Lamborghini's retro-inspired Countach hybrid has already sold out

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: Lamborghini last week took the wraps off its retro-inspired limited edition hybrid supercar, the Countach. The Italian automaker said it would only be making 112 examples, and already, all of them have been spoken for. The price? Reportedly well north of $2 million each.

Lamborghini confirmed to Top Gear that all 112 Countach production models have already been sold. The company apparently reached out to its most loyal customers and collectors before the unveiling to secure their orders. Lamborghini skipped over pricing details in its press release, but according to Top Gear, each car commanded around $2.34 million plus tax.

The new Countach LPI 800-4 recently made an appearance at Monterey Car Week, but it didn’t come away unscathed. Someone managed to curb one of the car’s wheels, no doubt a costly error. The curb rash wasn't present on day one of the event, meaning someone must have done it after it was unveiled.

When it was first announced, I wondered aloud what the car would have looked like with a giant rear wing like some of the original models optioned. Thanks to one Instagram user, we now have an answer.

Concept car designer Siim Parn recently reworked the new Countach to make it look a bit more like the original, complete with period-appropriate wheels and rear wing. As you can see, it doesn’t take much to make the Countach look a lot less like the Aventador.

Lamborghini will deliver the first cars to their owners starting in Q1 2022.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90845-lamborghini-retro-inspired-countach-hybrid-has-already-sold.html

 

[scavengerspc]

Bound to happen because it is brand new and there are only 112 of them.
I am looking forward to some driving impressions.

 

[TheBigT42]

I bet Jay Leno got one

 

[Shadowboxer]

It’s beautiful! I wish I could blow $2.3 million on a Sunday afternoon hobby.

 

[VariableSpike]

Bound to happen because it is brand new and there are only 112 of them.
I am looking forward to some driving impressions.

This is if anyone bothers to drive it, and doesn't do the usual thing that happens with these limited run cars, which is leave it in a a garage to collect dust for several years as an "investment"

 

[NeoMorpheus]

Damn, my check didnt clear on time.

 

[scavengerspc]

This is if anyone bothers to drive it, and doesn't do the usual thing that happens with these limited run cars, which is leave it in a a garage to collect dust for several years as an "investment"

Can't really blame them, but some try.
Anything beyond 5 miles in an old Countach and you risked walking home.

 

[stewi0001]

How many do you think were purchased with money gained from randsomware?

 

[wiyosaya]

Sorry to those who "admire the engineering," but I still don't get the Hybrid aspect. It is still gonna guzzle the gas - even with the electric motor's assist on torque.

 

[wiyosaya]

It’s beautiful! I wish I could blow $2.3 million on a Sunday afternoon hobby.

Personally, I'll wait until the EV version comes along.

 

[Shadowboxer]

Personally, I'll wait until the EV version comes along.

Nah I’d want the petrol one. It might be slower but it will sound way better and piss off hippy types. And besides I drove a petrol McLaren sports care once and my foot did not full throttle once!

 

[Avro Arrow]

ONLY $2,000,000? Let me look between my sofa's cushions.

I've never really seen the point of buying a car like that. The most expensive car that I could ever imagine buying would be a Nissan GT-R Nismo Edition or a Mark IV Supra. A lot of these new "sports cars" today are missing that all-important "one thing" that no sports car should be without:

Let's be honest here, is there anything sadder than a supercar without a clutch pedal? If I owned one of these, my eyes would well up with tears every time I had to move the gear selector to "D" instead of "1".

I remember that the original Countach (and the Diablo for that matter) got the absolute worst mileage that I'd ever seen with an absurd 8mpg (and that was when it was new). Those 5.7L Lamborghini V-12's sure weren't anything that I'd call "eco-friendly" but at least they were "somewhat affordable" at "only" $400,000CAD.

 

[ckm88]

It’s beautiful! I wish I could blow $2.3 million on a Sunday afternoon hobby.

You can. Buy and hold AMC.

 

[Adi6293]

ONLY $2,000,000? Let me look between my sofa's cushions.

