First time I pulled a Lambo Trifecta

For the first time ever, I drove all three of my cars to back to back, on the same roads to get a better idea of their differences.

 

Started with the Countach. It truly is such a unique car to drive. There really is nothing else quite like it. All this horseshit printed through out the years of how its hard to drive, cant see out of it, uncomfortable blah blah blah. Im 6ft, over 200lbs, and fit fine. My head doesn't hit the roof like many claimed, and my knees don't straddle the steering wheel. My size 12 sneakers do just fine with the offset pedals. At slow speeds the steering certainly requires effort, the shifter is the heaviest I've experienced in any car. All of this adds to the character of the car. The power is still entertaining by today's standards. Biggest downside is the brakes. They are terrible. Out on the open roads the car really comes into its own. The faster you go, the better it feels. Its shocking just how well it goes through the canyons.

 

Moving from the Countach to the Diablo, the experience is night and day. There is a HUGE jump in usability , performance, comfort etc. The jump from Countach to Diablo is far more extreme than the jump from Diablo to Murcielago. The Diablo's ice cold a/c, the windows that roll down fully, power steering, abs etc make for a much much easier car to drive. The Countach sounds amazing, but the Diablo is next level. The early Diablos, with no power steering, abs etc are closer to the Countach in drive. Their brakes are absolutely terrible, steering effort required is high, but the shift effort is much easier. The later Diablos are simply night and day to the Countach.

 

Moving from Diablo to Murcielago, the difference is somewhat disappointing. You don't get that night and day difference in feel. Maybe the difference is soo much more extreme since its basicly a 20 year design difference from Countach to Diablo, while its 10 from Diablo to Murcielago. The clutch effort in the Murcielago feels like a honda compared to the Diablo, and non existent compared to the Countach. I actually prefer the heavier feeling clutches. The Countach maybe a touch to hard, but the Diablo is downright perfect. Steering feel is another area where the Murcielago is a step back from the Diablo. The Diablo feels perfectly weighed, while the Murcielago just requires more input and effort due to the AWD. The Countach steering feels better than the Murcielago at speed, unless you're going through tight twisties which is an arm workout to say the least. The Murcielagos brakes are a touch better than the Diablo, and of course infinitely better than the Countach's scary brakes. Performance wise, with the mods I've done my Murcielago is faster than my Diablo. The Diablo just always needs to be in its sweet spot, while the Murcielago, even though it shares the same long gears just comes on cam quicker, and you can shift the Murcielago slightly faster than you can the Diablo. The noise from the Murcielago is also not as good as the Diablo, but that comes down to different exhaust systems. The Murcielago hides its weight well, and doesn't feel any less maneuverable or agile than the Diablo. The awd gives me more confidence going fast through the corners. The Murcielagos build quality is slightly better than the Diablos visually, but oddly enough, it makes much more creaking type of noise. By creaking I mean when going up inclines into gas stations from the suspension, or the creaking you hear from leather interior pieces rubbing on other pieces, like say the seat against the center console. The Countach has none of this.

 

Hard to pick a winner out of the three, even though the Murcielago inmo is the clear loser. Visually its inmo, the least striking of the three, and its just not the technological jump from the Diablo you'd hope it would be. I still love the car, but if one had to go, this would be it. The Countach and Diablo, are very difficult for me to pick a favorite. Emotionally Id say the Countach is the winner, while from a driving standpoint the Diablo wins.

Have you ever considered converting the Murcie to 2wd? It might give a better driving experience closer to the Diablo. Just a random thought that popped into my head as I read your post.

Have you ever considered converting the Murcie to 2wd? It might give a better driving experience closer to the Diablo. Just a random thought that popped into my head as I read your post.

I have thought about it. Id like to drive one to see if its worth the effort.

Thanks for the post, great read!

Makes sense, considering a Murcie is pretty much a diablo. When I am out there you can do a back to back with an Aventador. Great write up and the fleet looks pretty!

 

 

Edit, I drove a Bentley GT3R and the CF interior trim makes a shit load of nosies too. Way more than the wood. Materials can be a bitch.

Not surprising the quantum leaps are from Countach to Diablo to Aventador.

Countach sucks for canyon roads, belongs on long windy roads with as little emphasis as possible on braking as one needs to throw an anchor out to slow it down. But it does feel good at higher speeds especially 80mph+ as everything tightens and the steering come alive.

