Lamborghini Countach LP400 review. Full story in Octane Magazine this month
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- čas přidán 28. 02. 2019
- Driving a Lamborghini Countach is always fun but this Countach is extra special as it's the first edition Countach, the LP400, dating from 1977 and owned by Simon Kidston ( www.kidston.com ) to whom I'm extremely grateful for allowing Octane Magazine to drive it for this month's cover story.
This video was created with the support of:
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www.classicandsportsfinance.com/
www.silverstoneauctions.com/
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when I was a kid, I thought the LP400 was too plain...now I see the beauty of the simplicity without the flares and wing.
ffred34 I actually like the wheel flares. I don’t like all those weird updates they kept adding on later on though.
SAMES
@@gojewla You will Learn padawan...
Although the Cannonball Countach is the one Countach to Rule them all!
I was just about to write that and then I saw your comment! It was laughable as a kid, now I love it.
1000%
If you turn on captions the engine noises are labeled "music". So true.
Aaron Chapman And the popping exhaust sounds are labeled *Applause*
Wow, a Countach without arches and spoilers is a beautiful thing.
Yeah, just what I thought too. A much better (less cartoonish) looking overall design without all of that added bodywork. Best looking Countach I've seen.
I used to like the later models better- but the clean design really has grown on me- today I think the old ones look better- but also a bit more dated (not a bad thing though), mostly because of the wheels I think.
😍😛 Love that car !!!
Indeed. Strange, the color is a real popper, but the shape seems more artful without the geegaws.
@@rogermason1674 less plastics you mean, since cf is plastic
Turtleneck and a purple LP400, pure class. Well done and thank you for sharing it with us Harry.
Leuff has a panerai beater too
I wanted to see the lime green, but I have to otherwise agree with you, in spirit if nothing else.
Happy Harry is Drunk as a Judge in this video!
GUARANTEED
Fantastic LP400! Love the 'naked' look with the smaller tires, no spoilers/flares and the rather obvious, 'lively' driving experience. Wonderful.
Always my favorite. This looks like a supermodel. Later versions looked like body builders.
Early Countachs are some of the most special cars ever made. Cheers Harry for once again delivering on this wonderful channel!!!!
He should buy it!
Maybe if he clipped a MPV he would have won the option?
Lovely purple colour!
Original?
Duck Man ...I doubt it, but it IS beautiful.
agreed and i think the white leather looks quite nice with the purple
The magazine cover added some turbo to the colour.
@G. V. Quinn I used to read Car in the 70's. There was one edition where they went to Italy to pick up 3 Lambos and drive them back to England. All gold metallic, a Countach, a Uracco and a Silhouette (I think). It was an epic article, and has stayed with me for all this time.
I've adored the Countach for 40 or so years, and if I had to choose one, I think this would be it. Talk about automotive sculpture, such an amazingly striking, gorgeous, pure shape. Gandini was a car design genius. If you showed a picture of this to a non-car person, there is no way they'd think this car is more than 40 years old. For me, the beautiful shade of purple is perfect for this car; it suits its character so very well.
The car I fell in love with in my pack of top trumps as a small boy in the 70's and in particular this periscopio in its purest form , sublime and still as spectacular now as it was then , just a Gandini masterpiece . 👏👏👏
This is more pleasing to the eye than the QV, (my personal opinion)
One of your best videos Harry. Delivered the feeling of this car to someone who will never drive one. Thank you.
I thought the same! A wonderful car that I may never get to drive...
I was 10 years old when I saw the original Countach when it debuted & the LP400 is still the most beautiful & pure version of this iconic car. I admit the super exotics of today are incredible machines but are a dime a dozen & they just don't pull at my heart strings like this era of super car. It isn't hard to find coverage on the later Countach's, this is a rare treat to see the original LP400, thanks so much Harry!!!!!
"Doesn't catch fire quite as often as a Miura....", that's good to know! Great car, great vid.
I remember in 1976 being passed by a red LP400 going down the M4 west of London. It must have been one of the first ones in the UK. It made an impression that continues to this day.
An absolute work of art.
Looks a lot better than the later models IMO.
Yeah it is surprising how much better it shows the car without all the extra fender flares and vents wing etc… it looks so much cooler
@@BingBangBrine which is exactly why I don’t like any Lamborghini after the murcialago they try too hard to look exotic but it just looks awkward
I loved watching how much Harry enjoyed driving the LP400 as much as I loved watching the car itself. Beautiful car...great reaction from Harry.
