This article is part of Style’s Luxury Column
Lamborghini has always been a brand all about the extreme. And that makes it one of the most luxurious brands in the world. One of the most iconic cars of all time was the Lamborghini Miura, launched in 1966. For many, it is still one of the most spectacular sports cars ever made.
The 1968 Lamborghini Miura. Photo: Handout
When the time came to develop a successor, Ferruccio Lamborghini’s brief was to develop a car that could boast the best possible performance. And not with just any form: it should be bold, uncompromising, an aesthetic and visual statement with advanced aerodynamics. The result was a head turner: the Countach, which made its public debut fifty years ago in 1971 at the Geneva International Motor Show and launched in 1974.
Design sketches for the new Countach. Photo: Lamborghini Hong Kong
The design was so radical that I remember standing in front of the car as a child and wondering how anyone could even fit into one. The car was unlike anything ever produced: futuristic, wild, sexy and testosterone-fuelled.
It was the second masterpiece of Marcello Gandini of Bertone, who had also been responsible for the design of the Miura. He had toyed with the wedge-shaped design in a couple of prototypes and show cars, but the Countach was the first to introduce the boundary-breaking design to the automotive world.
Even the name bucked the usual trend. Symbolising astonishment in the local Piedmontese dialect, it was the only Lamborghini not named after an aspect of the world of bullfighting.
The Lamborghini Aventador at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2018. Photo: Reuters
In my view, never before was a car so radical, and never after. Even its successor, the Diablo, and modern-day Lamborghinis like the Aventador, although impressive in their own way, seem less radical. Such was the impact of the category-breaking Countach design.
Attendees view a Lamborghini Countach during The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in Carmel, California, US, on August 13. Photo: Bloomberg
For the fiftieth anniversary, Lamborghini has now unveiled the new Countach, a limited edition of 112 units and a homage to the original project number LP112. And like its predecessor, it grabbed the attention of practically all the world’s media. Again, the car world is in awe.
The rear of the 2021 fiftieth anniversary Countach. Photo: Lamborghini Hong Kong
Often, sequels are less enticing than the original, but Lamborghini manages to break the pattern. The design is unequivocally inspired by the original 1970s car, but it still fits the 2020s – not an easy task to achieve. The engine, a 12-cylinder hybrid with a staggering 769bhp, growls in a way only a 12 cylinder can do, while an electric motor adds another 34bhp to the output: a glimpse into the future of hybrid and fully electric Lamborghinis.
The 2.8 second time to 100km/h may sound relatively sedate compared to Tesla’s Model S Plaid or Rimac’s claimed 1.85 seconds, yet acceleration is not everything. The total package will guarantee that the US$3 million supercar will make a mark in automotive history.
Lamborghini’s new look for the Countach is futuristic while also paying homage to the 1971 design. Photo: Lamborghini Hong Kong
Reviving the Countach was a clever move by Lamborghini, a move that could have gone wrong if the company had made compromises as so many other brands have done in reviving past icons. Instead, Lamborghini went all in and created a futuristic car once again. Consequently, CEO Stephan Winkelmann (also Bugatti’s CEO) was able to state that the new Countach is “not retrospective”. Rather, it’s a forward-looking, expressive celebration of the brand’s DNA.
The 2021 Countach. Photo: Lamborghini Hong Kong
This is where other brands can and should learn. For a brand all about the extreme, and a project based on the “most extreme”, then anything other than an extreme statement would be ruining the brand story. Bravo Lamborghini! Extreme value creation at its best.
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Keyword: The Lamborghini Countach 2021: the supercar is reborn 50 years after the 1970s original, delivering ‘extreme’ at its best