1987 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole Is Our Bring a Trailer Auction Pick of the Day
• if your aventador ultimae went down with the ship, consider owning this countach in a few days for the same money.
• lamborghini produced only 610 quattrovalvole models from 1985 to 1988, and this one is up for auction until monday, april 25.
• countach ownership comes with lifetime rights to valet in front of any miami nightclub.
scissor doors started with the lamborghini countach. technically, they debuted on another marcello gandini masterpiece a few years prior, but never had a car designer insisted on vertical hinges and hydraulic struts to hold a door in place. it made no practical sense in 1974, and it still makes insurance adjusters squeamish in 2022. this 1987 countach 5000 quattrovalvole is selling for twice the price of the new huracán tecnica because it has two doors that open the right way. it's on bring a trailer—which, like car and driver, is part of hearst autos—and quietly sitting in seekonk, massachusetts, ready to re-enact cannonball run.
the winning bidder gets a dvd of that 1981 film, itself a reenactment of our very own cannonball run. even better are the new spark plugs, fresh period-correct pirelli p7s with the most extreme stagger ever (225 front/345 rear), and everything in dizzyingly immaculate condition except a power mirror switch. not that mirrors matter on a countach.
the red over tan scheme is called rosso siviglia sull senape, so practice those words during the first few miles (there are about 4500 on the odometer, which reads in kilometers). and then, it's a quattrovalvole: four valves per cylinder, 48 in total, coaxing even more power out of the 5.2-liter v-12 and helping produce the most godly vocals of any 1980s supercar. lamborghini built 610 countach models to qv spec between 1985 and 1988 and just 66 with fuel injection. this is one of them.
as with every v-12 lamborghini built until a few years ago, handling and agility were not included by the factory despite the two seats hovering inches above the ground and the oz wheels with their punch-hole "phone dial" design. there is no lightness to the controls. a few countach owners are so exasperated from working the pedals and steering that they've retrofitted electric power assist and looser throttle cables. the seller of this countach is not one of them.
with a week to go before the auction ends on monday, april 25, bidding is at $500,000. a little advice for the countach's next owner: we recommend the immediate removal of the american bumper extensions that tarnish a bugatti chiron or aston martin vantage as badly as this 1987 lambo. gandini wasn't concerned with our 5-mph bumper laws designed to help oldsmobile drivers back into another car at sears without damage. for parking, however, lamborghini believed the scissor doors aided in rearward visibility so a driver could lean their head out and rest on the sill while feathering the clutch. wisely, instead of some atrocious add-on backup camera from amazon, the seller replaced the driver's-side door strut. it's the most important part on a countach.
source:caranddriver.com