I've never really seen the point of buying a car like that. The most expensive car that I could ever imagine buying would be a Nissan GT-R Nismo Edition or a Mark IV Supra. A lot of these new "sports cars" today are missing that all-important "one thing" that no sports car should be without:

Let's be honest here, is there anything sadder than a supercar without a clutch pedal? If I owned one of these, my eyes would well up with tears every time I had to move the gear selector to "D" instead of "1".

I remember that the original Countach (and the Diablo for that matter) got the absolute worst mileage that I'd ever seen with an absurd 8mpg (and that was when it was new). Those 5.7L Lamborghini V-12's sure weren't anything that I'd call "eco-friendly" but at least they were "somewhat affordable" at "only" $400,000CAD.

8 MILES PER GALON?!!.... What was the range on that car? local shop and back? : P : P

 

[Avro Arrow]

8 MILES PER GALON?!!.... What was the range on that car? local shop and back? : P : P

Yeah, something like that (I actually checked and it was 7, not 8). Oh, and of course, it required uber-premium fuel just to make things even worse.

The Diablo actually had 10mpg in combined driving but it was 8mpg in the city and 13mpg on the highway.

Yeah, it makes you wonder what the one-tank range was of these things.
Yeah, something like that (I actually checked and it was 7, not 8). Oh, and of course, it required uber-premium fuel just to make things even worse. The Diablo actually had 10mpg in combined driving but it was 8mpg in the city and 13mpg on the highway.

Remember that these are the inflated EPA numbers, not real-world numbers (which are always worse) and since the Diablo had a huge 100L tank, we're looking at a range of about 422km on a single tank using that "best-case, non-real world" scenario. In reality, I'd expect no more than 350km range on a full tank.

To put that into perspective, my Veloster has a tank literally half that size (50L) and can do about 500 highway kilometres on ¾ of a tank if I'm following some fool in a BMW doing some insane speed like 140-160km/h. If I'm doing the speed limit of 100km/h, I can do the same trip on just over a quarter tank. If I drive at the same speed as most people (120km/h) I'd use just under half a tank.

I'm not trying to compare them because it's apples to oranges, I'm just trying to illustrate how bad the Diablo's mileage was.

 

[scavengerspc]

Yeah, something like that (I actually checked and it was 7, not 8). Oh, and of course, it required uber-premium fuel just to make things even worse.

The Diablo actually had 10mpg in combined driving but it was 8mpg in the city and 13mpg on the highway.

Yeah, it makes you wonder what the one-tank range was of these things.

I know an 85 had something like a 34 gallon tank, so the range wasn't horrible. Also, it needed minimum 101 octane.

 

[captaincranky]

I know an 85 had something like a 34 gallon tank, so the range wasn't horrible. Also, it needed minimum 101 octane

Where would you even buy that, with possibly the exception of a large airport?
At least here in my neck of the woods, gasoline with those octanes went out with tetraethyl lead

 

[Avro Arrow]

You can. Buy and hold AMC.

Or invest in GameStop.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Where would you even buy that, with possibly the exception of a large airport?

It didn't actually require that. You could use 91-octane gas because it of course did have a knock sensor, but you'd burn it faster and have less power because the engine wouldn't be operating optimally. Or you could buy octane booster with every fill-up.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I know an 85 had something like a 34 gallon tank, so the range wasn't horrible. Also, it needed minimum 101 octane.

That tank's a lot bigger than the Diablo's. The Diablo had a 100L tank (26.4 gallons) but had about 50% better mileage (yeah, going from 7mpg to 10mpg is a huge increase, percentage-wise) so it was better than the 1968 Charger with a 426 Hemi. Mind you, Chrysler gave the Charger a small tank on purpose so that you'd have to go to the gas station a lot and people would see your car. It was the ultimate in free advertising!

Where would you even buy that, with possibly the exception of a large airport?

It didn't actually require that. You could use 91-octane gas because it of course did have a knock sensor, but you'd burn it faster and have less power because the engine wouldn't be operating optimally. Or you could buy octane booster with every fill-up.

 

[scavengerspc]

Where would you even buy that, with possibly the exception of a large airport?
At least here in my neck of the woods, gasoline with those octanes went out with tetraethyl lead

Back then, you could buy Sunoco racing fuel right from the pump. I think its octane was 104. If not an option, then buying the highest octane available and as Avro said use octane booster with it.

