The Cannonball Run). Despite this, the sophomore Countach is the least powerful of those that made it to production, with its downgraded V-12 making just 345 hp.

The Countach Evoluzione was that rare car that was built with the specific intent of replacing itself. The one-off prototype was used as a testbed to develop the Countach’s successor, the Diablo, which made its debut in 1990. The two-tone speed machine utilized a lot of pre-existing hardware but did feature an all-new chassis and composite bodywork, made from a mixture of carbon fiber and Kevlar. There were rumors in the late ‘80s that the car may go into production as a limited-run model, but no such car ever made it to market.

The world got its first look at the Countach on the morning of March 11, 1971, at the Geneva Motor Show. The first of the three prototypes built, LP 500, wore an ultra-sleek yellow body that closely mimicked the look of Marcello Gandani’s earliest design sketches and features featured a larger V-12 than the eventual production version (a 5.0-liter displacement compared to 4.0 liters). The car was destroyed during a test crash in 1974, but in 2017, the marque’s factory restoration team, Lamborghini Polo Storioco, decided to rebuild it. Four years and 25,000 hours of work later, that car was displayed to the public at the 2021 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

The Countach LP 500 S may have arrived on the scene in 1982 looking almost identical to its direct predecessor, the LP 400 S, but it packed a stronger punch. The big difference between the third and second Countach was a bigger 4.8-liter V-12. That extra displacement meant the supercar was capable of production up to 370 hp, which was the same output as the original LP 400.

Lamborghini never officially built a Countach race car, but the most famous Raging Bull of them all spent plenty of time at the track at the beginning of the 1980s. From 1980 to 1983, a modified LP 400 S served as the safety car during the Monaco Grand Prix. This Countach wasn’t anywhere near as well-equipped as today’s F1 safety cars, but with its rooftop sirens and red-and-white livery, it is one of the coolest vehicles to circle the most beloved track from motorsport’s top competition.

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The Countach may have debuted during the 1970s, but it’s one of the cars of the 1980s, and the LP 5000 Quattrovalvole (QV) is a big part of the reason why. The fourth iteration of the supercar debut in 1985 with a revised body that featured chunkier styling and Kevlar body panels. But what really set it apart from its predecessors was a 5.2-liter V-12 with four valves per cylinder (hence the name) and a Weber carburetor that made 449 hp.

The first Countach, the LP 400, is also the most stylistically pure version of the car. The supercar, which went on sale in 1974, features a sleek body with clean lines, with less unnecessary bulk (it has the lowest drag coefficient in nameplate history). It’s not without its design quirks, though, like a periscopic mirror and rooftop tunnel that were needed to overcome its appalling rear visibility. Rounding things out was a longitudinally mounted 4.0-liter V-12 that made 370 hp, enough to leave the Miura it replaced in the dust.

The fifth and final iteration of the original Countach, the 25^th Anniversary Edition, is the ultimate version of the wedge-shaped supercar. Lamborghini took everything that had made its predecessor, the LP 5000 QV, so special and added new bodywork designed by none other than Horacio Pagani. The chief modification was an even more exaggerated aero package, including enlarged air boxes and a giant rear wing. It was a fitting way for one of the most famous poster cars of the era to go out.