Lamborghini
Countach LPI 800-4
- A
celebration of the Countach’s 50th anniversary, the Countach LPI
800-4 is unveiled at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, USA
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A visionary, futuristic ‘few off’ produced in 112 units
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Exemplifying the Countach’s legendary design and engineering preeminence
in a pure and novel interpretation
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Visionary design meets future technology: V12 hybrid engine with 48
v e-motor and supercapacitor technology delivering 780 cv from thermal
unit and 34 cv from electric one
Sant’Agata
Bolognese/Pebble Beach USA, 13 August 2021 – Automobili Lamborghini
unveils the Countach LPI 800-4: a futuristic limited edition paying homage
to the Countach’s iconic status as a revolutionary design and technology
rule-breaker and recreated for the 21st century.
Its
puristic lines are immediately recognizable from the Countach legacy:
the patriarch of modern super sports cars and Lamborghini design. With
its aspirated V12 engine combined with Lamborghini’s hybrid supercapacitor
technology, the Countach LPI 800-4 retains the inimitable V12 experience
and sound from its Longitudinale Posteriore (LP) mounted powerplant combined
with the hybrid (I) technology developed for the Sián. Delivering
814 cv as maximum combined power (rounded at 800 in the name) from its
aspirated powerplant (780 cv) and electric motor (34 cv) to its permanent
four-wheel drive transmission, the LPI 800-4 produces peak Lamborghini
performance of 0-100 km/h acceleration in just 2.8 seconds, a 0-200 km/h
in 8.6 seconds and a top speed of 355 km/h.
“The
Countach LPI 800-4 is a visionary car of the moment, just as its forerunner
was,” says Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.
“One of the most important automotive icons, the Countach not only
embodies the design and engineering tenet of Lamborghini but represents
our philosophy of reinventing boundaries, achieving the unexpected and
extraordinary and, most importantly, being the ‘stuff of dreams’.
The Countach LPI 800-4 pays homage to this Lamborghini legacy but it is
not retrospective: it imagines how the iconic Countach of the 70s and
80s might have evolved into an elite super sports model of this decade.
It upholds the Lamborghini tradition of looking forward, of exploring
new design and technology avenues while celebrating the DNA of our brand.
It is a Lamborghini that innately expresses the marque’s enduring
and emotive power: always inspirational and thrilling to see, hear and
most of all drive.”
Countach
– the patriarch of modern super sports car design
The
Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 is instantly recognizable as the elevated
descendant of Countach generations: testament to the lasting impact of
the original Countach design that became the poster car of the 1980s and
a symbol of automotive and lifestyle ultra-cool. The Countach moniker
– a fitting expression of surprise and wonder in Piedmontese dialect
and pronounced ‘Coon-tach’ – is one of very few Lamborghini
model names not connected to bulls.
“The
first Countach has been present in our Centro Stile as a model for some
years now”, explains Mitja Borkert, Head of Centro Stile. „Whenever
I look at it, it gives me goose bumps and it serves as the perfect reminder
for me and the entire design team to design every future Lamborghini in
a visionary and futuristic way. This is an unnegotiable part of our DNA,
the essence if you so will. The first Countach shaped the Lamborghini
design DNA like no other car; the new Countach translates that unconventional
and edgy character into the future.”
The
Countach’s distinctive silhouette with the essential line running
from front to rear, sharp angles and lines and idiosyncratic wedge shape,
innovated modern super sports design as well as future Lamborghini models.
The Countach LPI 800-4 develops the characteristic lines of the Countach’s
five models over nearly 20 years, concentrated into the purest realization
of iconic automotive design.
The
final outline is pure and uncluttered, with references to the first LP
500 and LP 400 production version. Giving the LPI 800-4 a distinctive
Countach face, inspiration was taken from the Quattrovalvole edition in
the assertive lines of the front bonnet with long, low rectangular grille
and headlights, as well as in the wheel arches with their hexagonal theme.
The sharp inclination of the greenhouse adopts the straight lines redolent
of the original Countach, adjoining the powerful, clean front-to-rear
line. There is no fixed rear wing outside the pure lines, and the airscoops
are integrated fluidly in the strong shoulders of the car, embellished
with the distinctive Countach slatted ‘gills’. The iconic
and aerodynamically powerful NACA air intakes cut into the side and doors
of the Countach LPI 800-4 while the distinctive Periscopio lines running
through the roof to the rear of the car, particularly distinctive if viewed
from above, appear to float towards the rear of the car.
