A Real Blast from the Past!

[ehnriko]

2 decades ago, the world was given the most exotic car ever... it was also the most photographed car in the world. Totally going off the design evolution patterns, the Countache was developed where money was not the object.




From the first day Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to establish his own sports car factory, the only idea in his mind was: knock down Ferrari ! Within 3 years, he did that with Miura, a mid-engined V12 supercar with beautiful look and incomparable speed.

Having fulfilled the original goal, his next dream was to create an all-time greatest supercar. That car should be unbounded by any existing rules, should be so outstanding that no word could describe its excellence. Therefore he named this car "Countach". Although this word had no official meaning, it was a local dialect expression of exclamation akin to "Cor! , wow!, look at that!".

Miura, the fastest car in the world then, could run up to 172 mph. Countach, on the other hand, aimed at 200 mph. Yes, it was TWO HUNDRED MPH. Besides, it should have an appearance that could stun everybody. Having these 2 basic goals in his mind, Ferruccio Lamborghini ordered his engineering team to start the project.

The Countach was developed under the leadership of chief engineer Paolo Stanzani, although some technical background came from Miura, which was penned by Giampaolo Dallara (the famous chassis expert for Formula 3). From the beginning, Stanzani chose the most advanced technology available (most expensive, too) without the slightest hesitation, these included: Mid-engined V12 engine with 4 camshafts, space frame chassis, aluminium body.

At nearly the same time, Bertone studio was chosen to responsible for the styling. Very lucky, Nuccio Bertone had already recruited a young and ingenious designer, Marcello Gandini. This man created a really stunning design for Countach. Without installing an engine, the so-called "Countach LP500" prototype was unveiled in Geneva motor show 1971 and immediately became the star of the show.

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In fact, more work need to be done for production. Gandini's design obviously lacked practical concern because of his non-technical background. When chief tester Bob Wallace methodically sorted out the problems, a so-called "NACA" duct was added behind each door in order to draw sufficient air for engine cooling. A pair of big "air boxes" was also added behind the side windows for the same purpose. However, one of the most important gimmicks, scissors doors, was retained as a unique feature of Countach.

When Lamborghini showed the car again in the 1973 Geneva show, it was very much closer to production. Next year's Geneva show displayed a real production Countach, now called LP400 because it adopted V12 displacing roughly 4 litres instead of the originally proposed 5 litres. The bigger engine was discarded because of technical difficulties.
In April 1974, the first Countach was delivered to a customer in Milan.

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The first thing making Countach so exotic was its look. The wedge-shape design combined with sharp edges and distinctive features like scissors doors, NACA ducts and square pop-up headlamps, not only caught eyes but also looked futuristic. Whenever a Countach flashed pass a viewer, it would immediately give 2 impressions. The first was that it was really low, lower than any other cars in the world. In fact, standing at 42.1 inches in height, Countach was the lowest car in history besides the Ford GT40 and Lotus Esprit. However, its aggressive lines made it subjectively seemed even lower than it was.

The second impression was: it must be extremely powerful and electric fast. Race version of GT40, with 425 hp 7-litre V8, actually out-powered the Countach, but its soft profile prevented one from believing its real speed. On the contrary, the original Countach had 50 hp less but looked like 40 mph faster. Therefore, when Lamborghini made a wild claimed of "in-excess of 200 mph top speed" in the Geneva show, most journalists believed it really could! This ingenious design was made by Marcello Gandini. Having styled several masterpieces like Lamborghini Miura and Urraco, he was hungry for a chance to show all his talents. Ferruccio Lamborghini, who was very satisfied with his previous services, gave him this precious chance. Why precious? Because Countach was to be a car emphasising on great styling and performance over practicality and cost concerns, thus giving the designer full freedom to design without limitation. Gandini did not let us down. His Countach LP500 prototype attracted overwhelming attention in Geneva show. Later, the production Countach was regarded as the most exotic-looking car ever built. Until production stopped in 1990 (that's 19 years later), it still looked fresh and appealing. If the design were not so futuristic, such achievement would have been impossible.

http://www.countach.info/images/lp400redfront.jpg

[ehnriko]

I wish to point out also some personalities behind shaping the World Automotive Heritage...

I find it interesting that the personalities of these individuals are worth emulating should one really push the envelope into building a great car.

Here's one of the many...

Ferruccio - even the name sounds scary enough already.




Ferruccio Lamborghini was born in 1916 under the Zodiac sign of Taurus, his parents were farmers but Ferruccio soon decided he wanted to do something with mechanics. He started working on his fathers tractor out of interest and was able to attend a technical school in Bologna.

