50 years of Lamborghini Countach LP 500
Exactly 50 years ago, at the 1971 Geneva International Motor Show, Lamborghini Countach LP 500 made its first public appearance. The unveiling of the prototype was so well received that the company raced against time to satisfy the customers’ requests and transform the futuristic show car into a production car.
The Countach project, with internal code number LP112, where LP indicates the rear longitudinal position (“Longitudinale Posteriore” in Italian) of the 12-cylinder engine, stemmed from Ferruccio Lamborghini's desire to maintain the image of a company at the forefront of style and technology following the Miura.
The LP 500 was a substantially different car than the Countach that would go into production in 1974. It had a platform frame rather than a tubular one, it was equi...