The
rear of the Countach LPI 800-4 is immediately recognizable from its distinctive
inverted wedge shape, with the rear bumper featuring a lower, sleeker
line, and the ‘hexagonita’ design shaping the three-unit rear
light clusters. The LPI 800-4 sports the four-strong exhaust tail pipes
of the Countach family, connected within the carbon fiber rear diffuser.
Access for driver and passenger is of course via the infamous scissor
doors, first introduced on the Countach and that have become a Lamborghini
V12 signature.
Performance
engineering for a new era
The
V12 engine of the Countach is as legendary as the design. Mounted longways
at the rear together with its forward-cabin layout, the original Countach
featured side-mounted radiators from Formula One; forward-facing gearbox
and tubular spaceframe technology. It was as revolutionary in its approach
to sports car engineering as in its astonishing looks, with its engine
position chosen for weight distribution and balance and of course, the
aspirated twelve cylinders delivering the most emotive top performance.
The Countach developed the best available technologies to produce an extraordinary
car: this visionary philosophy is reflected in the Countach LPI 800-4,
taking the pinnacle of current Lamborghini technologies and engineering
to produce the performance expected from a Countach in 2021.
“The
engineering team that developed the original Countach advanced Lamborghini’s
pioneering technical approach, delivering unexpected innovations and the
best performance available in a production car,” says Lamborghini
Chief Technology Officer Maurizio Reggiani. “That spirit inherently
drives Lamborghini R&D, resulting in the pioneering hybrid technology
in the LPI 800-4, and the emotive driving experience and top-line performance
expected from a flagship V12 Lamborghini.”
The
Lamborghini V12 6.5 liter engine, outputting 780 cv, is combined with
a 48 volt e-motor mounted directly on the gearbox providing a further
34 cv for immediate response and increased performance: it is the innovative
and unique architecture Lamborghini developed for Sián, that is
the only mild-hybrid technology to create a direct connection between
electric motor and wheels, preserving the pure V12 behavior. The e-motor
is powered by a supercapacitor providing three times more power compared
to a lithium-ion battery of the same weight.
The
monocoque chassis and all the body panels are in carbon fiber, provide
the optimum lightweight solution as well as exceptional torsional stiffness:
the Countach LPI 800-4 has a dry weight of 1595 kg for a dry weight to
power ratio of 1,95 kg/cv. Visible exterior carbon fiber features are
available in the front splitter, around the front window and wing mirrors,
engine bonnet cover air intakes and rocker panel and it is always present
in specific interior details. Moveable air vents produced by the state-of-the-art
3D printing technology, and a photocromatic roof - changing from solid
to transparent at the push of a button – act as a reminder that
this car, despite its historic inspiration, is a future automotive screensaver
for the 21st century.
World
debut at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, USA
The
Countach LPI 800-4 is unveiled today at The Quail, USA in a dedicated
color Bianco Siderale, containing a hint of pearlescent blue and reminiscent
of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s own Countach LP 400 S, complete with
red and black leather heritage interior. The interior also takes design
cues from the original Countach within the context of a modern car. The
classic and luxurious leather features geometric stitching on the specially
designed comfort seats and dashboard, sporting a square motif referencing
the bold style and optimism of 1970s design and technology.
The
Countach LPI 800-4 20” (front) and 21” (rear) wheels are created
in the ‘telephone’ style of the 1980s, fitted with carbon
ceramic brake discs, and Pirelli P Zero tyres.
Owners
of the exclusive limited edition Countach LPI 800-4 can choose from a
range of heritage exterior paint options, mostly in solid colours, such
as the iconic Impact White, Giallo Countach and Verde Medio. Otherwise,
the contemporary palette offers modern paintings, mostly metallic colors,
such as Viola Pasifae or Blu Uranus.
An
8,4” HDMI center touchscreen unique to the LPI 800-4 manages car
controls including Connectivity and Apple CarPlay. It also includes a
unique button entitled ‘Stile’ (Design): pressed, it explains
the Countach design philosophy to its privileged audience.
Produced
in a run of 112 units, the number denotes the ‘LP 112’ internal
project name used during the original Lamborghini Countach’s development.
The Countach LPI 800-4 will be delivered from first quarter 2022 to owners
worldwide, privileged to drive a piece of automotive history reimagined
for the future.
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