During the second World War he was enrolled into the Italian Air Force, working for the transport sections, after 1944 he became a prisoner of the Britisch military forces who put him to work in their motoring department. After the war he returned to his hometown and started converting old war surplus material into much needed tractors for the local people. He began his tractor business in a small garage but he got really successfull and had to move into larger premises soon thereafter.

During this time he also started tuning Fiat cars, he built a Fiat Topolino for himself and competed with it in the 1948 Mille Miglia, unfortunately the car was wrecked in an accident. By 1949 he was able to start building tractors from scratch, without using any leftovers, his own Lamborghini Trattrice factory was founded and the production soon took off.

The Lamborghini tractors became known as the best in Italy and Ferruccio started organizing tractor-pulls in his hometown just to show the superiority of his machines. The tractor business made him a very wealthy man, and he started a second factory to build airconditioning and central heating equipment. This enterprise made Ferruccio even richer and soon he was on of the wealthiest men in Italy, his love for fast cars became known and Ferruccio owned several exotic cars back then, a Mercedes SL300, a Jaguar and a Ferrari among other cars. But his Ferrari ran into problems with the clutch and Ferruccio went to visit Enzo Ferrari to complain about it, but Enzo refused to meet with him but that didn't stop Lamborghini. He noticed that the clutch fitted to his Ferrari wasn't any different from the ones he mounted in his tractors so he drove the Ferrari to Cento and fitted a Borg & Beck clutch of his own in the car, the problem never returned after that.

Ferruccio Lamborghini decided it was time to start a new business and the Grand Turismo cars seemed like a good idea, so he built a completely new factory at Sant'Agata and started building probably the best GT cars of that time. But things weren't always that simple and during the early Seventies he decided to sell most of his companies and retire at his estate near Perugia, further South in Italy were he began making wines known as 'The blood of the Miura'. His son Tonino went to Japan and started a few shops over there selling designer clothing under the Lamborghini name, while Ferruccio married his second wife Maria Theresa, together they had a daughter. This large estate La Fiorita near the Lake Trasimone now held a state of the art winemaking facility producing over 800,000 bottles of wine each year. This estate also housed a small private museum of Lamborghini cars Ferruccio owned, and the vineyard and golf terrain were open for visitors by appointment only, in his car museum you would find Ferruccio's favourit Lamborghini, the Miura. There were rumours that Ferruccio was involved in Paolo Stanzani's attempt to take over the Bugatti Automobili SpA factory but this was never officially confirmed.

Ferruccio Lamborghini died in February 1993 at the age of almost 76. Tonino Lamborghini created a tribute to his father, he contacted the architect Diversi in Imola to design a kind of 'arch' to hold just about everything Sig. Ferruccio Lamborghini ever did during his life. This museum was constructed on the grounds of Lamborghini Calor, at Dosso di Ferrara, the official grand opening occured on May 13th, 1995. This project was named the Cento Polifuzionale Ferruccio Lamborghini and reached great popularity the moment its doors opened for the public. All visits were by appointment only, but still during 1997 over 4000 pilgrims arrived at Sant'Agata to visit this spectacular space-like museum.Tonino Lamborghini has later named his son Ferruccio Jr, in honor to his father...

[ehnriko]

Now lets take a little break from walking into Memory lane...

Feel a little Alpine breeze as we listen to Matt Monroe while we take a short ride inside a Lamborghini Miura in this classic Movie Intro... from the original "Italian Job" movie.

This is one of my favorites... there's also plenty of beautiful elements in this short video.

Music, Scenery, Plot, and of course.... the car itself.

I would say... this is "The Best" movie intro - ever. Enjoy it.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpq1_AphUSY"]YouTube- The Italian Job Intro[/ame]

It's time to take a rest...

Until then.

[ehnriko]

Before I point out the elements of design which is prevalent on the stated car models regardless of their age - let's take a look at the music or movies during those era and connect why these cars looked marvelous then.

Here's Deanna Durbin in a 1940 Movie - "It's a Date"... though the song was much much older than this movie (Puccini) - it was still very much in during this time..

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iMcvwERomQ"]YouTube- Deanna Durbin - La Boheme - Musetta's Waltz[/ame]

And this car is the most popular during then... the Cadillac La-Salle



Here's a 1940 La Salle Cady - in a modern setting... radicalized - just lowering it with DUB wheels and a nice paint job... however retaining all the basic body in tact.



The Hot Rod version emphasizes on this basic design element - common with most of the other models mentioned above.

[ehnriko]

In an earlier decade, in 1930 Cadillac unveiled a V-16 Roadster Supercar which was penned by the already renowned Italian Design House... Pininfarina.



Making outrageous engine configurations were not really new... it's actually a thing of the past.

The classic lines are still obvious here... however, there are side vents which makes the engine bay more cooler and this vents also makes this car more aerodynamic.

