# Lamborghini Countach (Countach (LP400 to 25th Anniversary))
Source: https://fullysorted.com/research/models/lamborghini/countach
Publisher: Fully Sorted (fullysorted.com), collector car research
Last updated: 2026-09-16

## Key facts
- Make: Lamborghini
- Model: Countach
- Generation: Countach (LP400 to 25th Anniversary)
- Years: 1974 to 1990
- Body styles: 2-door coupe with forward-hinged scissor doors, narrow body (LP400), 2-door coupe with riveted glassfiber wheel-arch extensions and optional rear wing (LP400 S onward)
- Engines: 3,929 cc 60-degree V12, type L 406, DOHC per bank, two valves per cylinder, six Weber carburetors; 370 hp at 8,000 rpm, 267 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm as measured in the Motor Sport road test; 3,929 cc V12 in LP400 S tune, quoted variously at 375 hp, 353 hp for Series III export cars, 352 hp, 345 hp at 7,500 rpm and 340 hp depending on source; 4,754 cc 60-degree V12, two valves per cylinder, quoted at 370 hp at 7,000 rpm for the LP500 S / 5000 S; 5,167 cc 60-degree V12 Quattrovalvole, four valves per cylinder, 449 hp at 7,000 rpm on downdraft Webers, 420 hp with Bosch injection
- Production notes: No total is asserted because the credible sources do not agree and the gap is not a rounding artifact. Lamborghini's own heritage page states 1,999 units across the sixteen-year run, and Magneto's buying guide independently states 1,999. Wikipedia states 1,983, but cites LamboCARS.com for it, and LamboCARS states 1,983, so those two are one source rather than two. Classic & Sports Car says approximately 2,000, and adds that 238 cars were built in right-hand drive. Per-variant counts inherit the same problem. Wikipedia gives LP400 157, LP400 S 237 across three series (50, 105, 82), LP500 S 321 and LP5000 QV 610 of which 66 were fuel-injected. LamboCARS's narrative text gives 150, 235 and 323 for the first three while its own specification tables give 157, 237 and 321; the two-car and two-figure differences are internal to that publisher and unexplained there. The Countach Register, which documents cars individually by chassis number, states flatly that only 150 were built with the periscopic roof and catalogs one car as 'the 149th of only 150'. RM Sotheby's contradicts that directly, describing a Paris 2025 car as 'one of only 157 examples of the LP400 Periscopio model produced'. Nothing consulted establishes whether 157 is a periscope-only figure or an LP400 total including later non-periscope cars. The QV is contested inside a single auction house: RM's Monaco 2024 catalog says 610, its Monterey 2026 catalog says approximately 631 of which roughly 300 were European carbureted. Only the 25th Anniversary is uncontested here, at 657 cars over roughly twenty months.

## Summary
The Lamborghini Countach ran from 1974 to 1990 and set the shape of the mid-engined supercar for a generation. Bertone showed the LP500 prototype at Geneva in 1971; the production LP400 that followed three years later kept the wedge and the forward-hinged doors but was rebuilt underneath around a full welded steel spaceframe carrying a 3,929 cc V12 laid out by Giotto Bizzarrini in 1963 and adapted by Paolo Stanzani. The car grew steadily wider, heavier and more powerful: the LP400 S of 1978 brought Pirelli P7 tires and riveted arch extensions, the LP500 S of 1982 a 4,754 cc engine, the 5000 QV of 1985 four valves per cylinder and 5,167 cc, and the 25th Anniversary of 1988 a Horacio Pagani restyle and the only genuinely habitable cabin of the run. Total production is stated as either 1,999 or 1,983 depending on whose count is followed, and the per-variant figures are contested in the same way. The market splits sharply between the early narrow-body cars and everything after.

