Black Beauty.
(RM Sotheby’s)Pearl White is the exterior color many think of when envisioning the Lamborghini Countach. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort infamously ruined a Countach painted in the scintillating coat on a drugged-up drive in The Wolf of Wall Street, and Lamborghini’s revived Sian-based Countach wore an updated version hue in promotional art upon reveal.
(RM Sotheby’s)That makes this murdered-out 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopio by Bertone something of a rebel. It’s among the first 157 Countachs produced, defined by a simple periscope that gave drivers some rear visibility behind behind the 4.0-liter, carbureted V12.
(RM Sotheby’s)While originally finished in red, a later repaint gives this Countach a rare black-on-black appointment. RM Sotheby’s doesn’t specify when the color change was made after delivery to its first owner in Milan.
(RM Sotheby’s)However, this example spent much of its life in the United States, picking up an autograph by Countach designer Marcello Gandini along the way at California Concours in 2003 and $60,000 worth of recommissioning work through 2006 and 2007.
(RM Sotheby’s) A pre-auction estimate wasn’t provided, but original Countach LP400 Periscopio’s can easily fetch $1 million-plus at auction in good condition. It joins other collector cars including 50s and 60s-era Ferraris, a Jaguar XJ 220 LM race car, and a later Countach LP400 S at RM Sotheby’s Guikas Collection sale on November 19.
(RM Sotheby’s)
