On its first appearance in 1971, many saw it as something from another planet. The prototype Lamborghini Countach, the LP 500, designed by Carrozzeria Bertone, was in effect a highly evocative object of remarkable appeal, both in terms of both its futuristic styling and its mechanical configuration with its powerful five-litre, twelve-cylinder engine mounted longitudinally behind the driver and in-unit with the transmission. After a three-year period of gestation, the Countach presented at the 1974 Geneva Motor Show – now designated as the LP 400 – was ready to go into production and become, over the years, one of the most charismatic and enduring supercars in automotive history.
After two introductory chapters devoted to the origins of Lamborghini and its remarkable founder, Ferruccio, this book, by Francesco Patti, traces the entire stylistic and technical genesis of the immortal Countach: LP 500, LP 400, Countach S, 48 Valve, Evoluzione prototype and the 25th Anniversary are the evolutionary stages of this extraordinary supercar that has earned a permanent place in the collective imagination.