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We wanted to write and formally thank Lambo Power and those of its members who have been kind and generous enough to provide information , anecdotes and photographs for our Lamborghini Countach book which has just been published ( Evro Publishing , ISBN : 9781910505632 ) . We estimate that this 336 page book with about 450 photos took us over 1200 hours to write - so about the same sort of time as it took Sant' #### to construct a Countach in period . Planning for the book started almost exactly 20 years ago - on 26 / 5 / 2001 , the day we acquired temporary custodianship of Chassis 12399 ( a Rosso Siviglia 88 1/2 QV ) direct from its first owner via Lamborghini London . Even now ,12399 continues to delight us every day , as only a Countach can . Lambo Power contributors were hugely helpful , and we have taken care to name every contributor in the Acknowledgements Page ( except for some of the most important contributors who asked for anonymity - a request that we have , and will , absolutely respect ) We had contributors from 6 continents , including Valentino Balboni , Giampaolo Dallara , Umberto Marchesi and Tonino Lamborghini , but sadly the factory cat eluded us . Meeting these Countach midwives was the highlight of our research trips . This has been a labour-of-love that two eye-surgeons could never have brought to a successful conclusion without the invaluable help and guidance of you dedicated Lambo owners and enthusiasts , so thank-you again Lambo Power . And next onto a book on the '' Holy Trinity '' - a book looking at the evolution of the wedge-shaped , South-North Bizzarrini mid-engined , Lamborghini flagships . Tracing the bloodline of the Countach , Diablo and Murcielago should keep us out of mischief for a bit .

Anne & Path Pathmanathan Mon, 24 May, 18:02 (16 hours ago) to Anne, Anne, me Almost exactly 20 years ago , my first act after buying Chassis JLA 12399 ( an 88 1/2 5000 QV ) from HR Owen , the UK's then sole official Lamborghini concessionaire , was to ring Mike Pullen and ask him to service the car . For those who might not know , Mike Pullen has serviced Countachs for over 40 years now , and at some point in time has probably looked after just about every Countach in southern England . Mike has looked after 12399 ever since , and a couple of weeks ago the car was transported up to Haywards Heath for an inspection and treatment session by its longstanding physician . Fortunately little more was needed other than a routine major service : the exhaust back box needed some welding , a clutch hose needed replacement , and we decided that all four brake calipers needed refurbishment . The car was also running its original , Sant' #### fitted rear brake pads ( 12399 is also on its original factory clutch ) - so we decided that after 33 years and 34,000 kilometres the time had come to replace them . More about the Countach's aerodynamics later , which partly explains the longevity of the brake pads . For a multitude of reasons I hadn't driven the car for ages , and I was also missing it ( the service work was done very quickly , but the brake calipers had to be sent off , and there was a long delay before the calipers were sent back to Mike ) after its 2 1/2 week spring holiday chez Pullen , so immediately upon getting the call that 12399 was ready to be collected , I ignored the weather forecast and decided to pick it up myself . Despite having had the car for over 20 years , and despite having driven it for almost 20,000 kilometres , it was absolutely not the case of jumping back onto the bicycle and gaily wheeling off into the distance . I drove up in my wife's elderly Mercedes CLS , and the contrast between the CLS and the Countach was total . And hence this thread - some owners might recognise a few things , and some enthusiasts might find what follows of interest . As it was a Saturday , I picked the car up from Mike's home rather than from his garage . As usual Mike had performed his magic , and the car started immediately after the usual ritual - it was cold and raining , so 3 dabs of the accelerator pedal , clutch pedal in , turn the ignition key , and pray . A slightly different procedure is needed if the car hasn't been started for more than a day , and yet another procedure if the engine is still warm . 12399 is of Mediterranean extraction and abhors the cold . Mike's driveway climbs fairly steeply upwards before intersecting with a very busy but narrow road . Which I had to cross ! Not an auspicious start to a four hour , 160 mile journey , when it is pelting down with rain - especially on a busy Saturday morning . To execute the move onto the opposite side of the narrow road without kerbing the nearside front OZ wheel demanded a 3 point turn . 2nd gear is out of bounds until the transmission oil is warm , so it was a case of using 1st gear and then short-shifting to 3rd . To give you an idea , max speeds in each of the 5 forwards gears are respectively: 60 mph ; 80 mph : 120 : 150 : 178 - or so Sant' #### says . To keep up with the Saturday supermarket crowd meant a hooligan like high rev scream in 1st gear , OR a bucking bronco ride in 3rd . Unwanted attention OR shaken and stirred - the driver's choice . What was definitely not yet on the menu was 2nd gear . The Countach really , really dislikes low revs and low speeds . The drive up in the CLS was so effortless . In contrast the drive back home in the Countach was so full of effort . One example - the car has no intermittent wiper setting ( cf the CLS with its rain detector facility !! ) , so each time the windscreen got sufficiently speckled to impede vision , you had to take your left hand off the steering wheel and depress the wiper stalk . And with the huge windscreen set at 21 degrees to the horizontal , the pantograph wipers did an excellent job of clearing the vast majority of the screen but not the peripheral edges - which is unhelpful when there are pedestrians whom you don't want to run down in case they dent the Countach's delicate 1 mm aluminium bodywork . The Countach's Bizzarrini V12 engine and its 5-speed gearbox carry vast volumes of their respective lubricant , so it takes forever , and many miles , before these fluids warm up , and before 2nd gear can be safely employed . And right-hand drive Countach's accelerator cables have to negotiate a more convoluted path back to the engine bay than their left-hand drive counterparts , so there is an initial dead spot ( however well lubricated the cable is ) to the accelerator pedal which makes smooth and precise modulation difficult . But once the car is fully warmed up , and once you have open roads , the Countach transforms from a recalcitrant brat to a thing of joy . This is such an imperfect car - it was imperfect in 1973 , and it is even more imperfect in traffic dense and speed cameras saturated 2021 . It needs wide , clear , unrestricted roads . Anything less and it is a minor nightmare . It thrives on high revs and even more on high speeds - no , the two are not exactly synonymous . It is not a car that anyone half sensible would choose to take to the supermarket -- why would you use a jewel encrusted microscalpel for a job that requires a bone-saw . It was a good hour before I again felt really comfortable driving my old playmate -- so how could anyone reasonably ask a journalist to make a fair assessment of this very atypical car after just a brief half day acquaintance ? I could go on and on , and have in my forthcoming Countach book ISBN 9781910505632 , but what struck me most were the following points : 1) I would never choose to drive a Countach ( or for that matter any car ) for pleasure without first selecting the most quiet time of day and route . On this occasion i broke this cardinal rule , and the drive was hugely less pleasurable than it could have been . On a couple of very , very brief occasions the Countach had the opportunity of showing its mettle - and Wow , simply Wow . 2) This grande dame can still really pick up her skirts and move -- when given the opportunity to do so . 3 ) She is a demanding lover - The Countach wants constant attention at low speed ( to drive it smoothly , and without it screaming like a banshee at 10 mph ) , and it needs total commitment when at the other end of its performance spectrum . 4) The Countach receives so much unjustified criticism for the weight of its steering , clutch pedal , and gear-change . Once moving beyond 5 mph, and especially once the Countach's engine and road speeds are at respectable levels consistent with its 1971 design brief ( the '' ultimate macchina sportive stradale '' ) these barbs carry absolutely no substance . All 3 controls have a delicious mechanical heft , and there is a consistency of effort shared by all 3 controls . The most pressing limitations to the Countach as a driving tool are its poor outwards visibility and its width . 5) The car's aerodynamics are dire . My wife who was following in the CLS said that for sometime she thought that the Countach's brake lights had failed because she didn't see them light up . In fact all I had to do was employ a modicum of anticipation , and lift off the accelerator pedal , and the car would slow down or come to a stop . The brake pedal is almost redundant - even in heavy traffic . A Cd of 0.42 coupled with a large frontal surface area explains a lot . 6) Driving this old car , with due respect to its age , but also without ignoring its performance potential , is literally life-affirming . I failed it on this occasion by driving it in less than ideal conditions , but in doing so I re-learnt the need to pre-select the timing and route of each drive carefully . The Countach deserves this minimum respect . It remains a very special car to drive , and a very precious ( from a historical perspective ) piece of automotive art

