ICONIC LAMBORGHINI: This Countach LP 5000 QV is Ready for the Scottsdale Auction
January 2, 2024
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Written by independent automotive journalist David Neyens
LOT #1388 – 1988 LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH 5000 QV – NO RESERVE
Having already left an indelible mark on the motoring world with its Miura, the world’s first supercar, Automobili Lamborghini shocked the motoring world at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show with the first showing of its eventual successor, the stunning new Countach. Named after a loosely translated Piedmontese expression of shock and disbelief, the otherworldly Countach remains outrageous even by today’s jaded standards. The design was a masterwork by Bertone stylist Marcello Gandini, who drew inspiration from his Alfa Romeo Carabo show car of 1968 and wedge-shaped Bertone Zero concept of 1970. Angular, extremely low and decidedly futuristic with its scissor doors and menacing presence, the Countach continues to leave all who experience it virtually speechless today.
The Countach was extensively improved and updated throughout its long production run spanning 1974-90. The Geneva show car was extensively developed for production by Lamborghini engineer Paolo Stanzani into the LP500, short for “Longitudinale Posteriore 5 Litri” (longitudinal rear 5.0-liter) and powertrain packaging was an engineering tour de force, resulting in the new car’s being at once shorter in its wheelbase and overall length than the Miura. The production Countach, designated LP400 in recognition of its somewhat downsized yet potent 4.0-liter V12 powerplant, debuted at Geneva in 1973. While closely resembling the LP500 prototype, the LP400 was comprehensively updated under the watchful eye of Lamborghini development driver and engineer Bob Wallace following the 1972 sale of the company by Ferruccio Lamborghini, with the 1973 Geneva show car pressed into service as a test “mule.” Lamborghini’s backlogged order book was slowly filled as production commenced with customer deliveries beginning in 1974 – just in time for the OPEC oil embargo, painful economic recession and the departure of chief engineer Stanzani.
After 157 LP400 models were built, the comprehensively updated LP400S arrived at the 1978 Geneva Motor Show. Created at the insistence of increasingly prominent Formula 1 team owner and Lamborghini enthusiast Walter Wolf, the LP400S was Lamborghini’s reply to Ferrari’s 512 Berlinetta Boxer. Just 237 examples of the LP400S were built in three series through 1982. Despite its many improvements, the LP400S was massaged for even better performance by famed engineer Giulio Alfieri into the 4.8-liter LP500S, confusingly also badged as the LP5000S. Lamborghini’s famed V12 engine was upsized to 4.8 liters and still rated 375 brake horsepower, with a bore and stroke increase compensating for a slightly lowered compression ratio. As with all prior Countach iterations, the LP5000S debuted at Geneva; 321 were produced between 1982 and 1985.
When most observers had thought the time had already come and gone for the Countach and cars of its kind, the 1984 debut of Ferrari’s Testarossa ironically gave it and its maker new purpose. Building upon the already formidable Countach LP500S/LP5000S, Alfieri masterminded further upgrades to Lamborghini’s V12 engine, including a displacement bump to 5,167 cubic centimeters, revised induction and four-valve cylinder heads to unleash the Countach 5000 QV (with the “QV” short for those new “Quattrovalvole” four-valve cylinder heads).
While Ferrari’s Testarossa was indeed the most-powerful car available when new at 390 brake horsepower, the QV took supremacy in the rapidly escalating supercar arms race of the latter 1980s with 455 horsepower and 6 twin-choke downdraft-type Weber carburetors for European models (substituted in North America by Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection generating 420 horsepower). Performance for the new Countach 5000 QV included 0-to-60 acceleration under 5.0 seconds and a top end nearing 170 mph. A comparison test of the various Countach models in Classic & Sportscar magazine summed up the QV’s impact best: “At a stroke, the Countach was relevant again. The 5000 QV pummeled the redhead (Testarossa) and also intimidated the hell out of the Maranello concern’s 400bhp 288 GTO.”
Production was brief, running 1985-88 with 610 produced. It also propelled the Countach’s fortunes through another sale of the company, from Indonesian’s Mimran Group to Chrysler by 1987. Along with a much-needed cash infusion, Lamborghini added Horacio Pagani to the engineering team, while former Scuderia Ferrari chief Mauro Forghieri now headed Lamborghini’s new Formula 1 racing effort.
Offered with No Reserve at the 2024 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, this late-production 1988 Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV is an original U.S. model that was ordered new from Claudio’s Italia Sports Cars in Sherman Oaks, California, with delivery on January 13, 1988, to the original owner, who retained the iconic Lamborghini until May 2022. Finished in Rosso (red) over a deceptively luxurious black leather-clad interior, the Countach of course features a fuel-injected 5.2-liter quad-cam V12 mated to a 5-speed manual transaxle. Other competition-inspired equipment includes a limited-slip differential, servo-assisted and ventilated disc brakes all around, independent suspension with quad rear coilovers, staggered-width 15-inch OZ alloy wheels, a V-shaped rear wing, electronic climate control and an Alpine AM/FM cassette stereo. This supercar is offered with only an approximate 11,500 kilometers (7,150 miles) at the time of writing.
Experience this influential and exciting Countach 5000 QV in person when it crosses the stage at the upcoming Scottsdale Auction, January 20-28 at WestWorld, and prepare to bid to make it yours!