## Specifications
- body: Aluminum panels over the spaceframe with a steel roof and headlight pods; glassfiber engine cover and, from LP400 S, riveted wheel-arch extensions
- power: 370 hp at 8,000 rpm claimed for the LP400; LP400 S variously quoted at 375, 353, 352, 350 and 345 - see claims; 370 hp for the LP500 S; 449 hp carbureted and 420 hp injected for the QV. All manufacturer or catalog claims
- brakes: 10.51-inch ventilated discs with Girling aluminum calipers on the LP400
- engine: 60-degree V12 laid out by Giotto Bizzarrini in 1963 and adapted for this installation by Paolo Stanzani; 3,929 cc (type L 406), then 4,754 cc, then 5,167 cc
- layout: Longitudinally mid-mounted engine ahead of the rear axle, gearbox forward between the seats, rear-wheel drive (LP = Longitudinale Posteriore)
- torque: 267 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm for the LP400 per Motor Sport; 269 lb-ft at 5,000 rpm quoted for the LP400 S by Supercar Nostalgia
- weight: 2,867 lb LP400, 2,978 lb LP400 S and 3,280 lb LP5000 QV per Wikipedia. Weight distribution 43 percent front, 57 percent rear as measured by Motor Sport
- chassis: Full spaceframe of welded round-section steel tubing in 1.18 in (30 mm), 0.98 in (25 mm) and 0.59 in (15 mm) diameters at 0.04 in (1 mm) wall thickness, approximately 198 lb bare; floors, bulkheads and spare-wheel well bonded to the frame
- suspension: Double wishbones with coil springs and telescopic dampers front; upper lateral links, reversed lower wishbones and trailing arms with twinned spring-damper units rear; Koni dampers; rose joints throughout
- valvetrain: Twin overhead camshafts per bank; two valves per cylinder to 1985, four on the Quattrovalvole
- bore_stroke: 82 mm x 62 mm on the 3,929 cc unit
- compression: 10.5:1 on the LP400 as tested by Motor Sport in 1977
- fuel_system: Six Weber carburetors, sidedraft then downdraft on European Quattrovalvole cars; Bosch fuel injection on US-specification QV
- acceleration: 0-60 mph recorded between 5.6 and 6.8 seconds for the LP400 and between 4.2 and 5.2 seconds for the 5000 QV across period tests collated by Autozine; RM Sotheby's quotes 4.8 seconds to 62 mph for a European QV
- transmission: Five-speed manual with gated shift, gearbox longitudinal between the seats, drive taken rearwards through the sump
- wheels_tires: LP400: 7.5J front and 9.5J rear magnesium on Michelin XWX 205/70VR14 and 215/70VR14. LP400 S: Campagnolo 8.5in and 12in on Pirelli P7. Later cars ran 345/35R15 at the rear
- top_speed_tested: Contested. Road & Track saw 163 mph in 1976 while its own gearing data implied 186 mph; Motor Sport reported a maximum of over 180 mph in 1977 without running the car to it; Wikipedia lists 179 mph for the LP400 and 183 mph for the 25th Anniversary; Autozine cites an Italian Ministry of Transportation run at Nardo giving 181.6 mph for the 5000 QV
- top_speed_claimed: 192 mph at 8,000 rpm projected for the LP400; approximately 186 mph for the 25th Anniversary. Catalog and manufacturer claims, not measured figures

