When I was in college, there was not too far from campus an eclectic run of stores. Among the mix of freestanding buildings was an Asian grocery store, where I took a Chinese cooking class for 12 weeks. There also was one of the first collector car “stores” I ever saw. Through the window, you could ogle the most magnificent sheet metal you have ever seen.
One day, with time to kill (waiting on a girlfriend) I slipped into the shop. The owner left a vivid impression: a tall gentleman, wearing a blue suit, silk tie, and pocket square, with the most amazing handlebar mustache I had ever seen, and an Italian accent to match. He completely looked the part. I was all of 19 years old, in jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt, and barely two nickels to my name.
“Mind if I look around?”
“Only if you tell me which cars you like,” he purred in that accent. I was completely enthralled.
“Well, I always loved the E-Type Jag, and this red Ferrari coupe is gorgeous, but what is this outrageous car here?”
I never forgot what the mustachioed gentleman from Modena did next: He put a finger to his pursed lips, tsk-tsked, and ever so gently shook his head.
“Ahh, the Lamborghini Countach, she is like a beautiful woman who is terrible in bed.”
I smiled, knowing that, unlike every other guy who had that poster hanging on his wall, this was the end of my interest in the Countach. At least, for 40 years, when Lamborghini decided to roll out a modern retro hybrid version of the famed wedge.
The specs on the new car are quite impressive:
-803-HP
-naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V-12
-0-62 MPH in 2.8
-Top speed 220.5
-48-volt electric motor
-standard hybrid tech
-seven-speed single-clutch ISR gearbox
-production limited to 112
OK, so at $2.64 million, it’s not on my buy list. Still, it’s a sign of things to come when supercars go hybrid, on their way to an electric future. I am excited to see that era coming…
Source: Road and Track, Lamborghini
