Customer Reviews

Lamborghini Countach: The Complete Story (Crowood Autoclassics)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are considering the purchase of a Countach, it is likely to be a used one and there is precious little information to be had on these cars. Much of Peter Dron's book consists of a light historical treatment, collected reviews and opinions from auto magazines over the years. This is useful to a degree, one does need to know characteristic data, but magazine reviews are usually pretty slim on other information that serious buyers might like to know.

True, many owners of Countachs buy them as trophies and barely break them in. Yes, there are a few racing enthusiasts. But there are also a few mundane souls who would really like to go out and drive this sort of car, rather than just invest in it, stare at it in a garage or tinker with it.

So how reliable is it day after day? Approximately how expensive is it to maintain? By 1995 this type of information should be known for each generation of the car. You won't find this in Consumer Reports either. This market ain't exactly their bailiwick. You need to talk to owners and shops.

Dron's book is useful. Much of the information that a buyer does want is in there. It could and should have been quite a bit better, but I do recommend purchasing it if you are interested in this car.

I love this book.Not likely to ever have the money to buy one of these cars but this book is the next best thing.Plenty of colour and b&w photos throughout and a story told in a sensible way means any enthusiast of these cars can enjoy this book too.

The book is good quality as you'd expect from the publishers and great value too.If you want a book on the countach this is the book for you.

This is obviously the result of exhaustive research by someone with a great love for the Countach. A legend from the first time it was shown, many bold, even outrageous claims were made about this car over its lifespan. This book is a bit biased at times, but always with something to back it up. It starts out with the origins of Lamborghini and the famous V-12 that powered virtually all of the top line Lambos in one form or another for decades, with cutaway drawings of the chassis and rare photographs to boot.

Gearheads will love the compiliation of almost any data you could wish for covering all the major editions of the car----max speed in each gear, max rpm, TRUE top speeds, acceleration data broken down in 10-mph increments to very high speeds, even a full dynograph for the ultimate production Countach engine, the mighty 455 HP QV5000 spec V-12 (complete with 6 twin-choke Weber carbs and the most glorious sound ever!!)!

It includes well written comparisons of the Countach's contemporaries including the Ferrari Testarossa and F40, Porsche 959, Aston Martin Vantage, etc. The obvious and direct comparisons would of course be the Ferrari Boxer in the '70s and the Testarossa in the '80s, neither of which were said to be as rewarding to drive in anger as the Countach. The author had obvious disdain for the iconic, giant rear wing, which was much loved in the '80s for its Le Mans Group C look and may (or may not) have produced useful downforce, but certainly stole 15 mph top end, resulting in a few painful, sobering independent road tests vs the competition. It was particularly rewarding to hear the author describe how he personally timed a healthy wingless Euro QV5000 from the passenger seat at a two-way average of 190 mph, confirming what many have suspected but someone have to prove---the Countach in proper form was too much for the Testarossa!! It even has discussion of the Diablo, then an upcoming car of great promise, although now in hindsight we know it did not prove itself to be nearly as endearing as the Countach.

All in all the best book I have seen on the Countach, my only complaint is that there doesn't seem to be a large hardcover edition. A book of this quality deserves it, leatherbound even!

Great info of the Countach as well as pics to support the text. A must have for Countach lovers and owners!

The world is waiting for a comprehensive, objective, thorough review of the history and characteristics of the Countach. This isn't it. Dron manages to show a lot of (not very good) pictures, write a lot of babble, and skimp on substance. He also manages to throw in a few gratuitous insults of Enzo Ferrari and Ferrari cars... hardly a sign of objective reporting.
It's a fine book for twelve-year-olds with Countach posters on their bedroom walls, I suppose; a serious student of Italian exotics or a serious potential Countach buyer will derive little of value from this volume.

Agree with most others book is basically reviews by the author in magazines, There are some pics of the Jalpa,Lm/cheetah, and some pics of the Countach("Coon-Tash") its a interesting read, When I was a Kid I liked these cars, I still do sort of. they are better looking then whats coming out from VW's Lambo". Which are small and nancy looking Except maybe for A ALL BLACK Murciealgo. The cars are pretty much bling and any bozo can drive one now. So its cool reading the development on this Car,
While not a Everyday car Like A Corvette, Its a Interesting Read Even with the Understandable Author's Bias(Lambos are imho indeed better than Ferrari). Pick it up and read for yourself.

In general I thought the book was OK.

The Good = It gives a great history of the Countach and how it grew and changed over the years. There are some interesting historical pictures and many blueprint and design photos. The designing of the car is well described.

The Bad = The book is written in a magazine sort of way. It felt like a collection of articles rather than a continuous narative or history. Some topics were explained in excruciating detail while others were glossed over. For a good portion of the book, the author critiqued articles from magazines, with only few quotes of the original articles. The book has too many author opinions and too few facts for my taste. There is a lot of what the author thinks of past tests and testers. (The author did a magazine article where he clocked the Countach at 195 mph. He goes on for pages explaining why he was right and others failed to reach his recorded speed.)

Conclusion = This book is not bad. It does have some good information. It is not a good reference for what Countach ownership is like. This book has the "dream car we will never own" attitude. If you are a fan of the Countach like myself, there are some great pictures in there, magazine reviews over the almost 20 year lifespan of the car, and some nice tech picrutes and information. Not a complete story, but an OK book.

LP50

A book on the evolution of the Lamborghini Countac