## Notable variants
- LP400 'Periscopio' (1974-1978): The narrow-body original on Michelin XWX 205/70 and 215/70 VR14 and 7.5J/9.5J magnesium wheels. The recessed roof channel gave a periscopic view rearwards, a direct answer to the car's near-total lack of three-quarter vision. The Countach Register counts 150 cars with the feature; RM Sotheby's and classic.com say 157. Deliveries ran December 1974 to February 1978.
- LP400 S Series I (1978-1979): Fifty cars from chassis 1121001, the Geneva show car of March 1978. Pirelli P7 tires on Campagnolo wheels widened to 8.5in front and 12in rear, thicker anti-roll bars, reversed lower rear wishbones and trailing arms. The riveted arch extensions and the optional rear wing, not offered at launch, date from here.
- LP400 S Series II and III (1979-1982): Series II ran 105 cars from chassis 1121102 on concave wheels, the last 81 in aluminum rather than magnesium. Series III added 82 cars from June 1981 to spring 1982 and closed out the four-liter S; Supercar Nostalgia quotes 353 hp for Series III export specification against 375 hp elsewhere.
- LP500 S / 5000 S (1982-1985): The V12 enlarged to 4,754 cc for mid-range flexibility rather than peak output, still quoted at 370 hp. Badged 5000 S in some markets, which is the root of a lasting confusion with the later 5000 QV. It holds the lowest recorded classic.com sale for the model line as of September 2026.
- 5000 QV Quattrovalvole 'Downdraft' (1985-1988): Four valves per cylinder on 5,167 cc. European cars moved from sidedraft to downdraft Weber carburetors, which required the power dome on the engine cover and gave the variant its nickname; RM Sotheby's puts the European car at 455 hp, about 87 more than the European 5000 S. US cars ran Bosch injection at a quoted 420 hp, with Wikipedia counting 66 injected examples.
- 25th Anniversary (1988-1990): 657 cars in roughly twenty months, restyled in-house by Horacio Pagani with a raised nose, strake-cooled front bumper, revised tail and vertical radiator intake slats, and with chassis development by 1977 World Rally champion Sandro Munari. Electric windows, added sound deadening and power-reclining seats made it the only genuinely habitable Countach. Superseded by the Diablo.

## History

### The Show Car and the Production Car

Lamborghini's own heritage account places the Countach's first public appearance as a concept in 1971 and the start of series production in 1974, with a sixteen-year run to follow. The prototype and the production car shared a silhouette and very little else. Wikipedia's technical summary gives the LP500 prototype 2,491 lb on a partial spaceframe of sheet steel and square-section tubing, 401 cm long; the production car went to 414 cm on a full spaceframe of welded round-section steel tubing in 1.18 in (30 mm), 0.98 in (25 mm) and 0.59 in (15 mm) diameters, every tube of 0.04 in (1 mm) wall thickness, the bare frame weighing about 198 lb. The engine was not new either: Lamborghini credits the 60-degree V12 to Giotto Bizzarrini in 1963, adapted for this installation by Paolo Stanzani, with the gearbox placed longitudinally between the seats and drive taken back through the sump.

### The LP400 and the Periscopio Roof

The first production cars used a recessed channel in the roof to give a periscopic view rearwards, a direct admission that the car had almost no three-quarter vision. The Countach Register, which documents cars individually, records deliveries of periscope-roof cars from December 1974 to February 1978. Motor Sport tested one in July 1977 at three weeks and 1,056 miles old, listing 375 hp DIN at 8,000 rpm, 10.5:1 compression, 267 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm and 43/57 weight distribution; Sports Car Market gives the LP400's original US list price as $52,000. Clive Richardson found the steering 'kart-like in its directness and precision' and the trunk genuinely usable, and was blunt about the rest: brake fade on road and circuit, a spongy pedal, tail break-away at modest speeds, first and reverse hard to select from rest, carpets already curling at the edges on a new car.

### Wider Every Time

The LP400 S arrived at Geneva in March 1978 on Pirelli P7 tires and Campagnolo wheels widened to 8.5 inches front and 12 inches rear, with thicker anti-roll bars and reversed lower wishbones at the rear. It came in three series: 50 cars from chassis 1121001, then 105 from 1121102, then 82 from June 1981, and brought the riveted arch extensions and the optional rear wing that most people now picture when they picture a Countach. The Walter Wolf cars, engineered through Dallara, sat behind much of that development. In 1982 the V12 went to 4,754 cc for the LP500 S, badged 5000 S in some markets and a lasting source of confusion with what came next.

### Quattrovalvole and the Downdraft

The 5000 QV of 1985 took the engine to 5,167 cc with four valves per cylinder. European cars moved from sidedraft to downdraft Weber carburetors, which required the power dome on the engine cover and, by RM Sotheby's account, lifted output to 455 hp, roughly 87 more than the European 5000 S. That change is the origin of the 'Downdraft' shorthand. US cars ran Bosch injection at a quoted 420 hp. The QV is the variant most often described as the one to drive rather than the one to look at.

