1974 Lamborghini Countach

The Story

When the Lamborghini Countach LP400 reached production in 1974, it looked less like a car and more like a vision of the future that had arrived early. Marcello Gandini's wedge-shaped design, with its knife-edge lines and trademark scissor doors, made everything else on the road look instantly outdated.

Behind the cabin sat a 3.9-liter V12 spinning to 8,000 rpm and producing 375 PS. Mounted longitudinally with its gearbox ahead of the engine, it gave the Countach near-perfect balance and a savage soundtrack. The reward was a 0-60 sprint of around 5.4 seconds and a top speed that flirted with 180 mph.

The earliest LP400s, nicknamed "Periscopo" for the periscope-style roof channel above the driver, were the purest of the breed: slim, free of the wings and flares that would come later. Lamborghini built just 157 of them across the model's run, making the original Countach one of the rarest supercars of its generation.

That rarity, combined with its status as a poster-car icon, has sent values soaring. The LP400 now averages around $878,000 at auction, with the best, most original cars sailing past the million-dollar mark. The poster that hung on a million bedroom walls has become a genuine seven-figure dream.