This was my favourite Countach, the design is just simply pure. Truly a timeless design and masterpiece!
Harry Metcalfe, Chris Harris and Henry Catchpole for Top Gear!!!
Iused to watch top gear.. don't now but if i see anything on you tube with Chris Harris in it's always worth a watch
Spot on! The perfect trio 👍
Sorry, but no. Concept of that show is not on par with the strengths of these presenters. Setting them together for a car show is fine, but not under the current Top Gear show concept...
Time for a new car show....Modern Classic car Show with Harry as lead presenter 🙂
@@chrisrawlings8077 It's already here you're watching it now
What a revolutionary design for its time. It’s hard to believe that a car like this went into production in the 70’s.
Countach + Harry = What a beautiful combination
@@valgehiir
He already did, I believe. You should be able to find the video on his channel.
@@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X Thank you, how on earth did I miss that one
@@valgehiir
I'd love to see him do a video on a Diablo!
Stunning. Especially in its purest form.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the later Countach LP5000 QVs with the huge wing, and the fender flares. But, these earlier periscope Countach’s without the bodykit are so beautiful!
UmmThey had fender flares etc since 1978 starting with the 400S...the QV came around in 1985 and it was just 4 valves per cylinder (QV) was the major chamge not the bodywork
@@tomorr6083 Yes, I’ve known that for a while now. I wasn’t as familiar with Countachs back then.
@@aviationlba747 oh i see. sorry bud..that was pretty rude of me
This is what the Countach was supposed to look like. Not covered in useless comical spoilers.
But then the 80s happened lol
Once you added those huge air intakes, the other additions start to make sense. The purist might be tempted to remove them.
@@xpusostomos Not if he wants to drive it.
@@99percenter1 oh I don't know, if the car came it today it would have electric retractable scoops.
Happens still this day. Look at the Paganis and Koenigseggs.
Cheers Harry! You bring a ton of knowledge and experience to the table and I can't stop watching your videos. Thank you for making them!
What a lovely wheel and tyre combination.
Absolutely gorgeous. The white interior would be a pain but it goes with the purple so well!
Being a old geezer this is the car I first saw and fell in love with. I still think it looks the best!!!
So good. Harry, Italy & an early Countach. Thank you so much for your videos. Bellissimo.
The yellow prototype without the up right radiator is a thing of beauty for sure.......keep the reviews coming Harry your the Boss !
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Oh My Days, Harry you have made my day with the LP400. What a beauty!
Many, many years ago I saw a used LP400 for sale at a Ferrari dealer (in the 70s). In person, I was amazed just how good it looked. For me, it fit really well also.
Sure wish I could have bought and afforded that car.
Gandini was chosen by God to design the best iconic car ever made.........
Even his name sounds artistic
He is God.
This one looks much more newer that the later model.
Love Your videos.
Greetings from Poland.
What a car! Seems so alive and full of character. Out on the road it looks absolutely stunning, too. Thanks, Harry!
One of the very few cars that looks good in purple 👌🏻
I was stunnend when I first saw one of these in the seventies. I still remember the article in Car magazine written by the wonderful LJK Setright. After all these decades the awe is still there. This is, without doubt, the all-time poster car.
If there was ever a perfect case of an example of automotive art, this is it. I'm not usually a jealous person but I'm certainly showing my green side now. Thanks for a wonderful video Harry. I'm 16 again.
Just love the purity of the original design without the wings, wheel arch extensions etc, just like the original Cobra, Lotus Esprit etc etc.
The best looking Contach ever built! It's so nice to see one without all the add ons that in my opinion ruin such a gorgeous design. Thanks Harry!
Absolutely stunning! I was never a fan of the Countach, it was too angular for me, but this original one looks so beautiful! Such great balance and poise. Loved the video as usual, Harry! Cheers!
I do firmly think 💭 that the designers have lost their way with tyres and wheels. That LP400 looks so right. And you are enthusing about it so much. The rubber will be giving you a better ride too. Great Car. Good Review!
It's not all because of the designers, the real reason is the insane performance of the modern cars which requires bigger brakes.
I think they must be obsessed with being different
Consumers demand peak performance, track capability. They've lost the concept of most real-world fun.
it's bizarre isn't it? everyone prefers the purity of classic cars, light weight, tyres with sidewalls , steering feel ... and yet all manufacturers do is put on bigger wheels, more power ...
I think alfaholics gta-r is the best new car out there right now, at least someone gets it
I'm grinning ear to ear just watching him drive this beautiful machine!
