If your life-o-meter is currently pointing to numbers in the 30s or 40s, it is very likely that at some point, you had a poster of a Lamborghini Countach and/or its rival from Maranello, the Ferrari Testarossa, hanging on your bedroom wall, as these were the supercars of their time.
Styled by Marcello Gandini from the Bertone design studio, the Countach remains the quintessential Lamborghini upon which all models of the Italian firm look up to.
The V12-powered Countach was produced from 1974 to 1990 when it was replaced by the Diablo. The last model of the series was the 1988 25th Anniversary Edition motivated by a 455hp (461PS) 5.2-liter V12 engine, which introduced some questionable styling cues such as the strakes, supposedly to improve engine cooling.
Coincidentally (or not), side strakes were the biggest design feature of the Countach’s chief rival, the Pininfarina-designed Ferrari Testarossa, offered from 1984 through 1996. The Ferrari model was updated and renamed to 512TR in 1991 and F512 M in 1994.
In the first video, the last Countach is placed against a newer 512TR featuring a 426hp (434PS) 4.9-liter V12. Even though the match-up is a bit unfair as the original Testarossa is closer to the Countach 25th Ann. and Lamborghini had already replaced it with the Diablo by the time the 512TR came out, it makes for a very interesting watch.
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