One to Buy: Arancio Miura 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400
The late 1960s and early 1970s spawned a variety of fantastic Wedge Design concepts. Although Ital Design and Pininfarina created some seminal machinery (most notably the Maserati Boomerang and Ferrari Modulo respectively), it was from Bertone that arguably the most iconic bodies emerged.
In addition to the Alfa Romeo Carabo and Lancia Stratos Zero, Bertone’s studio was responsible for the only Wedge Design concept that made it into production true to its original form.
That car was the Lamborghini Countach which, having debuted in prototype trim at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971, finally entered production three years later.
While the Countach subsequently went on to sprout massive wheelarch extensions and spoilers, today it is the original LP400 that has come to be revered as the most significant.
Unadorned with the macho accessories of later iterations, the LP400 remains a startling sight.
One of the finest examples of the LP400 to exist is currently on offer at Graham Turner (Motor Cars) Ltd. based in the Cotswolds, England.
Not only is chassis 1120106 arguably the most famous right-hand drive LP400 delivered to the UK, it remains one of the most original.
Finished in the iconic colour scheme of Arancio Miura, 1120106 was featured extensively in period press articles and was a frequent attendee at Lamborghini Owners Club events (see our very own article on the car for a taste: https://supercarnostalgia.com/blog/lamborghini-countach-lp400-chassis-1120106).
Reprinted below is Graham Turner’s advert for this incredibly desirable piece if Italian exotica:
One of just 10 original RHD Countach LP400 ‘Periscopicas’ built for the UK market and one of only 157 in total, chassis number 1120106 left the Sant’Agata Bolognese works in the summer of 1975. Famously the Countach chosen to feature alongside celebrated Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni in a series of photographs by Car Magazine’s Doug Blain, the car was subsequently despatched to the UK importer, Berlinetta Italia on 26th June 1975, and registered ‘RU 27’ to its first owner.
Specified from new in Arancio Miura, with Senape interior trim, a scheme the car still wears today, 1120106 featured on the front cover of the August 1977 issue of Thoroughbred & Classic Cars. The car later featured in an early edition of Classic & Sportscar magazine (May 1982), by which time it had been re-registered ‘3 DUU’.
1120106 changed hands in 1986 and has remained in the same ownership ever since.
The car has further featured in a number of books on both Lamborghini in general and the Countach in particular.
Having covered just 35,000 miles from new and having enjoyed decades of uninterrupted and cossetted ownership, this LP400 remains not just in superb condition, but in superb original condition, which must make it almost unique. Right down to its complete and exceptionally rare tool kit especially designed to fit into the spare wheel.
In a world where increasing numbers of these cars have had the very soul restored out of them (and all too often, not very well), 1120106 stands out as a true reference example, correct in every respect, of what it must have been like to lay eyes on one of the most extraordinary cars in the history of the automobile.
PRICE: £995,000
The car is presently UK registered.
