UP NEXT
Iconic moto pop culture, with a wonderful two-stroke soundtrack to boot.
Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter featuring the very latest from Petrolicious. Don’t be left out—join the ranks of those who Drive Tastefully.
Already a member? Log in
We're glad you're back.
Not a member yet? Sign up
We'll get you back on track.
Films:
1988 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary: The Rocket Sled
For those that want a little supporting material here is a Jeremy Clarkson review of this car, done by a very young Jeremy Clarkson, along with reviews of its predecessor, and the follow on car, the Diablo. In this video you can see that the 25th Anniversary has the Pagani aero-package, body kit. And when you compare with the Diablo it is a little clearer, perhaps, why the aero-package was necessary. For a 200 mph car, too much air was passing under the car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F13d1LFlXc
Nice video. One of the more interesting innovations on the Countach is that, in order to concentrate the mass of the car in the center, and reduce polar moment, the transmission is in placed in front of the engine. This is a rear wheel drive, mid-engined car, with a gear box located beside the driver, with the drive shaft passing back, through the engine case, to the differential. Where else has this been done? One of you in the ‘hive mind’ of this forum will know.
@JB21 Well, I found it interesting. In order to make a car that stands up in a very competitive market sector for a quarter century, to have a rear engined 12 cylinder isn’t enough. Ferrari had done that. Moving the gear box forward helps keep the nose down, and drive shaft runs straight back right through the engine housing, and the differential mount is part of that housing too. All three are one contiguous structure. I don’t know if this was repeated on the Diablo or not.
Looking further, the follow on to this car, the Diablo, also had a 5 speed gear box located in front of the engine. The Diablo was introduced as a 2 wheel drive car. Having the gear box in in front of the engine made the eventual conversion to all-wheel-drive both simple and lightweight. In truth the Lambos never interested me much before now. There was a reason that a company that previously only built tractors was able to persist in a highly competitive market sector. The drive trains seem to have had a lot to do with that.
This body-kit (aero-package) seems to have been designed for the 25th anniversary Countach. Google ‘1988 Countach’, switch to ‘images’, and you will see a lot of cars with that kit. The aero-package probably really does provide down force at speed. A front lip and side curtains don’t have to be elegant to be functional. According to Road & Track Horacio Pagani designed the aero-kit and some suspension mods on the 25th edition. I am not a big fan of kits either, but this car probably left the factory just as we see it, minus the sled on top.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/car-design/a27323024/lamborghini-countach-25th-anniversary-edition-horacio-pagani/
