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HIGHEST REPORTED SALE

 $1,655,000

Past / Present

1989 Lamborghini Countach – 25th Anniversary Edition

The 1989 Lamborghini Countach

25th Anniversary Edition

There is not a soul on earth that will disagree with the statement; the Lamborghini Countach is one of the most iconic and influential sports cars in automotive history. It has appeared in movies, media, posters, music and artwork all over the world as the quintessential 1980’s sports car icon. Most recently, it was thrust back into cultural relevance after being featured prominently in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street.
The development for the Countach began around 1970 in response to bigger and better cars from competing brands such as Ferrari, outperforming their former flagship, the Miura. With the Miura beginning to show its age, Lamborghini needed a radically different car in not just the performance aspect, but design as well. Ferruccio Lamborghini tasked Paolo Stanzani, his Chief Engineer, and Marcello Gandini of Bertone Design Studio, to craft a car that wouldn’t just shatter records in performance and handling, but completely shift the cultural conception and design philosophy of what a sports car was.
When the first prototype, the LP500, was unveiled at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, it absolutely floored spectators with its harsh angles, hard lines and extremely aggressive design language. In that single moment, the Lamborghini Countach began its ascent to the halls of legend and what is arguably the most 80s super car to ever exist. Throughout those many years of production, several iterative models were introduced. From the first LP 400, to the late model 5000 QV, each model improved upon the last in significant ways. The one that stands apart as the ultimate combination of luxury and performance is the final iteration of the Lamborghini Countach, the 25th Anniversario.
From the beginning, the Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary edition was meant to be the final and best iteration of the car. Taking all the best design and performance changes from the previous generations, along with several new improvements, and putting them into one final perfect Countach.
While the 25th featured the same 455hp 5.2L V12 that the 5000 QV was equipped with, the car sported a very large number of changes that added up quickly. The primary focus of the 25th was to preserve the incredible performance and raw power of the 5000 QV, but upgrade a large number of the quality of life features that pushed it into the realm of not just a performance car, but a true luxury supercar.
It started with the installation of much more comfortable seats, as that was one of the ever-present complaints with the Countach throughout its production run. Lamborghini also included power headrests, power windows, and a greatly improved air conditioning system as well as much improved sound insulation to keep the driver isolated from most of the engine and road noise. However, the improvements were not all just creature comforts; the engineers also significantly altered the car from the outside.
The chassis was updated for better performance with the help of world rally champion and legend of Team Lancia, Sandro Munari. Nevertheless, that was not the only famous name attached to this redesign. Horacio Pagani was responsible for the body of the 25th Anniversary featuring the most radical design changes of any version. His redesign featured much more liberal use of carbon fiber, improved the air intakes, as well as small changes to the front bumper and splitter. Many of his more subtle changes were not just visual, they also significantly improved the overall aerodynamics of the entire car. It is all of these improvements and upgrades, along with only 657 being produced, that makes the Countach 25th Anniversary Edition extremely rare as well as being the ultimate culmination of both luxury and performance out of the entire production run.
To our knowledge, this is one of the lowest mileage 25th Anniversary Lamborghini Countachs in existence with just over 400 original miles. A unique feature on this edition is the front bumper. Due to U.S. bumper regulations in the 1980s, certain Countachs that were destined to be sold in the United States included this particular, often criticized, bumper. This car was purchased by Dick Marconi in the 1990s for $350,000 and at the time, went down in history as one of the most expensive ever sold at auction..