### Pagani, the Anniversary and the End

For the marque's silver jubilee Lamborghini set Horacio Pagani, then working in-house, to restyling the car. The 25th Anniversary of 1988 raised the nose, added strakes to the front bumper, reworked the tail and set vertical slats over the radiator intakes, while 1977 World Rally champion Sandro Munari developed the chassis. Electric windows, sound deadening and power-reclining seats made it the only Countach that could be called accommodating. It ran roughly twenty months to 657 cars and was replaced by the Diablo in 1990. Lamborghini notes that the car was entered in the Library of Congress as historically significant to American culture, which is a fair measure of how far the shape traveled beyond the people who could buy one.

## What to look for

The spaceframe is the car. Floors, bulkheads and the spare-wheel well are bonded to it, so corrosion in the steel tubes and evidence of past accident damage are the first things an inspection should settle, and the hardest to put right afterwards. Body materials vary across one car: aluminum panels, a steel roof and headlight pods, glassfiber engine cover and, from LP400 S, glassfiber arch extensions, and the aluminum corrodes readily where it meets the glassfiber. Original paint shows the weave of the glassfiber through it, which is a useful check on whether a car has been resprayed. Establish the variant precisely and check it against the paperwork: periscope roof and narrow body on an LP400, arch extensions and P7-era wheels on an S, the power dome on a European downdraft QV against Bosch injection on a US car. That last distinction moves real money as of September 2026. Rose joints wear quickly and take the handling with them, so listen for noise from the rear and have them assessed rather than assumed. Front tie-rods are easily bent by jacking in the wrong place and stub axles have been known to fracture, though replacements exist. Ask when the clutch was last changed, because the answer sets the size of the next bill, and when the valve clearances were last set; the interval is quoted at 15,000 miles and the job is labor-heavy. Check that the air conditioning works, since it rarely does. Match chassis and engine numbers against the Countach Register, which documents cars individually and is the closest thing to an independent census.

## Common problems

The V12 is durable when serviced and ruinous when not. A rebuild is the largest bill the car can present, and no US price for one was fetched here. Magneto notes that a full oil change takes sixteen liters, which is also why the car takes so long to warm through. Faulty Magneti Marelli electronic ignition is described as a common fault, as are oil leaks from the feed pipes running between the front-mounted radiator and the engine; on four-liter cars the oil cooler pipes perish along their run down the chassis and have to be replaced in length. Valve clearance adjustment falls due every 15,000 miles. The gearbox is noisy by design and awkward into second when cold; genuine bearing wear announces itself as noise beyond that. Clutch replacement requires the engine out. Rose joints throughout the suspension wear quickly and produce wayward handling, and the rear brakes and handbrake are prone to seizing. The brakes need a firm pedal even in health, and Motor Sport recorded fade and a spongy, feel-less pedal on a new car in 1977. Air conditioning was temperamental when new and is frequently inoperative now. Steel roof and headlight pods rust, aluminum panels corrode where glassfiber meets them, and trim is the one area where specialist support runs out, and Classic & Sports Car states plainly that trim parts remain unavailable.

## Market notes

As of September 2026, classic.com records an average sale price of $665,963 across the Countach model line, a lowest recorded sale of $257,600 for a 1982 5000 S in September 2021 and a highest recorded sale of $2,370,000 for a 1979 LP400 S Series I in August 2026. Per-variant benchmarks as of the same date read LP400 $891,662, LP400 S $1,032,715, LP500 S / 5000 S $655,913, LP5000 QV $696,927 and 25th Anniversary $602,837, with variant averages below every benchmark: $878,007, $792,628, $616,228, $624,863 and $578,889 respectively. The LP400 is the only one of the five on a falling trend. Auction and sale evidence fetched as of September 2026: at RM Sotheby's Monterey in August 2026 a 1,120 miles original-paint LP400 S Series I, chassis 1121086, made $2,370,000, a restored 1985 QV Downdraft made $1,325,000 and a 952 miles 25th Anniversary made $797,000; classic.com also records a 25th Anniversary at $593,500 through Broad Arrow in August 2026 and an LP400 S Series II at $1,249,979 in July 2026. Earlier results still frame the early cars: RM Sotheby's failed to sell LP400 Periscopio chassis 1120172 against a $1,100,000 to $1,400,000 estimate at Miami 2024. Those are published sold prices, not hammer; buyer's premium is added on top of hammer.

