Bitauto Original On December 1, 2020, Volkswagen announced that Bugatti President Stephan Winkelmann will also serve as Lamborghini President. This is the second time Winkelmann has held this position. It was during his first term that Lamborghini launched the Aventador and Huracan, two classic supercars that are still sold today, and began the development of the Urus SUV model. Winkelmann, who returned to Lamborghini at the end of 2020, seems to be facing a good situation. In 2020, Lamborghini delivered a total of 7,430 new cars. Although it was slightly lower than 2019 due to the impact of the epidemic, it was still the second-highest number in the history of the brand. .

Stephen Winkelmann

1. The past lives of Icon Reborn and Countach This life

One year later, in December 2021, Lamborghini held the Icon Reborn event in its hometown, showing us more in-depth the birth process of the reborn LPI800-4 Countach model. According to Lamborghini officials, it only took one year from the decision to launch the project. It is speculated from the time that the decision to rebirth the Countach model should have been made by Winkelmann's predecessor, the Italian Domenicali. The reason why the new president decided to continue this project is undoubtedly related to Lamborghini's previous two years. It is related to the excellent market performance achieved: if a mass-produced car can be sold, it will naturally have the ability and energy to produce such a model, and it also needs to tell a story.

The story of Countach begins in the 1960s. At that time, Lamborghini was producing the third model in the brand's history - the Miura, a supercar with a mid-transverse V12 engine and Lamborghini's first real supercar.

But at that time, although Lamborghini had successfully entered the field of super sports cars, it had not really found the strongest foothold in this field. The brand urgently needed a car that could truly solidify the Lamborghini brand in the competition in the supercar field. This was not an easy task for a brand with only a few years of history at the time. At this time, Countach was born, and it achieved the goal expected by Lamborghini.

At the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, the Italian design studio Bertone’s booth displayed a yellow Lamborghini LP500 concept car that shocked the world. Although at the time this car was only for verification It was built for performance, but the sensation caused by its design strengthened Lamborghini founder Ferruccio Lamborghini's belief that this car would eventually be mass-produced, and the Countach was the final mass-produced version.. From 1974 to 1990, a total of about 2,000 units of the production Countach were produced, far more than the Miura. The success of Countach is not only in terms of sales, but more importantly, the classic design concept of Countach is still used by Lamborghini to this day. Even in the Urus, the brand's first SUV model, many traces of Countach design can be found. It can be said that starting from the Countach, you only need to see the entire body shape from a distance to identify Lamborghini models. This is the benchmark model that established Lamborghini's position in the field of super sports cars.

2. Driving experience through time and space

In this Icon Reborn event, Lamborghini is very enthusiastic about the brand A silver Countach 25 th anniversary edition model from the official collection is available for everyone to test drive. The 25th Anniversary Edition is the last version of the old Countach. It was produced from 1988 to 1990, with a total production of 671 units, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Lamborghini brand (1963-1988). At the time when the new model is launched, you can test drive the old model and appreciate the inheritance of this classic design.

When you get inside the car, the first thing you notice is the unreasonable space. Under the technical conditions of the year, the interior space of the car had to be sacrificed for the exterior design that was beyond the times. The headroom is small, and the door frame even touches the head from time to time. Start the engine, and what comes from the rear is the purest sound of V12 naturally aspirated. The original and wild sound is only a small baffle away from the driver. At this time, the history of Lamborghini is displayed in front of you, and the distance is also covered by it. Pulled infinitely close. The clutch pedal feels extremely hard and requires all your strength to step on it. The feeling of shifting into gear is also completely mechanical.

