When Lamborghini unveiled the Countach in 1974, it had been three years since Project LP112 wowed the world with its radical design and unabashed style. One of those breath-taken people was a staffer hailing from the Piedmont region of Italy, who exclaimed, “contacc,” which roughly translates into a swear word one would use after being pleasantly surprised by something breathtaking, and he was right. The Countach came to become the benchmark for Italian exotic supercars.

Before the Countach, Lamborghini’s main weapon to fight cars like the Porsche 911, De Tomaso Pantera, and the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 had been the beautiful, yet slowly-becoming-outdated Miura. The Countach, built from 1974-1990, and with each generation became more and more of a literal poster child for kids fantasies all over the world.

The Ultimate Poster Child

The Countach had five distinct generations, but are generally divided up into two main eras: the four liter and five liter iterations.

The first of which was the LP400, built from 1974-1978 and amounting to just 150 total production units. This first generation was nicknamed “Periscopio,” a nod to the literal periscope-style rearview mirror used to deal with the near-zero rearward visibility of the futuristic car. Headed up by Chief Engineer Paolo Stanzani, the Countach set a new standard for Lamborghini. The tubular chassis got mounted to double-wishbone suspension and made to be lightweight and strong enough to handle the 3.9-liter naturally-aspirated V12 engine’s 375 horsepower at 7,500 RPM and 260 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 RPM. Power was then funneled through the longitudinally-mounted mid-engine through a 5-speed manual transmission that was actually located in the front of the car for better weight distribution. Stanzani creatively utilized a driveshaft he ran through the dry sump case to get back to the rear wheels.

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First Big Change

In 1978 the Countach got its first major update, which revolved around cleaner lines, better design flow, and massive 205/50 VR-15 front and 345/35 VR-14 rear Pirelli P7 tires that required a total redesign of the suspension setup to accommodate the steamroller-sized rubber and wheels. The Periscopio roof was also put out to pasture, the large rear wing and big air scoops were added for downforce, cooling and dramatic effect, which would come to define the Countach in later iterations.

The LP400 S was produced from 1978-1982 for a total of 235 units, which collectors divide up into three separate, yet hard to delineate series. Series I produced from 1978-1979, while Series II and Series III came off the line between 1980-1982. The differences between each Series are minor, but each took a step further away from the first-gen cars. Power came from the same naturally-aspirated 3.9-liter V12, now at 353 horsepower thanks to increasingly tougher emissions restrictions, but it still made the same 270 lb-ft of torque.

New Ownership, New Countach

In 1982, Lamborghini was under new ownership and finally allowed in the US. The new LP500 S came with a larger 4754cc V12 engine that pumped out 375 horsepower at 7,000 RPM and 302 lb-ft at 4,500 RPM. The rest of the car remained largely unchanged from the LP400 S, but thanks to a bigger sales market, Lamborghini managed to sell a total of 323 units worldwide.

Three years later in 1985, the Countach found itself in a major battle with cross-town Ferrari and their spectacular Testarossa. Lamborghini upped the Countach’s V12 to 5.2-liters and reworked the cylinder heads to have four valves per cylinder (or quattrovalvole in Italian) as well as employing six downdraft Weber carburetors. The result of all this work was a new, more powerful engine that created a Ferrari-topping 455 horsepower at 7,000 RPM and 340 lb-ft of torque. All that helped Lambo sell 610 units of their newest masterpiece.

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Saving The Best For Last

In 1988, for its final version, Lamborghini unveiled the 25th Anniversary Countach, which got its power from the same 455-horsepower V12 as the Quattrovalvole. This version was created as an homage to the original LP400. The revamped Countach came with a much more advanced suspension setup, as well as bigger, better flowing louvered air-ducts that were more contoured and incorporated into the body than the previous “ears". There were also strakes used along the side of the car to help channel air to the rear brakes. The 25th Anniversary was the best-selling generation, totaling 667 units in all. That was the most units solid in the entire chronology of the Countach's illustrious career.

In terms of performance, the Countach was always at the forefront of the exotic car segment. At its best, the LP5000 QV could accelerate from 0-60 mph in a scant 4.6-seconds, 0-100 mph in 10-seconds flat, and through the quarter mile in just 12.8-seconds at 114 mph, on its way to a top speed of 185 mph. Around the skidpad the Countach could post 0.85g. These numbers might pale in comparison to some of the more modern Lamborghinis like the Aventador, but for the late 1980s, the Countach’s performance was nothing short of heroic.

Related: Designed By Pagani: 1990 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition

The interior of the Countach remained a bit tight for the entirety of its lifetime. While not as Spartan as the purpose-built Ferrari F40, the Countach made do with finely-stitched leather upholstery and a dashboard that featured five analog gauges in total, with the two largest displaying the most important information to the driver -- RPMs and speed. But beyond the finely appointed material, there wasn't much else to distract the driver.

In fact, it wasn’t until the final 25th Anniversary Edition that Lamborghini even offered things like power seat adjustment and power windows. Air conditioning was also made standard, while optional, thinner sport seats were available, which gave the driver and passenger a bit more leg room than the normal tight fit.

Thanks to the Countach being the quintessential dream car of so many men and women growing up, as well as just recently celebrating its 50th birthday, resale value on the Countach has climbed steadily over the years, averaging out to almost $450,000 according to Classic.com. Collectors and purists will vie for the very limited early LP400 model, while some will just be trying to find the poster car they had as a child, which was typically the more bombastic LP500 and later models.