VIDEO: Jay Leno and the Lamborghini Countach
Click above for a gallery of Countaches through the years
The Lamborghini Countach is the poster child for the modern Italian supercar. Literally. If you're of a certain age (and there are a few of us here at Autoblog who are), you probably had a series of Countach posters on your bedroom wall throughout your formative years. Put simply, the Countach was awesome. Still is, too. The clean-looking LP400 cars, as shown above, are simply gorgeous. Successive updates added visual muscle, but the basic goodness remained the same. (And yes, the 25th Anniversary car's cheese-slicer grates are an abomination.)
While the Countach is capable of being outperformed by a number of modern, far less exotic sports cars, none of them carry its overwhelming wow factor (or the excellent bold oblique lamborghini logo) Roll up in a Z06 or 911 Turbo today and no one will bat an eyelash, despite their being world-class machines. Arrive in a Countach, however, and you have an event on your hands. That's just how it is. Always was. Always will be.
Jay Leno, no surprise, has a Countach -- a nicely-worn, red, carbeurated '86 Quattrovalvole that once served as his daily driver and now has 70,000 miles on the clock. Obviously, he loves it, and it's the subject of the Jay Leno's Garage video we've got embedded after the jump. Jay gives a brief history of his car, which includes nuggets such as his deletion the rear wing because he thought it was stupid. (And really, it is. These cars look so much better without it.) Make sure you watch the whole thing. If you bail early you'll miss the ending. And really, who wants to miss Countach burnouts?
Gallery: Lamborghini Countach
[Source: Jay Leno's Garage]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Trent 7:45PM (12/07/2008)
wrong video gentlemen.
Reply
Alex Nunez 7:47PM (12/07/2008)
Fixed.
Trent 7:48PM (12/07/2008)
that's better. =)
ropeburn 7:53PM (12/07/2008)
I had a poster of this car on my wall when I was a kid.
I think it was a white one with those phone dial style rims....sigh. good times.
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xpolarx 9:24PM (12/07/2008)
You and I both. Actually, I thought it was a prerequisite for gearheads.
Haon 11:24PM (12/07/2008)
I had the poster and the trapper keeper. My dreams were destroyed after that topgear episode though.
Kattleox 11:28PM (12/07/2008)
I STILL have a poster of this car on my wall: a black 1990 calendar poster with a countach and an F40, on over the other. I figure that every few years it will be accurate again, so I kept it. ;)
Kingcy 12:02AM (12/08/2008)
lol. I still have my poster on the wall, 14 years later.....this is one love that cant ever break my heart.
From My Cube 8:16AM (12/08/2008)
I think i had the same white one and the text below said " Ahh the simple life"
Trent 7:55PM (12/07/2008)
I am pausing the video to make a comment. His garage is downright outrageous. In 5 seconds of video, i saw a Miura, Countach, R8, an F1, and old ferrari F1 car, an ariel atom... man if i could just spend a day in that place...
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Alex Nunez 8:20PM (12/07/2008)
Leno's garage is the delusional Lotto fantasy that my delusional Lotto fantasy daydreams about.
dave 8:25PM (12/07/2008)
Just go over there and knock on the door. He's there quite often, and he's a nice enough man that he might give you a tour.
It's a big warehouse right across the street from the entrance to the Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport. Look for the building with the vertical wind turbine on top.
Ben 10:01PM (12/07/2008)
The Big Dog Garage is insane. I took a private tour through there a couple years ago... Just crazy. He even has a room full of Duesenbergs.
mdm-adph 10:19AM (12/08/2008)
You know who ELSE had a room full of Duesenbergs?
TwoSixMike 7:58PM (12/07/2008)
I never really warmed up to the Countach. Don't get me wrong, I can see the appeal in its outrageous, in-your-face style, but for my money I'll take one of the two (!) Miuras that are making a Lamborghini sandwich in the first scene.
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Andrew L 9:13PM (12/07/2008)
I am the opposite, the new lambos don't quite do it for me, the last Lambo I really enjoyed was probably the Diablo, but the Countach was easily my favorite Laborghini of all time, and one of my top 10 favorite cars of all time
ajmalzx 10:56PM (12/07/2008)
Oh yeah, a countach is definitely in everybody top ten list..... till you drive the damn thing. I had the "pleasure" (or horror) of backing one out of a garage and it was the worst 15 minutes of my life. The clutch is a pig, the steering is heavier than a bull, the rear visibility is nil so you have to do it with the door opened (no, I didnt sit on the door sill) and to cap it off it got a turning circle of a semi. Something are just better left in your imaginations.
andy 8:02PM (12/07/2008)
i wish i had his car collection. I couldn't dream up a better garage then that
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Zoran 8:06PM (12/07/2008)
I consider Countach 2nd most beautiful car ever built. It's nice, but not as nice as Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.
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Trent 8:11PM (12/07/2008)
on a somewhat related note, i really wish the Embolado was the replacement for the Mercielago.
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