 

I agree with you regarding the Murci, i just find it to be a pig and way too heavy to throw around

I agree with you regarding the Murci, i just find it to be a pig and way too heavy to throw around

 

I agree, my least favorite to drive is the Murcielago series, no offense to the owners here.

Mine has the RWD conversion on it. I have all of the OEM parts to go back, but the RWD is a blast and something I would encourage.

Great write up! I don't take offesnse as a murci owner since the diablo and Countach are way more raw. Love all their looks and best is too have one of each:) 6.2 murci was a small step the 670 is a big leap from the Diablo. Honestly any v12 lambo is still a way different drive to any other car on the road, and always an occasion.

Good review Francis.

Thanks for sharing. I've owned a 03 Murcie and driven and earlier Diablo roadster many times(Dad in laws car). I love both the cars but for different reasons.

Great comparison.

I love reading these sort of posts - thanks Alan

That was good read.

Not many has the opportunity to have them side by side like that.

Interesting write up. Is there a brake upgrade for the Countach that allows you to keep the stock wheels? If so how effective is it? Also why did you purchase a earlier model Murci over an LP?

Interesting write up. Is there a brake upgrade for the Countach that allows you to keep the stock wheels?

 

Movit has: http://www.movitcars.com/htm/counhome.htm

Countach sucks for canyon roads, belongs on long windy roads with as little emphasis as possible on braking as one needs to throw an anchor out to slow it down. But it does feel good at higher speeds especially 80mph+ as everything tightens and the steering come alive.

 

I agree with you regarding the Murci, i just find it to be a pig and way too heavy to throw around

 

 

Yes, as I said, the tight canyons are a huge workout. Your forearms are burning at the end. But through the canyon areas with the long sweeping bends, the car is loads of fun.

Great write up! I don't take offesnse as a murci owner since the diablo and Countach are way more raw. Love all their looks and best is too have one of each:) 6.2 murci was a small step the 670 is a big leap from the Diablo. Honestly any v12 lambo is still a way different drive to any other car on the road, and always an occasion.

 

Going to disagree on the Murci SV being a big step over the Diablo. I actually walked away on a great deal for a matte black Murci SV. Everything was done and ready to go. Thankfully VCR was able to take advantage of the situation. Visually, the Murci SV is a big step up from the Murcielago, in both the interior and exterior. Performance wise, they are virtually identical. At the end of the day, egear killed the deal for me. Price difference was approx $170k, and it was not worth it to me to have to settle for an Egear. Decided id rather spend much less, and just do a few easy mods. If it were a manual, I would of bought the SV.

Interesting write up. Is there a brake upgrade for the Countach that allows you to keep the stock wheels? If so how effective is it? Also why did you purchase a earlier model Murci over an LP?

 

Because the early Murcielagos, 02-03 6 speeds offer nearly identical performance to the Lp640. The later 6.2 Murci's got slower, especially the egear. Then the Lp640 showed up to regain the performance they had lost. There is roughly a 30whp difference between both cars, stock for stock. Through the exhaust and Ecu changes Ive made, I more than made up for the hp. I prefer the early front bumper, and sides of the 6.2 to the Lp640. The 640 does have a better rear. If I was looking for an egear car, I would of got an lp640, but being that I wanted a manual, I didn't see the need to spend the additional coin.

 

The brakes on the Countach will suffice, Im never going to try and push the car hard anyway.

 

A really awesome thread with lots of info, especially if you are in to dinosaurs and ancient stuff

 

 

 

j/k - nice writeup oldie

Great write up Allan, thanks....makes me glad I went with another Diablo for #2 (but a 6 speed LP670 SV...)

great write up, Allan

i do have an old LP400S carbed and diablo vt roadster: the difference btw those 2 is huge but both are enjoiable in their own way

 

i have been in a 6.2 L murcie and, while a great car, it never made feel in love with it 100%

so, when i got the chance, i got a second diablo, an older not power steering 2wd, toegether with a later roadster is a good and different pair of diablos to experience imo.

 

i have to make a similar review with Lp400S, 2wd diablo and VT roadster diablo

Great write up Allan. Thanks for taking the time to document the differences in a back to back to back drive.

Winkleman said in an interview when asked "Which Lambo is the best?" to which he answer " The latest Lambo is the best."

Many old school owners I know would disagree as well, Great write up...