This 1988 Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV was rescued from long term storage recently, its former owner kept it for 35 years in largely original condition, and it’s now being offered for sale.
This 5000 QV is one of the 66 fuel injected versions made, representing approximately 10% of the total 5000 QV production run. This will make it an appealing target for restoration by marque enthusiasts both in the USA and further afield.
Fast Facts – The Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV
- The Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV (Quattrovalvole) was introduced in 1985 as an evolution of the Countach series which had first debuted back in 1974. This model was designed to reinvigorate the Countach line and maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving supercar market, particularly to compete with the then-new Ferrari Testarossa.
- The 5000 QV was fitted with a 5.2 liter V12, significantly increased from the 4.8 liter V12 used in earlier Countach models. This V12 was notable for its four valves per cylinder – a technical upgrade that improved flow into and out of the cylinders resulting in higher power output. The engine produced approximately 449 bhp and the car could reach 0 – 60 mph in approximately 4.9 seconds and achieve a top speed of 182 mph.
- The 5000 QV’s chassis was a tubular steel space frame, typical of high-performance supercars of the era and the earlier Countach models, providing a good balance between weight and rigidity. The body panels were primarily made of aluminum alloy, with some panels in Kevlar, helping to reduce the vehicle’s curb weight.
- Just 610 examples of the 5000 QV Countach were made and only 66 of these had the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection in place of the original six Weber carburetors. The car shown in this article is one of these fuel injected cars, it’s now being sold out of long term storage in Miami Shores, Florida.
Marcello Gandini’s Masterpiece
Automotive designer Marcello Gandini has designed a slew of incredibly iconic cars, in fact his only real rival is Giorgetto Giugiaro. While many will point to Gandini designs like the Lamborghini Miura, the Alfa Romeo Carabo, or the Alfa Romeo Montreal as high points, I suspect that the original Countach may have represented the pinnacle of his career.
Marcello Gandini could rightfully be called the Godfather of the supercar, given his immense contributions to the genre with the Miura and the Countach.
Now before I start getting angry emails let me explain that last paragraph. While the Miura helped lay the groundwork for the future architecture of the supercar, the Countach provided the blueprints. Its wedge-shaped design, sharp angles, scissor doors, and longitudinally-mounted rear-mid-v12 is a recipe still in use by many supercar manufacturers in the modern day.
The Countach would enjoy a long lifespan, from its introduction in 1971 to it first being offered for sale in 1974 it would remain in production until 1990 – a remarkable 16 year lifespan.
Over the course of the production run the Countach would receive regular updates, over time these included significant body modifications and body kit-style additions that fundamentally changed Gandini’s original design.
Some have decried these changes and some love them, the fact of the matter is that the Countach had to evolve to stay relevant throughout the 1980s, and the final iteration of the model, the 25th Anniversary Edition, featured styling that had been updated by Horacio Pagani – the same man who would found his own namesake supercar company in 1992.
The Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV
The Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV was released in 1985, hot on the heels of the Ferrari Testarossa which had debuted just a year earlier in 1984.
The 5000 QV is powered by a 5.2 liter V12 producing approximately 449 bhp. The car could reach 0 – 60 mph in approximately 4.9 seconds and achieve a top speed of 182 mph.
In many respects the 5000 QV was Lamborghini’s answer to its new rival supercar and performance was increased just enough to keep the nose of the Countach ahead of the new Ferrari – the 5000 QV had a listed top speed of 182 mph vs the 180 mph of the Testarossa, and it had a slightly faster 0 – 60 mph time of 4.9 seconds vs 5.2 seconds.
Lamborghini kept the majority of the modifications to the 5000 QV (also known as the LP5000 Quattrovalvole) to inside the engine bay. The car kept much the same body as its predecessor, the LP500 S, though it did have new Kevlar front and rear deck lids – the new rear deck lid being needed to clear the increased height of the engine as the carburetors had been moved from the sides to the top.
The QV in the model name stands for “Quattrovalvole” or “four valves” in Italian, a reference to the fact that the engine was now fitted with updated heads featuring four valves per cylinder. This helped with the performance increase as it increase flow into and out of the cylinders, though the V12’s displacement had also been increased from 4.8 liters up to 5.2 liters (5,167cc).
Just 610 examples of the Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV were made between 1985 and 1988 before it was replaced with the 25th Anniversary Edition – a car that would later be immortalized in the 2013 Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Margot Robbie.
The 1988 Countach 5000 QV Project Car Shown Here
The car you see here is a Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV from the final year of the variant’s production – 1988. It’s said to have been owned by the same person for the past 35 years though many of those years went by with the car tucked away in storage.
It’s now being offered for sale as a project car, the good news is that the engine and transmission remain in place along with all the other major components, so it should be a relatively straightforward restoration. Well, as straightforward as a Countach restoration can be.
This Countach appears largely complete but it’s been in storage for many years and clearly needs a lot of remedial work, if not a full restoration.
The car remains in its original color of red over a tan leather interior. The front chin spoiler is white and the car sits on staggered-width 15” gold OZ wheels fitted with Pirelli Cinturato P7 tires. The car does have some damage and cracking in the finish and trim as well as some corrosion, so any prospective buyer should ensure they thoughroly look the car over before placing any bids.
The car is now being offered for sale on Bring a Trailer out of Miami Shores, Florida and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
