Wednesday 15th September 2021

LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH  Book review by Peter Baker

This is not the first book devoted to the Countach, but co-authors Thillainathan Pathmanathan and Anne Christina Peck, both deeply in love with all things Lamborghini, have attacked this 336-page history lesson with great verve, leaving no stone, or should that be flywheel, unturned. And with a retail price of just £60 it deserves a place on any enthusiast's bookshelf.

Very few, if any, 1970s/80s Italian supercars could be described as everyday practical. Somebody, it may have been me, once described the Countach as an unreliable, moving work of art, both in mechanical and emotional terms. But best beware, without constant attention, those moments of subliminal 196mph addiction don't come cheap, remember Lamborghini invented the words fragile and bankrupt. Neither really matters of course, because prices are now through the roof and few Countachs actually get driven. Which brings us back to square one, and art museums.

This book leaves nothing out, but rambles on a bit. Best bits? The press reports and road tests. At launch, Autocar and Motor magazines loved this Bertone special, as did Peter Dron, Steve Cropley and the great L J Setright. So, who am I to argue? I give it four and three-quarter stars, not because of content, I just can't pronounce the author's names. Seriously. Thoroughly recommended.

LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH
Written by Thillainathan Pathmanathan and Anne Christina Reck
ISBN 978-1-910505-63-2
Available from EVRO Publishing
Price £60.00