What is surprising is that the clutch engagement point is very gentle and wide. As long as you can depress the clutch pedal, you can start the car smoothly while driving. The gear shifting is not very frustrating. The accelerator also needs to be pressed very hard, but the response of this historic V12 engine is still very good. The power of 455 horses is considered strong even today, and it makes a wild and unmodified sound when it is pulled into the high speed range. , it is a voice that will never be seen again in this era. The brake pedal is completely opposite to the accelerator and clutch. The front section is very light and has a large gap. Only by pressing the brake hard almost to the bottom can you feel the obvious braking force. The steering feel is different from any contemporary car. There is very little vacancy in the middle, but the steering wheel is also relatively light at this time. When the steering angle increases to a certain angle, the steering wheel suddenly becomes very heavy. Even while driving, it is impossible to control the steering wheel with only one hand. Such a car can be driven smoothly at the moment and feelIt is already a great pleasure to see the style of that year.

1971-2021, a full 50 years, the slogan Icon Reborn very aptly describes the significance of the birth of the new LPI800-4 Countach. In order to resurrect this legendary model, since the only LP500 concept car that year had been destroyed in a crash test, the primary issue facing Lamborghini was to copy an LP500. After reviewing a large amount of historical data, a 1:1 scale LP500 clay model was first copied. Then, with the help of modern technology, the data of this clay model was scanned into the computer, and then the designer designed the new Countach based on these data. Hexagonal wheel arches, triangular air intakes on the side doors, and a spaceship-like shape above the rear fenders reveal half of the rear wheel and an extremely impactful tail, including the most classic front to rear The roofline and all classic elements have been retained and displayed again in a modern way. Just at a glance, you can recognize the relationship between this car and the old Countach.

At the event, Lamborghini also showed everyone a series of introductions to Lamborghini models such as design, leather, and paint spraying processes. At the same time, VR simulators were also provided at the event. experience.

3. Inheritance "Uncompromising" ingenuity

Looking back, there is a strong contrast between the vicissitudes of Miura and Countach and the new Countach and VR simulator. This cross-century co-location is so incredible. . This seems to be a golden age for Lamborghini. The reason why I said in my previous article that the Lamborghini accepted by Winckelmann seems to be in great shape is because there is a small unknown hidden in it.

When competitors have launched hybrid solutions to cope with the new era, and even mass-produced models At that time, the three models currently on sale by Lamborghini still used pure fuel engines. As of the end of 2021, we have not seen Lamborghini launch any technical solutions for the new era on mass-market models. On limited edition models like the Countach, a little bit of information has been revealed to us.

The powertrain used in the new Countach uses The same hybrid solution as the previous limited-edition Sian model: V12 naturally aspirated engine, paired with a 48V motor using supercapacitors, outputting a total of 814 horsepower. Among them, the 6.5-liter V12 engine contributes 780 horsepower, and the electric motor arranged in the gearbox only outputs 34 horses. The entire hybrid system does not use batteries and does not support charging. The electric energy stored in the supercapacitor comes entirely from energy recovery.

Such a hybrid solution is undoubtedly more powerful than the plug-in hybrid or even multi-motor plug-in hybrid solutions introduced by competitors. It's a lot conservative, but considering that to this day, Lamborghini's two super sports cars still use large-displacement naturally aspirated engines, without even turbos, it doesn't seem incomprehensible to be conservative.

The changes of the times always need to be witnessed. This is true for people, and so is the car. Lamborghini's development path has not been smooth sailing, but it is precisely because of this that it is enough for us to remember. Adhering to self-priming seems stubborn, but it seems so out of place under the wave of electrification where turbines are already everywhere and electric vehicles are coming. However, the wave of hybrid/electrification does not seem to be as gentle as that of turbocharging. I can feel the power of the times moving forward this time, which is extremely huge. At this point in time, there is no problem with the light-hybrid solution using supercapacitors being used on the new Countach, which is limited to 112 units. But is this also the powertrain solution for Lamborghini's next-generation mass-produced supercar in the future? I don't know, and it seems I can only wait and wait for the official answer from Lamborghini. The answer obviously comes from the new president Winkelmann. This professional manager, who was born in Germany and grew up in Italy, has made countless achievements in the automotive field. I believe he can answer this new question raised by the Good Times just like he used the Urus to lead Lamborghini to glory.