The white interior is so you don't have to clean up immediately when you spill your salt-shaker of coke.
Most cars interiors get darker as they age, but these just seem to get whiter and whiter...
That is a glorious comment.
I had to completely change my cars interior be able of that pictmmmm
Me; bloodshot eyes shaking like a leaf with my face buried in the leather like a dog looking for a treat.
That’s ridiculous who drinks coke out of a salt shaker
Magnificent car and what a colour! Never saw Harry enjoying a car like that!
My all time favorite Lamborghini! 😍😍😍
pan68 , big overhangs, nah!
Spirited bit of driving on those icy, wet roads. Especially given the peach it was done in. Nicely done Harry!
It was such a stunning piece of art when it first came out. I saw the poster for one in metallic violet. It was such a beautiful car and still is. Note: those are Stewart Warner gages
That blip of the throttle for gear changes. Good driving. What a lovely video
Wow, if the first owner of this car was a Swede, then it must be the purple LP400 I saw as a boy at a car show in the small town of Västervik on the Swedish east coast circa 1986 or 87 (I remember them having a replica Porsche 959 so it can't have been much earlier).
If I recall correctly, this one had a pink handprint somewhere on both sides of the car on the shoulder beneath the rear air intakes. I remember being incredibly bothered by how the owner had desecrated the car at the time.
I remember the car (probably this one) with the hand print featured in "Bilsport" magazine sometimes in the 80's. I remember the hand print as beeing white though.
@@joakimquensel597 It has to be the same car, doesn't it?
@
Yes for sure, there can't have been that many Countach in Sweden in the 80s.
I wrote another post about this car. My comment has approx 20 likes so maybe you find it if you sort on popularity and scroll down.
EDIT:
Here is a copy of the post:
As a Swede I would like to know who was that first "Swedish playboy" owner?
I also remember seeing this car as a kid sometime in the 80's in a Swedish motor magazine. Must have been this car for sure because it it had the same colour but I also recall that it had a white colour hand print on one of the fenders.
And come to think of it, I also remember that my dad said that someone at the company he worked for had a Countach. He worked for Atlas Copco which is part of the multi billion Wallenberg industry group. And since there can't have been that many Countach around in Sweden in the 80's my guess would be that this car was once owned by a "Wallenberger" that was Vice President or somehow part of the Atlas Copco steering board.
And to make this post even longer... When I lived in Bern Swizerland around 2000-2004 there was a LP400 for sale in a small exotic car dealer with this exact colour and interior. Could it have been this car? And since the LP400 has always been my no1 dream car I was sort of playing with the thought of buying it. Can't remember the exact price but I'm pretty sure it was below CHF 200,000! Still too much money for me back then... ☹
@@joakimquensel597 if it was white vinyl decal, it would look pink on purple background.
@@davidjacobs8558
Could very well have been pink, this was like 35 years ago... 😁
Absolutely stunning!!!! You could look at this Countach in 50 or 100 years and still be blown away by it's looks, the design is a marvel of extremities, I love it. A great video thank you, your a lucky man 😊
Superstar review of the original super car. Thank you very much Harry. And thank you too to the farmers working the land to feed us all. Purple for the royals and white like your bucks, in springtime. What a class act.
I've never been enamored with the Countach's looks, but Harry certainly makes a good sell on the driving behavior. That V12 is really something special, I think Feruccio Lamborghini got it right when he looked at a Ferrari and said "I can do better"
Looks like so much fun to drive. I love the smaller wheels and tyres. I could watch Harry's videos all day and not get bored.
Love these reviews, probably the most true and best personal touch on CZcams. You make everyone else look like they're doing it for the money
A special film of an even more special car. Thank you, Harry!
beautifully clean. Simon K has some cool cars; particularly MCL-F1-007
im agree with you, this is gorgeous car! purity in its design is important it shows the real vision behind I love this one way more that the newers ones, wich are also amazing, specially with those crazy wheels
The LP400 is just art. She's my dream car since I was a kid. Thank you for this amazing video. Looking at your quick countersteering getting out the corners make my heart losing a couple beats. Man... it's like flipping a Monet painting in the air!
Pantograph wiper just the same on S1/S2 Esprits Harry! They're not unalike in a few ways, and debuted as concepts within a year of each other. Must be difficult to get tyres for just the same too.
Been waiting for this one for a while; this version is easily my favorite Lamborghini of all time.
