There will also be Cars Lamborghinis at the 40th edition of Auto e Moto d’Epoca, scheduled from 26 to 29 October in Bologna. A decision taken in the year of its sixtieth anniversary also by virtue of the fact that for the first time the event will take place in the capital of its province. To celebrate the occasion, therefore, they will be displayed in the stand two icons of the brand: the first Countach LP400 produced and the body of an Espada currently under restoration, presented in full production phase.
“For the first time Automobili Lamborghini, represented by Polo Storico, officially participates in the event, within the area dedicated to MotorValley – declared Alessandro Farmeschi, After Sales Director of Automobili Lamborghini – At the Bologna stand, we present two cars symbolizing the services for the preservation of the company’s historical heritage and the restoration of the Polo Storico: the first Countach, the LP 400 normally exhibited at the Museum of Sant’Agata Bolognese, and an Espada Series 3 of a Japanese enthusiast currently in the process of being restored.” The Historical Center, inaugurated in 2015, is the Automobili Lamborghini department that takes care of the company’s historical identity. In particular, it deals with preserving the history of the Sant’Agata Bolognese company and its cars through the management and study of the company archive, the restoration, the certification of historic Lamborghinis, up to and including the Diablo, and the organization of events dedicated to Lamborghini collectors.
1974 Countach LP 400, chassis #001
The oldest Countach in existence is the one with chassis number 1120001, exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show on 15 March 1973. It is very different from the first Countach produced, the LP 500 show car which was exhibited in Geneva in 1971, and is an important piece of Lamborghini history. Born in red, after the Geneva Motor Show it was used for numerous tests and development trials and, although already very similar to the 1974 production car, It has many different details. In June 1973, the Countach of chassis 1120001 was portrayed in a famous photo shoot, which appeared in one of the main English magazines of the period, while chief test driver Bob Walace was driving it towards Sant’Agata Bolognese. In September 1973 she almost seems to disappear. At subsequent shows, an LP 400 in the “Medium Green” color appears, which many think is a second car. The complete truth about the Countach 001 emerges only in 2003 when, from Switzerland, the green LP400 is brought to Sant’Agata Bolognese, and, studying it carefully during the restoration work that preserved its originality, it is discovered that, under the green, there is still the colored paint red and that what were presumed to be two different cars are, in reality, only one.
Espada Series 3 from 1972, chassis #8824
Presented in 1968, the Espada it was the first 4-seater car produced by Automobili Lamborghini. Extremely low and innovative, this front-engined 12-cylinder was capable of accommodating 4 comfortable passengers and a large amount of luggage, while remaining extremely fast. In 1970, the Espada S2, the second series, was presented and, in 1972, the S3 arrived, the final version which remained in production until 1978. The car displayed in the Lamborghini stand, chassis number 8824, was shipped on 28 September of 1972 to the then Lamborghini dealer in the Milan area, and then shipped to Japan by its first owner. It is presented in the full manufacturing phase, in progress at the Historic Center, still in bare sheet metal and with the signs of the work, waiting to be completed and returned to its owner, a Japanese collector. Originally in a beautiful color combination, bronze over a mustard interior, it was tested on September 11, 1972.
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