A subtler model; the Cadillac Lasalle Roadster of 1930.

[ehnriko]

Now let's travel again back in time... and see 1914....

This is the Stutz Bearcat... a name most of us probably haven't heard of at all... but in those days - these cars were really cool! In fact - I still think they look cool even after 11 decades have past.

Check out the minimalistic approach as well as the symmetry. The most modern looking cars will probably never be able to show another concept as beautiful as these cars...

When the mind is used by itself without the aid of modern Computer and Softwares... it will definitely be able to make a classic masterpiece... perhaps - even better with the modern aids.





For those who will be seeing images like these for the first time, you will probably be seeing the relationship between Pinoy designed Coffins... well, now you have an idea where these coffins have borrowed their design elements. :-)

At any rate, if you believe simplicity is beauty... then the Stutz roadster is definitely an epitomy of simplicity.

Note the familiar lines....profiles.

Now to put some sound on these images... listen to one of the most popular songs from World War 1... even the Germans and most Europeans loved this song.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVM-tFAdADg"]YouTube- John McCormack - It's A Long Way To Tipperary[/ame]

It's a long way to Tipperary. :-)

[ehnriko]

Here's more of the 40's for your listening pleasure...

Imagine, cruising Tagaytay to Batangas on an open top roadster like the Stuz Bearcat.... with a Hi-Fi speaker playing these music selection... Oh what a breeze it is.

No wonder, they call it the Golden Era...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVVfBUlhokc&feature=PlayList&p=549FCA35FD7 12262&index=0&playnext=1"]YouTube- Stardust | Nat King Cole[/ame]

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...9FCA35FD712262

[ehnriko]

This particular car was also very popular in the 1930's about a decade ago before the 40's... but the styling is not really that far off.

However, what catches the eye is it's striking resemblance of profile with the modern Jeeps and even the Pinoy's homegrown OTJ's.

If you observe the handsome profile this car has...it has a chunky greenhouse cage... the distribution of proportions and or sections of panels relative to one another is played very well. In other words... pleasing to the eye.

If one can replicate this today - that would really be something cool!.



In 1919 Hudson introduced the Es*** brand line of automobiles; the line was originally for budget minded buyers, designed to compete with Ford and Chevrolet, as opposed to the more up-scale Hudson line. The Es*** found great success by offering one of the first affordable sedans, and combined Hudson and Es*** sales moved from seventh in the U.S. to third by 1925.

In 1932, Hudson began phasing out its Es*** nameplate for the modern Terraplane brand name. The new line was launched on July 21, 1932, with a promotional christening by Amelia Earhart. For 1932 and 1933, the restyled cars were named Es***-Terraplane; from 1934 as Terraplane, until 1938 when the Terraplane was re-named the Hudson 112. Hudson also began assembling cars in Canada, contracting Canada Top and Body to build the cars in their Tilbury, Ontario, plant. In England Terraplanes built at the Brentford factory were still being advertised in 1938.



An optional accessory on some 1935-1938 Hudson and Terraplane models was a steering column-mounted electric gear pre-selector and electro-mechanical automatic shifting system, known as the Electric Hand, manufactured by the Bendix Corporation. This took the place of the floor-mounted shift lever, but required conventional clutch actions. Cars equipped with Electric Hand also carried a conventional shift lever in clips under the dash, which could be pulled out and put to use in case the Electric Hand should ever fail. Hudson was also noted for offering an optional vacuum-powered automatic clutch, starting in the early 1930s.

[ehnriko]

Perhaps one of the really rarest cars among American Classic is the Cord L-29 Boat Tail Speedster of 1931







The old Cords just had an aura about them, The L-29 is also important in automotive history. It was the first production car with hydraulic brakes and one of the first with front-wheel drive. It was also the first convertible made with a concealed top.” In this resurrection project, Addison valued authenticity above all else. “It’s been a monumental task, but we wanted to ensure that every part, every fixture, even the color was an exact match with the original car,” he says. “From its Duesenberg chronometer and altimeter to its teardrop-shaped exterior door handles and Royal Cranberry and Beige paint scheme, this car absolutely duplicates the original in every aspect. We even tracked down a 94-year-old member of the Auburn-Cord Duesenberg club who actually saw the car at the 1931 New York Auto Show to verify its original color, rather than rely on black-and-white publicity photos and documents.” The exacting project spanned eight years and took 20,000 man-hours.

Here we can see again the styling is not going too far away from the others in many decades... However, the boat tail aerodynamics is now being used on a normal roadster... which is typically used only for race cars even in this era.

The original color scheme is also notable... it is definitely - classic.

[jpdm]

Nice thread, ehnriko!