1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary

• Introduced to celebrate Lamborghini's 25 years as a car maker
• 5167cc V12, 449bhp, 0-60 in 4.7 seconds and 183mph (295kph) 
• G375 WKJ is one of very few UK-supplied, right-hand drive Anniversary cars
• Delivered originally to Portman Lamborghini UK and first registered on 1/12/1989
• Widely regarded as the best driving of all Countach variants

Designing a successor to the delicious Lamborghini Miura was something of a challenge for Marcello Gandini, however, with the arrival of the Countach in 1971, he demonstrated to the world that his ability to create automotive drama was alive and well. In fact, the word Countach is Piedmontese slang for something that visually shocks and has no direct translation but 'wow' is probably the most polite.

The first Countach appeared at the Geneva Show in 1971. Big, bright and brash like the rest of the seventies, the Countach was to remain in production, through various iterations for 16 years. With hindsight, it's clear that the car's flying wedge design, with a sloping snout that appeared to descend directly from the windscreen, and innovative scissor doors, became a template for every supercar that followed. The original, beautifully clean profile was gradually bedecked with 'wings and things' as fashions changed over the years and frequent small mechanical changes were often the result of customer input in their capacity as unwitting development engineers. However, by the time Lamborghini was 25 years old and the Countach Anniversary was introduced in 1988, the majority of these teething troubles were in the past.

The Anniversary was effectively a new Countach, mechanically very similar to the 5000QV but sporting much-changed styling courtesy of Horatio Pagani. The rear air boxes were restyled and enlarged, while the vents behind them were changed so that they ran front-to-back instead of side-to-side. In addition, a new air dam and side skirting, both with air intakes, were fitted, and the taillights restyled to be narrower, with body-coloured panels replacing the upper and lower parts of the previous larger lights. These styling changes were striking on the 17-year-old design and had the added benefit of improving the engine's cooling, a problem with which the powerful Countach had always struggled. The Countach also featured 345/35R15 tyres, the widest available on a production car at the time. The factory only anticipated a limited demand but the sheer talent of this mature development meant that it actually became the most prolific Countach ever with 658 being built of which only 67 were finished in right-hand drive.

Delivered originally to Portman Lamborghini UK and first registered on the 1st of December 1989, this right-hand drive example is one of those 67 UK cars. Purchased by our vendor around five years ago with 27,500 miles indicated, the odometer is only showing 28,238 miles now so it has obviously been lightly used in recent times. Any Countach is dramatic to look at but this car's gleaming Nero paintwork makes it look particularly menacing. To soften this effect slightly, the interior was retrimmed in light cream leather with the seats piped in black. The facia, steering wheel, carpets and even the open gate for the gear-lever are also in black, lending the cabin a rather sophisticated feel. This is a lovely example of one of the world’s most famous classic supercars and we welcome and encourage your inspection of this remarkable piece of automotive sculpture.