Dear Fellow Lamborghini Owners and Enthusiasts , Please could I start by introducing myself , and explain why I am writing to you I am a Consultant Eye Surgeon based in the United Kingdom , and have been a life-long Lamborghini enthusiast. I am lucky enough to own an 88 1/2 Countach ( Chassis 12399 ) , which I have had since 2001 , and a 2005 Murcielago Roadster ( Chassis 1564 ) which I have had since 2014 . I have written the world's first stand-alone book on the Lamborghini Murcielago (ISBN : 9781845849221) , and this is now available on Amazon ( 19 Chapters ; 55,000words ; 190 photographs with contributors from all around the world ) I have also written a book on the KTM X-BOW ( ISBN : 9781787114333 ) which is again available on Amazon . My book on the Countach ( 30 Chapters ; 127000 words , 425 photos ) will be published by EVRO Publishing in June , and its content and lay-out can be seen on EVRO's website . . I am now starting to write a book on the Diablo , and am reaching out to enthusiasts , mechanics, dealers and owners world-wide , for material and contributions that might have a place in this book . I always ensure that I fully acknowledge any contributions within the Acknowledgements Page - this is again another labour-of -love that is hugely dependent on the contribution from fellow enthusiasts If you are able to help , I would be most grateful , and am best contacted on : [email protected] I look forward to hearing from you , Thank you , and Take care Path Dr T Pathmanathan BSc MBBChir ( Cambridge ) MRCOphth FRCOphth FRCS PM Guild of Motoring Writers

Dear Fellow Lamborghini Owners and Enthusiasts , Please could I start by introducing myself , and explain why I am writing to you I am a Consultant Eye Surgeon based in the United Kingdom , and have been a life-long Lamborghini enthusiast. I am lucky enough to own an 88 1/2 Countach ( Chassis 12399 ) , which I have had since 2001 , and a 2005 Murcielago Roadster ( Chassis 1564 ) which I have had since 2014 . I have written the world's first stand-alone book on the Lamborghini Murcielago (ISBN : 9781845849221) , and this is now available on Amazon ( 19 Chapters ; 55,000words ; 190 photographs with contributors from all around the world ) I have also written a book on the KTM X-BOW ( ISBN : 9781787114333 ) which is again available on Amazon . My book on the Countach ( 30 Chapters ; 127000 words , 425 photos ) will be published by EVRO Publishing in June , and its content and lay-out can be seen on EVRO's website . . I am now starting to write a book on the Diablo , and am reaching out to enthusiasts , mechanics, dealers and owners world-wide , for material and contributions that might have a place in this book . I always ensure that I fully acknowledge any contributions within the Acknowledgements Page - this is again another labour-of -love that is hugely dependent on the contribution from fellow enthusiasts If you are able to help , I would be most grateful , and am best contacted on : [email protected] I look forward to hearing from you , Thank you , and Take care Path Dr T Pathmanathan BSc MBBChir ( Cambridge ) MRCOphth FRCOphth FRCS PM Guild of Motoring Writers