Great to see a true supercar that provides fun at reasonable speeds. So different from the current super/hyper cars that are gonna be heading very rapidly to the scene of the crash when they finally lose grip/traction
I will remember to get that issue! I've seen several Countach at the Techno Classica fair in Essen (D) over the years, including at least one Periscopo. But to see them driven around is another thing...
To be perfectly honest, I have always preferred the late Countach models, unlike everybody else. However, this one is simply breathtaking!
The QV with the wing is my favourite.
I was born in 1980 so at 7 years old i was falling in love with the QV. I love the lp400 too but i gotta have the flares and useless wing on the countach of my dreams. Thats the way i was introduced to it.
As a young teenager I fell in love with the Cannonball Run Countach (black wide body with a rear wing) but later on I got to appreciate the early cars more. This will always be the ultimate car design for me. I still get goose bumps every time I see one live (which does not happen very often though).
@@DoodlezMusic 'agreed.'
@@furgulley8077 'agreed.'
I would love to see Harry Metcalfe and Jay Leno just talk about cars. He should go on Jay Leno's Garage, or Jay Leno should come to Harry's Garage!
Harry would visit Jay, I'm sure. Don't know about vice versa.
@@johndrake2729 have you actually watched the Jay Leno review of this car?
Jay Leno reviews a beautiful blue one that was allegedly one of the first 10 imported into North America.
Leno highlighted the age old Lamborghini problem re:seats. The LP400 made for a very thin person who is 5'8. It's narrower yet longer than the mid-Eighties Countach.
He could see it's appeal, loved the gear ratio e.g. very short first and a really long second gear
. . . but . . . overall it's quirky but not his cup of tea.
Lovely going for a drive with Uncle Harry again. I checked halfway through to make sure there was plenty of play time left 😉 Cracking car, and I rather like the white leather.
I can see you really enjoyed driving the LP 400 Harry, just as much as I enjoyed your video! Well done!
Way to go Harry,this one is epic !
Stunning car and great video, thank you.
Harry! You've hit the nail on the head with this one. This is the Zenith of all Harry's Garage videos. I've seen them all. You've transported this pauper car lover further than ever into the exclusive world of exotic car ownership. Just inspiring. Thank you so, so much.
Another great video. I really like the colour combo of purple body over white interior and the purity of the early design just shows how much of an automotive masterpiece this was. Thanks Harry.
The comparison to your QV is fascinating. The simpler form of the early cars is highly appealing to me. All rather academic as I can’t afford either!🙄
77 UFO.Thats the registration Plate i like.
Pure - how did we forget how beautiful it was?
Harry, that was your best drive ever. That was just fabulous. The LP400 was the first Countach I ever saw up close and personal. A race fan drove it to the Nurburgring in 1976. It was just parked in the same lot as many ordinary cars. It was a stunning sight to see resplendent in orange. I saw it but never heard the sound of that V12, You said at the beginning of the video that it wasn't going to be up to your usual standards for quality. That sound and your narration more than made up for any shortcomings. Thanks Harry!!
Certainly caught that woman's eye @ 1:20 😂
what timing
She was moist
Only in Italy. She probably knew what it was too unlike over 'ere
UFO number plate :) that is a nice touch
unless i am suffering with a mental aberration, i SWEAR i remember seeing this car 77 UFO many years ago, in ORANGE?
someone - help my ailing mind?
lol!
has it been re-dressed (painted differently?) recently?
cheers - is flipping stunning, whatever.
\m/
x
that plate, as if it came from one of the S.H.A.D.O. cars.
A timeless classic and a true enthusiast
Always loved this shape in the Countach, I remember building a 1/12th scale model of the LP400 decades ago.
As a Swede I would like to know who was that first "Swedish playboy" owner?
I also remember seeing this car as a kid sometime in the 80's in a Swedish motor magazine. Must have been this car for sure because it it had the same colour but I also recall that it had a white colour hand print on one of the fenders.
And come to think of it, I also remember that my dad said that someone at the company he worked for had a Countach. He worked for Atlas Copco which is part of the multi billion Wallenberg industry group. And since there can't have been that many Countach around in Sweden in the 80's my guess would be that this car was once owned by a "Wallenberger" that was Vice President or somehow part of the Atlas Copco steering board.
And to make this post even longer... When I lived in Bern Swizerland around 2000-2004 there was a LP400 for sale in a small exotic car dealer with this exact colour and interior. Could it have been this car? And since the LP400 has always been my no1 dream car I was sort of playing with the thought of buying it. Can't remember the exact price but I'm pretty sure it was below CHF 200,000! Still too much money for me back then... ☹
Thanks! I loved your comment!
