The Lamborghini Countach is the ultimate poster car and definitive artifact of an era defined by unadulterated excess. While the Ferrari F40 was undeniably a better driving experience, the Countach was much better to look at. And a big part of its appeal was the giant wing that proved to the ‘poors’ that it could do a million miles an hour.
But look closer at that iconic supercar, specifically from the rear three-quarter angle. Bolted to the engine deck, it too was a symbol of the era.
Except, it did not work. In fact, it did the exact opposite.
This week, we’re celebrating the 1980s on CarBuzz, from the wildest supercars to the coolest daily drivers. Take a trip back in time with us to then the colors were bright, the cars were loud, and EVs weren’t even a dream yet.
Formula 1 Is Responsible For The Wing
1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400 PeriscopioRM Sothebys
In case you’re too young to remember Countach history, a short reminder. The Countach was designed by Marcello Gandini, working for the legendary design house Bertone. When Gandini first penned the design, it was meant to be a sleek futuristic wedge. Even though designers did not fully understand aerodynamics at the time, the original LP400 was slippery enough to get to 180 mph. That’s not bad for a 370-hp V12 engine.
1980 Lamborghini Countach Turbo S in RedCurated
That was good enough for most, but then a Canadian oil magnate decided he wanted one. As a Formula 1 team owner, the Countach was not ridiculous enough for him. So Walter Wolf phoned Lamborghini and commissioned five bespoke models with much wider rubber, flared wheel arches, and an adjustable rear wing. Photographs of these cars started circulating through the mass media, and suddenly every rich playboy who wanted to pretend they were somebody important wanted the same spec.
But there was a problem. Lamborghini couldn’t mass-produce the Countach with a rear wing.
The Most Italian Solution Ever
1974 Lamborghini Countach Exterior Finished In Blue And Yellow On Production LineLamborghini
Lamborghini found itself between a rock and a hard place. Building five custom cars for a customer was perfectly fine, but once more people started asking, it had to do a business case study. There were several problems with the winged Lamborghini.
First, Lamborghini could not legally sell the car without spending millions. One does not simply bolt a rear wing on a supercar and hope for the best. The engineering team would have to spend months in a wind tunnel to find out whether the engine deck could withstand the stresses of the wing. They also had to find out whether the rear wing would lift the front, which is kind of important. At 180 mph you really need the front wheels to touch the ground. Lamborghini would also have to build several Countach prototypes for expensive new crash testing and European homologation updates.
Thankfully, Lamborghini is based in Italy, where stupid bureaucratic laws are meant to be broken. And besides, if Lamborghini didn’t offer its customers the option, some third-party would. That gave the Italians an idea, and a brilliant workaround. Instead of fitting the Countach with a wing at the factory, it would offer said wing as an “unofficial” option, completely bypassing regional regulators. You wouldn’t find it in the brochure, but every salesperson knew exactly what you wanted when you asked for the wing.
1974 Lamborghini Countach Exterior Finished In Red At Lamborghini FactoryLamborghini
To get around regional regulators, Lamgorghini didn’t put the wing on the car in the factory. Once it cleared the final quality inspection inside the factory, workers would literally wheel the vehicle out the back door into the gravel courtyard or parking lot behind the building.
Once the car was in the parking lot, factory workers would use the tried and trusted method of using a measuring tape, a drill, bolts, and eyeballing it to fit a massive wing on the rear. There were no precise factory mounting jigs; it was done entirely by eye. Buyers paid thousands of dollars extra for the privilege of having a factory worker drill holes into their pristine exotic in the factory’s backyard.
And thus started the era of charging customers ridiculous amounts of money for optional extras they didn’t really need.
The Wing Was Utterly Useless
1980 Lamborghini Countach Turbo S in RedCurated
Because Lamborghini couldn’t test the wing in a wind tunnel, it had no idea what the rear wing would do. I suppose this brings us to the question of what a wing is supposed to do. Ideally, a rear wing should push the rear tires down for additional grip without having an impact on the front. It should also slip through the air as smoothly as possible so it doesn’t have an effect on the top speed. The Countach wing did neither of these things. In fact, it did the opposite.
More recent aerodynamic studies have shown that the airflow traveling over the Countach’s roof detached completely before it reached the rear decklid. Instead of doing wing-like things, it acted like an open parachute, generating massive amounts of aerodynamic drag without any functional aerodynamic benefit.
Testing Reveals The Terrible Truth
Lamborghini Countach Turbo SCurated
By the time the wing became a thing, Lamborghini was producing the Countach LP5000 QV (Quattrovalvole). The famous V12 engine was enlarged to 5.2 liters, and it produced 420 hp with fuel injection, and 449 hp when fitted with six Weber carburetors. Therefore, you’d expect a higher top speed than the 180-mph LP400.
Without a wing, the LP5000 could reach a top speed of 182 mph. Not much of an improvement, but a win is a win. With the “optional” rear wing fitted, the top speed dropped to 170 mph. That’s right. The rear wing cost the standard car 12 mph, and it was 10 mph slower than the LP400.
That was devastating news, but it gets worse. To explain why, have a look at the Manthey 911 below.
2025 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Manthey Kit at Road AtlantaPorsche
If you’re going to fit a big-ass wing on the rear of the car, it needs to be balanced by front downforce (via a front splitter, diffusers, or air dams) to keep the chassis level. Imagine what this rear-engine 911 would do if it didn’t have all those trick aero devices on the front. It would wheelie from the line like a Dodge Demon.
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The Countach couldn’t pop a wheelie, but the wing did start having an impact above 140 mph. The heavy steering became vague as the speed climbed, which would be dangerous if Countach drivers were actually brave enough to go above 140 mph. That’s not a dig at Lamborghini, by the way. Any 1980s car feels sketchy at above 140 mph.
Nobody Actually Cared
Lamborghini
Lamborghini’s famous chief test driver, Valentino Balboni, later confirmed what were only rumors at the time. He only requested wingless models from the factory, and adjusted the wing angle to zero degrees when he absolutely had to drive one.
But customers didn’t care. In the 1980s, looking good was more important than looking where you were going. Everyone was also snorting all sorts of stuff by the truckload, so a lower top speed could actually be seen as a safety feature. Style was more important than substance, and let’s be honest, it still is. The Ferrari Luce might objectively be the best car ever made, but it looks like a Croc. (The shoe, not the animal).
You can’t have a Countach without a rear wing because it’s morally and ethically wrong. I’m pretty sure it’s the law.
So, there you have it. The Countach’s wing made it slow, useless, and absolutely magnificent.
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