## Value trajectory

The Countach market is not one market. As of September 2026 classic.com's LP400 benchmark of $891,662 is the only one of the five variant benchmarks on a falling trend, while the LP400 S at $1,032,715, the LP500 S at $655,913, the LP5000 QV at $696,927 and the 25th Anniversary at $602,837 are all rising. The gap between the earliest cars and everything after has narrowed rather than widened. Sports Car Market's auction database, read in September 2026, shows spread rather than a level: 1981 LP400 S cars between $559,965 and $731,205, a 1984 5000 S between $497,644 and $841,000, 1987 Quattrovalvoles between $516,500 and $802,500 and 25th Anniversary cars between $326,064 and $1,838,678. The strongest recent evidence sits at the top of each variant rather than in the middle: $2,370,000 for a 1,120 miles original-paint LP400 S Series I and $1,325,000 for a restored European QV Downdraft, both at RM Sotheby's Monterey in August 2026, against variant averages of $792,628 and $624,863. Against that, an LP400 Periscopio failed to sell at Miami in 2024 on a $1,100,000 to $1,400,000 estimate. Condition, documented chassis identity and correct variant specification account for most of the spread.

## Sources

- [Countach, Lamborghini History](https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/history/countach) (Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.)
- [LP400, the Countach Register](https://countach-register.com/lp400) (Countach Register)
- [the Countach Register](https://countach-register.com/) (Countach Register)
- [Lamborghini Countach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Countach) (Wikipedia)
- [Lamborghini Countach: Review, Price, Specs and Models](https://www.lambocars.com/lamborghini-models-hub/lamborghini-countach/) (LamboCARS)
- [Lamborghini Countach LP400 S Guide & History](https://www.lambocars.com/countach-lp400-s/) (LamboCARS)
- [Lamborghini Countach Market](https://www.classic.com/m/lamborghini/countach/) (classic.com)
- [Lamborghini Countach LP400 Market](https://www.classic.com/m/lamborghini/countach/lp400/) (classic.com)
- [Lamborghini Countach LP400 S Market](https://www.classic.com/m/lamborghini/countach/lp400-s/) (classic.com)
- [Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition Market](https://www.classic.com/m/lamborghini/countach/25th-anniversary-edition/) (classic.com)
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- [1979 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S Series I by Bertone, The Monterey Auction 2026](https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo26/lots/r0162-1979-lamborghini-countach-lp400-s-series-i-by-bertone/) (RM Sotheby's)
- [1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 'Periscopio' by Bertone, Paris 2025](https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/pa25/lots/r0025-1975-lamborghini-countach-lp400-periscopio-by-bertone/) (RM Sotheby's)
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- [1988 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole by Bertone, Monaco 2024](https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/mc24/lots/r0006-1988-lamborghini-countach-5000-quattrovalvole-by-bertone/) (RM Sotheby's)
- [1990 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition by Bertone, The Monterey Auction 2026](https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo26/lots/r0121-1990-lamborghini-countach-25th-anniversary-edition-by-bertone/) (RM Sotheby's)
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- [1971-1990 Lamborghini Countach buying guide](https://www.magnetomagazine.com/articles/1971-1990-lamboghini-countach-buying-guide-from-magneto-magazine/) (Magneto)
- [Lamborghini Countach LP400 S Guide](https://supercarnostalgia.com/blog/lamborghini-countach-lp400-s) (Supercar Nostalgia)
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Cite as: Fully Sorted, "Lamborghini Countach (Countach (LP400 to 25th Anniversary))", https://fullysorted.com/research/models/lamborghini/countach, updated 2026-09-16.