Joakim I think Harry remembered it a bit wrong, I have also read the report of this "Swede", but I'm pretty sure it was a Norwegian vegetable wholesale dealer. He was about 32-33 years of age when he bought it and was already then a millionaire (if I remember it right one of the richer people in Norway at that time). I guess it was a bit special then, as this was before the oil and salmon industries have had time to make the country as rich as it's now. I think he was from Sandefjord or something like this.
@@90OscarS
OK but it has been featured in a Sweush magazine and another guy posted that he saw it on a car show in Västervik. But it could still hasve been a Norwegian car.
@@joakimquensel597 Yes and it might be that they're different cars, but I'm quite sure that the article said it was the first Lambo in the Nordics at that time (or at least first Countach) and that it was ordered new by this Norwegian businessman. If I remember correctly, the article told that he liked to bring it around to shows in Norway and Sweden and that he had it for quite a long time.
@@90OscarS
It was probably the same car if it was this colour.
I asked my dad about the Atlas Copco car. It was owned by a skilled mechanical engineer who worked on the car himself. But this was in the mid 80's and I guess it was possible for a "normal" person to own one of these (if you made some priorities in life).
That's almost 100 HP per litre from a naturally aspirated engine in 1974....1974!!
What a stunning car, Harry! That was a great, short and sweet video of a real gem!
Way to go Harry! Thanks so much for the smiles! A truly beautiful example of the original styling intent. Wow...
Well this is cheering me right up. Jizzy jizzy bang bang
I prefer bang bang jizzy jizzy.
Sounds like you're talking yourself into one, Harry. Maybe offload the QV and a couple of stragglers and add a nice LP400 to the garage?!
Stragglers? I saw none.
Haha stragglers hehe funny
Thank You so much for sharing this Harry. I've loved the LP400 for 40 years and they are very very special.
Your videos are genuinely one of my biggest pleasures in life! Thankyou Harry!
Whoever didnt like this video has no heart nor brain.
Or they could be a polar bear.
Bi-Polar..
@@pdsnpsnldlqnop3330
Hang 'em.....
tesla fans lol
or ferrari fans
Christ - Rimini looks like Yorkshire.
Brilliant 😂
The whole coast there is rather awful; but just keep to the hills, and you'll have some of the greatest driving roads ever, and a whole array of sceneries. Unfortunately, the tarmac is going to be british style as well.
They wish!
I suppose yes (in the inland, in autumn).
My absolute dream car made after 1965, the line of LP400 is perfection. you should sell some of your car for this one and enjoy it . Thank you for the video.
It's beautiful, like a painting that captivates like an explosion in your eyes, and it's purple .
When we're all driving electric cars we will look back at these cars with tears in our eyes.
Doing that now. When men were men
I don't like the thought of that......
The carisma of this car totally destroys all it's contemporary competitors - I don't really want to own any supercar, but this is just of the scales - I do want one of these - absolutely awesome. It might not have all the tech wizardry and over designed interiors of todays supercars - but who cares?
Always look forward to your videos! You always give a REAL perspective. Thank you.
Such a beautiful machine (colour is stunning too)
There are some really good sounding engines in the world but none of them have ever matched the sound of a Lamborghini V-12.
I love the Lambo V12, but there are a few engines that can match or even beat it's sound.
Colombo V12 - a GTO or LM revving out to 8k is sublime
Lampredi V12 - special, a deeper note than the above
BRM V16 - sounds like nothing else on this world
Gona say it again, congrats Harry you are one off the top car reviewers ever and the transition you made into YT was fantastic, you can do your own content without annoying restritions and we can enjoy it ;)
Excellent video Harry. Much appreciated to see a review of you of an early Countach!
6:32 The most precious thing in this video is to see your priceless expression!!!
Harry! I definitively see a gorgeous LP400 sitting soon in your Garage.
Loved it just by watching your face. Few cars bring that level of enthusiasm in you.
Although short and not the usual format Harry I loved this video. Watching you give the old girl a bit of a nudge on that slippery hill was fantastic. Funny as I,ve grown older I prefer these early LP 400s over the the later cars. They're a true purity of retro automotive art. Brilliant stuff thanks Harry
Tremendous,albeit short review Harry;) A special and timeless car that one never tires of. The joy and excitement on your face says it all!