Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4: what I like most… and what I like least about the new Italian supercar

Lamborghini has also chosen the Monterrey Car Week to present the new Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4. Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated supercars, which aims to pay tribute to an irreplaceable car: the iconic original Countach of the 1970s and 1980s.

And it’s not necessary to have gray hair to be among the admirers of the legendary model designed by Marcello Gandini, which showed off its muscle on the posters that the most “obsessed” of us hung on our bedroom walls, and on the magazine cutouts we used to cover our school folders.

The design of the new Lamborghini Countach

As it could not be otherwise, the lines of the new Countach try to live up to its name… and to a large extent they succeed. But I must also say that if they had given it a different name instead of Countach, probably only the fans of the “Lambo” par excellence would have spotted the direct kinship.

Features such as the headlights, the shape of the wheel arches, the vents, the side air intakes, the inverted wedge shape at the rear, the wheels (20 inches at the front and 21 inches on the rear axle) and, of course, the famous scissor doors are clear inheritances from some of the different editions of the original model. But the new Countach has a very hard time standing out and setting trends today, given the huge number of supercars that have arrived on the market.

Without a doubt, much of its appeal over its rivals lies in being able to boast a legendary name. And it will surely not disappoint the fortunate ones who manage to acquire one of the 112 units to be built, which will be delivered starting in the first quarter of 2022. Here you can read more about the Lamborghini Countach and the origin of its name.

Where there was no room for objection is in the interior, since the new Countach cannot leave digitalization aside. The central 8.4-inch touchscreen acts as the control center, alongside an imposing, also digital instrument cluster. But fortunately, not everything has been left to touch controls, and there are buttons for many of the functions.

The inspiration from the original model comes through here in the red and black leather upholstery and in some square-shaped design details that replicate those of the original model. As a cutting-edge technology detail, the thin photochromic roof stands out, which goes from transparent to opaque at the push of a button on the console.

V12 engine with 780 CV and supercapacitor technology

Another feature that could not be missing from a reinterpretation of the Countach is a V12 engine, although in this day and age nobody would have been surprised if Lamborghini had opted for a more “sophisticated” solution. Because the supercapacitor technology sounds very good, but the Countach’s engine is not even a “plug-in hybrid,” as in the Ferrari 296 GTB, for example. It is the same 48-volt technology we have already seen in the Lamborghini Sian, which allows for an additional 34 CV on demand thanks to a small electric motor, benefiting from the greater power that supercapacitors can deliver instead of a battery.

Perhaps in this area is where we expected something more, given that the 780 CV and 720 Nm of torque announced by the 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 may seem modest. Especially when electrification allows cars like the Pininfarina Battista to boast 1,900 CV and more than 2,000 Nm of torque.

But thanks to the monocoque chassis and the carbon fiber body panels, by “getting rid” of heavy batteries, the curb weight of the new Countach stays at 1,595 kg, which gives a power-to-weight ratio of 1.95 kg/CV. The result is performance that does not disappoint: 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in 2.8 seconds, and just 8.6 seconds to reach 200 km/h from a standstill, with a top speed of 355 km/h.

Power is delivered to the wheels through a “classic” all-wheel-drive system with a Haldex clutch, while the gearbox is a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The suspension features magnetorheological dampers and horizontally mounted springs, and for the brakes it relies on carbon-ceramic discs measuring 400 mm at the front with six-piston monobloc aluminum calipers, and 380 mm in diameter on the rear axle with 4-piston calipers.

Image gallery Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4