Lamborghini Countach LP 500
A yellow wedge with upward-opening doors turned a motor-show idea into the shape of tomorrow's supercar.
Lamborghini Polo Storico LP500 reconstruction · Yannick Leclercq · CC BY-SA 4.0
More than a set of wheels.
Lamborghini unveiled the LP 500 on Bertone's Geneva stand at 10 a.m. on 11 March 1971 while the new Miura SV occupied Lamborghini's own display. Marcello Gandini drew the shape and Paolo Stanzani led the mechanical design. The show car differed deeply from the Countach that reached production in 1974, then was used for testing and finally destroyed in a crash test.
Look a little closer.
The first public Countach stood on Bertone's display, not Lamborghini's, because Lamborghini's own stand was showing the Miura SV.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
The prototype was not simply an early LP400
The LP 500 used a platform frame rather than the tubular spaceframe adopted for production. It also had unique shark-gill engine intakes, electronic instruments and a one-off 4,971 cc V12. Treating production Countach dimensions or power as LP 500 facts would erase the experiment that the prototype really was.
Source: Lamborghini · Countach LP500 turns 50 ↗How a lost car could be studied again
The original was scrapped after its 1974 crash test. Decades later, Lamborghini Polo Storico spent more than 25,000 hours reconstructing its form from archive documents, photographs and supplier knowledge. That 2021 car is invaluable evidence, but it is a reconstruction and must never be presented as the surviving 1971 prototype.
Source: Lamborghini · LP 500 reconstruction at Villa d'Este ↗Where these facts come from
- Lamborghini · Countach LP500 turns 50: the story of a legend
- Lamborghini · reconstruction of the LP 500 at Villa d'Este
- Lamborghini · LP 500 shakedown
- Lamborghini · first Countach at Sant'Agata, 50 years later
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.