A meticulously restored 1985 Lamborghini Countach is heading to auction next month, where it is expected to draw between $900,000 and $1.1 million from collectors. The car will cross the block at RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale, held at the Monterey Conference Center from August 13 to 15.
The vehicle is an LP5000 QV “Downdraft,” a designation that points to the more powerful European version of the Countach that Lamborghini introduced at the 1985 Geneva show. Rather than the Bosch fuel injection used on U.S.-market cars, these European examples breathed through a set of six Weber downdraft carburetors. The change added 35 horsepower, lifting the 5.2-liter V-12 to 455 horsepower while sharpening throttle response. The car could reach 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and top out at 195 mph.
This particular example is one of just 300 built and one of only 13 carbureted QVs brought to the United States. Finished in a dark Nero Tenebre paint scheme with a black leather interior, it left the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory in July 1985 and was sent to a London importer that has since gone out of business.
The Countach passed through several hands over the decades, including a Massachusetts owner who held it for 25 years and, later, prominent collectors who poured resources into its revival. A four-year restoration ultimately exceeded $700,000, with the engine rebuild alone costing more than $77,000 and a separate chassis rebuild and repaint running past $601,000. The current owner, a Northern California collector, has added roughly $140,000 more.
That spending also bought extras, including a second set of wheels in gold and a spare engine cover without the signature rear wing, giving a future owner room to display the car in different configurations.
The odometer reads about 20,511 miles. Documentation accompanying the sale includes a copy of the handwritten build ledger, the original owner’s manual, the tool kit and a file of restoration records.
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Images Via: ted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Eve Nowell