The Lamborghini Countach is a quintessential bedroom poster car. In the same vein as Pamela Anderson or Fabio, the Countach was on the walls and in the dreams of people who grew up in the ’80s and since. If you had any remote childhood interest in cars, you probably had a Lamborghini Countach poster, toy, or something. So, when Lamborghini announced that the car was coming back we were all as excited as we were the first time we saw 3D graphics on the original PlayStation.
Then, it was unveiled. Collectively, the whole internet yawned. Meanwhile, Acura surprised announced an Integra revival, and we lost our damn minds.
Why the hell did we yawn when the new Countach was unveiled? I have a theory: it’s because as much as we love nostalgia, maybe we’re all a little bit tired of it, too.
Think about it. Nearly every new entertainment IP is a reimagining of something old, cashing in on that sweet, sweet, nostalgia, in an attempt to get our dollars. Sometimes, the efforts are good and fresh! A lot of the time, the efforts are cynical and tired, something we’ve seen before, clearly a transparent attempt to get our dollars with no love and care about it. That old thing we once loved, has been rehashed; its attempts to make it feel fresh and new are glaringly inauthentic, boring, and bland.
The old Countach was such a daring design; its wedge shape, mid-engine proportions were the template for every supercar afterward. When it was introduced in the late 1970s, nothing looked like it, other Lamborghinis and Ferraris were nowhere near as crazy looking, with their traditionally 1960s proportions and delicate brightwork. The Countach’s wide stance, big wheels, caution-to-the-wind outlook on outward visibility, were completely new. Even if you didn’t know anything about cars, you knew that the Countach was special; unique.
The Countach we got last week is essentially just an Aventador with a body kit. There are some styling cues from the old one, and sure, the powertrain is undeniably cool. Yet, the whole car feels more “rerun” than “revived classic.” The otherworldly proportions on the Countach of old, now seem pretty pedestrian on this new revival. Hell, it even seems less exciting than some other Lamborghini one-off special editions or concepts, like the Sesto Elemento, or the Egoista. Those cars were crazy; outlandish-looking vehicles.
The new Countach kind of… isn’t. It’s not a bad-looking car, it’s a nice homage to the classic, and the styling seems very well resolved. It just doesn’t make me care about it, though.