 

[scavengerspc]

It didn't actually require that. You could use 91-octane gas because it of course did have a knock sensor, but you'd burn it faster and have less power because the engine wouldn't be operating optimally.

That's a good point. With 91-93 octane, the timing would automatically be extremely dialed back.

 

[captaincranky]

Back then,

FWIW, I'm from, "back then". And now, "Tales from the Crypt".
Catalytic converters, (and emissions testing), became mandatory nationwide in 1975. However, those lucky few with 1974 vehicles, (and prior years), were spared the ignominy, of having an emissions sensor probe stuck up their tailpipe

And speaking of being "probed", in 1974, a Pontiac 350 2 bbl was rated @270 bhp. That very same block in 1975, managed to eek out 155 bhp! Lucky me, I got the '75, and it was a f**king slug. When you combine 155 hp with a 3.08 rear ratio in a 2 ton automobile, (which was supposed to increase fuel economy), You came up with something that wouldn't leave a red light, without a push from the car behind.

So then, I got a job as a rural carrier for the USPS. 300 or so stops at mailboxes a day, and a 3.08 rear, amounted to changing a 350 Turbo Hydramatic every few months.

The damned thing would never pass emissions testing. One night, I cooked it completely dry between exits on US 295, (try that with a Vega sucka). A few weeks later it blew the right head gasket. When I pulled the intake manifold, I found the EGR ports were blocked solid. (A pox on the a**hole and his family who came up with that system).

I could go on, mercifully, I won't.

EDIT. Sunoco's current highest octane pump gas, comes in at 94 octane.

And like I said, "to the airport, ho...".

They Have Different Octane Ratings
The most common avgas is 100 octane, which is a measure of the fuel's ability to resist premature detonation or "knock." Avgas is also available at other octanes such as 87 and 130, but they are rare today. At the pump, you'll find gas ranging from 87 to 93 octane for automotive use.Apr 27, 2020

 

[scavengerspc]

FWIW, I'm from, "back then". And now, "Tales from the Crypt".
Catalytic converters, (and emissions testing), became mandatory nationwide in 1975. However, those lucky few with 1974 vehicles, (and prior years), were spared the ignominy, of having an emissions sensor probe stuck up their tailpipe

And speaking of being "probed", in 1974, a Pontiac 350 2 bbl was rated @270 bhp. That very same block in 1975, managed to eek out 155 bhp! Lucky me, I got the '75, and it was a f**king slug. When you combine 155 hp with a 3.08 rear ratio in a 2 ton automobile, (which was supposed to increase fuel economy), You came up with something that wouldn't leave a red light, without a push from the car behind.

So then, I got a job as a rural carrier for the USPS. 300 or so stops at mailboxes a day, and a 3.08 rear, amounted to changing a 350 Turbo Hydramatic every few months.

The damned thing would never pass emissions testing. One night, I cooked it completely dry between exits on US 295, (try that with a Vega sucka). A few weeks later it blew the right head gasket. When I pulled the intake manifold, I found the EGR ports were blocked solid. (A pox on the a**hole and his family who came up with that system).

I could go on, mercifully, I won't.

EDIT. Sunoco's current highest octane pump gas, comes in at 94 octane.

And like I said, "to the airport, ho...".

They Have Different Octane Ratings
The most common avgas is 100 octane, which is a measure of the fuel's ability to resist premature detonation or "knock." Avgas is also available at other octanes such as 87 and 130, but they are rare today. At the pump, you'll find gas ranging from 87 to 93 octane for automotive use.Apr 27, 2020

NEA Super gas here in Arkansas sells Sunoco 260 GT+ which is around 104 octane. And $9.40 a gallon.

But yeah, I remember the cars from the 70s. Not new, but I had a few used.
Remember the 75 Corvette? 160 horsepower! My first new car was an 88 Corvette 13 years after that one and its horsepower was only 240.

 

[captaincranky]

These Vettes were 375 hp, and apparently worth singing about:

I've been trying to cut down on my "political trolling" here.
In keeping with that, I'll just say here are the only two worthwhile things to ever come out of a certain abominable sh!thole of a country, which shall remain nameless.

..

Meet the "hippie greyhound"....