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The legendary Miura was always going to be a hard act to follow,so the extent to which its successor eclipsed the greatest of 1960ssupercars came as something of a shock to all. The sensation of the1971 Geneva Salon, the Countach was styled, like its predecessor,by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini. It was nothing less than spectacular,looking like it had been conceived on another planet. As Motormagazine observed: ‘few people gazing at the original BertoneCountach at Geneva in 1971 could have regarded it as anythingbut a “show” car. There were those fold-up doors for a start and thespace-age cockpit with its abysmal rear visibility not to mention thestrange engine/transmission configuration.’ Happily, Lamborghinidisregarded criticism of the car’s supposed lack of practicality and theCountach entered production changed in detail only. As it happened,the production version would not be seen for another two years, withdeliveries commencing in 1974.The Miura’s four-cam V12 was retained for the Countach, though thistime installed longitudinally and equipped with side-draught Webercarburettors. To achieve optimum weight distribution, designer PaoloStanzani placed the five-speed gearbox ahead of the engine betweenthe seats, and the differential - driven by a shaft passing throughthe sump - at the rear. The result was a delightful gearchange and abetter-balanced car than the Miura.When production began in 1974, the Countach sported an improvedspaceframe chassis, replacing the prototype’s rather untidy semimonocoque,while the bodywork was made of aluminium. The runninggear was carried over from the Miura. One of the Countach’s moststriking features was the doors, which opened vertically and weresupported by hydraulic struts, pivoting at their most forward point.The production Countach came with the standard 4.0-litre - insteadof the prototype’s 5.0-litre - engine. Even with the smaller engineproducing ‘only’ 375bhp, the aerodynamically efficient Countachcould attain 170mph (274km/h) and, naturally, came with racetrackroadholding to match. Designated ‘LP400’ by the factory (LP =Longitudinale Posteriore, describing the engine placement), the firstCountach is commonly known as the ‘periscopio’, after its centralperiscope, faired into the roof, which provided rearward vision.This stunning example of the revolutionary Countach in its originalLP400 ‘periscopio’ form is one of approximately 157 built between1974 and 1977, which explains why examples are only rarely seen forsale. A rare, right-hand drive example, chassis number ‘1120070’ wasdelivered new to Malta, its first owner being one Alfred John Gaul. Thecar was first registered in the UK in 1990 and was first owned in thiscountry by well-known collector, the late John ‘Jack’ Tattershall.Motor Cars | 191