Lamborghini Countach reborn as 602kW hyper hybrid
The Lamborghini Countach lives again, albeit in limited numbers and with some modern tech to launch it into the 21st century.
One of the most famous names in supercars has been reborn as a hyper hybrid teaming V12 power with a supercapacitor and a far more modest electric motor.
The new Countach is officially called the Countach LPI 800-4, the 800 signifying its horsepower (rounded down from 814hp) and the four denoting all-wheel drive.
READ MORE: Electric thrust: Every Lamborghini to be hybrid by 2024
CONFIRMED: Electric Lamborghini EV supercar coming by 2030
READ MORE: Lamborghini Aventador successor to adopt hybrid motor but keep thumping V12
Unveiled at a Californian car show, Lamborghini plans to make only 112 of the modern Countach LPI 800-4s, the production number representing the model code of the original Countach in the 1970s and continued in the 1980s as one of the most iconic supercars of its era.
Just don’t go calling the new Countach a retro car, according to Lamborghini president and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.
“The Countach LPI 800-4 is a visionary car of the moment, just as its forerunner was,” he says. “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.”
Underneath, there appears to be plenty of Lamborghini Aventador in the new Countach. Its basic architecture seems to share plenty with Lamborghini’s modern V12 hero.
Some will also no doubt argue the new Countach is closer in looks to an Aventador than the original Countach.
But the focus on design has brought plenty of those Countach design touches – sometimes subtle – including “hexagonita” tail lights and the signature four exhausts, two on either side.
The headlights and lower grille are also a classy modern take on those of the original.
The rear window, too, has classic louvres, while the side air intakes (or NACA ducts) mimic those of the original Countach.
Inside, there are angular hints at the 1970s/80s classic mixed with modern touches and each, including paddle shifters, a digital instrument cluster and Lamborghini’s distinctive fighter jet-style start button.
Even the wheel arches have some angles and creases too them, rather than a circular flow.
One area that hasn’t had the old Countach touch is the old-school bulging wheel arches; perhaps some things really did have to stay in the 1980s!
As much as there has been gazing into the history of the Countach, performance has taken a monumental leap forward.
The modern Countach iteration is a retro-infused wedge-shaped two-seater that makes a hefty 602kW, borrowing its V12 hybrid powertrain from the Lamborghini Sian revealed in 2020 and the open-top Sian Roadster
The Countach is a long way from the EV future Lamborghini has promised longer term, instead leaning heavily on that 6.5-litre V12.
The ICE makes 574kW, accounting for the bulk of the born-again Lamborghini’s forward propulsion.
The electric motor chimes in with 25kW and it’s fed electricity from a supercapacitor rather than a battery. Good luck picking that over the scream of the V12…
Acceleration to 100km/h is said to take 2.8 seconds, helped by a permanent all-wheel drive system. The 0-200km/h time is 8.6 seconds and the Countach hits a top speed of 355km/h.
Winkelmann says it “upholds the Lamborghini tradition of looking forward, of exploring new design and technology avenues while celebrating the DNA of our brand”.
While it appears to be more of a modern blast from the past than a true insight into Lamborghini’s electrified future – Winkelmann describes it as “a Lamborghini that innately expresses the marque’s enduring and emotive power: always inspirational and thrilling to see, hear and most of all drive” – the new Countach at least provides a stepping stone into what is shaping up to be a very different future for Lamborghini.
Lamborghini has confirmed it will build an EV supercar by 2030 and that every Lamborghini will be hybrid by 2024.
While performance from electric motors should easily live up to Lamborghini expectations, that sound and emotion is arguably the biggest challenge for Lamborghini and its prime Italian rival Ferrari in the inevitable transition to zero emissions motoring.
Lamborghini chief technical officer Maurizio Reggiani told us in 2019 the EV noise had to be natural and could potentially be assisted by carefully crafted aerodynamics.
