Before I can tell you why that car in the cover photo is significant, we have to travel back to 1971! Picture this, you’re at the Geneva Motor Show and Lamborghini have just unveiled the Countach. Nothing else looks quite like it, well this is that exact car recreated. The Countach celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and the Italian manufacturer has really made an effort to make it a memorable one.
The very first Countach that Lamborghini built was their ‘crash test dummy’, literally and figuratively. Ever since its debut in 1971, this car spent the next few years on the road. A tangible example of Lamborghini’s brilliance that captivated car show audiences around the world. Come 1974, this Countach was being used for crash tests and was ultimately destroyed but things got even stranger when the car disappeared. It hasn’t been seen in over 40 years!
Lamborghini have had no luck finding it but because this car was so special to them, they decide to recreate it in the metal using the photos they had.
What started off as a special request by an important Lamborghini customer in 2017 has now been turned into reality thanks to Polo Storico. Specialists at the brand’s heritage arm spent the initial period curating photos and documents about the car. They wanted to make sure every detail was as accurate as possible, Pirelli too were roped in to help thanks to their long history with the brand. Following that, the craftspeople at Lamborghini set about building the car while paying respect to methods of that era.
Chassis 001 aka the oldest living Countach on record was an extensive help in making this dream a reality. Lamborghini scanned every inch of that car for things like paint thickness even, they really wanted to make this recreation perfect. Painted in ‘Giallo Fly Speciale’, this Countach is the result of 25,000 hours of work by Polo Storico!
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Words by Matthew D’Souza, pictures courtesy of Lamborghini Media Center.
