VIN: the ex-Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole chassis FLA12863
History of chassis FLA12863
Chassis FLA12863 was dispatched from the Lamborghini factory on July 10th 1985. A right-hand drive Quattrovalvole, it was supplied new by Portman Garage on George Street to the Qatari Embassy in Mayfair.
Purchased by a member of Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family, FLA12863 was ordered in Rosso Siviglia with a Bianco interior, rear spoiler and sports exhaust.
The car was issued number plate C701 BYX on August 1st 1985. Portman consecutively registered another nine new Lamborghinis that day (a mixture of Jalpas and Countach Quattrovalvoles). August 1st was always a busy day for new car registrations as the licensing body made their annual switch to a new prefix (1985’s being ‘C’).
In addition to being frequently spotted around London, FLA12863 was loaned to What Car? magazine and road tested by Tiff Needell for their spring 1986 High Performance supplement.
FLA12863 was only retained by the Al Thani’s for a relatively short period before it was sold to the first of several UK owners. In 1991, the registration plate was switched to LBO 156. More recently, the car was exported to Australia.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: David Irvine & Supercar Nostalgia
