The Lamborghini Countach and the origin of its name, which has little or nothing to do with bullfighting bulls

Supercars, those vehicles that generate such expectation and excitement among motoring enthusiasts and which are capable of delivering performance worth admiring. However, to reach the mechanical level they enjoy today, this type of vehicle has had to start from stable and rigid foundations. Models such as the iconic Lamborghini Countach demonstrate this: it was the precursor of the famous scissor doors that have become the signature of the Italian firm’s V12 models, along with names that are taken from fighting bulls.

Since time immemorial, the emblem of Lamborghini has been a bull, more than enough reason for the names of its offspring to be directly linked to this powerful animal. However, the Countach was an exception and, although it is not the only model from the marque whose name has no connection to the world of bullfighting, it has a special origin worth appreciating.

Lamborghini has not only sought to apply pure and awe-inspiring mechanics to its models throughout its history, but also a groundbreaking design, conceived so that anyone who witnessed it would be left astonished. This was the reaction that the Lamborghini Countach provoked in Nuccio Bertone, designer and director of Bertone, who was left astonished by the curves and sharp angles of the Italian supercar.

It was in 1971 that the LP500 was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, a prototype that previewed the features of the next beast from Lamborghini. Finally, three years later the Countach made its appearance as a production vehicle, offering a naturally aspirated 4-litre V12 engine producing 375 CV.

However, it was neither the power output nor the performance that led to this supercar being christened Countach, but its design. Marcello Gandini was in charge of sculpting every single detail of this spectacular model with care and attention, but it was not until Nuccio Bertone saw it for the first time that they settled on that name for this revolutionary supercar.

Bertone, who also spoke Piedmontese -a dialect of Italian spoken in the Piedmont region-, was only able to utter the word “countach” when he witnessed the immediate future of Lamborghini. This term is an expression of astonishment that is usually used to admire a woman’s beauty. In this way, Nuccio, stunned by the elegance and aggressiveness of the supercar from Sant’Agata, named it Countach, bearing testament to the unconditional beauty of this very special model.