{"id":492448,"date":"2026-06-10T12:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/492448\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T12:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:46:12","slug":"this-1985-lamborghini-countach-could-fetch-1-1-million-at-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/492448\/","title":{"rendered":"This 1985 Lamborghini Countach Could Fetch $1.1 Million at Auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIts painstaking, four-year restoration cost over $700,000. The rebuild of its 5.2-liter quattrovalvole V-12 engine alone totaled more than $77,000. Now, this immaculate, show-quality 1985 Lamborghini<\/a> Countach LP5000 QV \u201cDowndraft\u201d supercar<\/a> is heading to auction through RM Sotheby\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for that \u201cDowndraft\u201d moniker, it refers to the more potent European version of the Countach<\/a> LP5000 that Lamborghini<\/a> unveiled at the 1985 Geneva Salon in Switzerland. In place of the power-sapping Bosch fuel-injection system fitted to U.S. examples, these Euro QVs came with a sextet of throaty Weber 44 DCNF downdraft carburetors.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThis 1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV \u201cDowndraft\u201d supercar will be one of the lots at the RM Sotheby\u2019s Monterey Auction, which takes place August 13 through 15.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n\tThe result was an additional 35 hp\u2014taking the V-12\u2019s output to 455 hp\u2014as well as more immediate throttle response and enhanced supercar performance. Key figures include a zero-to-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds, and a 195 mph top speed.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThese \u2018Downdraft\u2019 cars sit at the very top of the Countach food chain, and continue to be revered as the most powerful, and most fun to drive, Countachs produced,\u201d says Harvey Stanley, RM Sotheby\u2019s director of Private Sales. These variants are also more coveted and collectible, with their prominent engine-cover power dome and protruding rubber impact bumpers, the latter being non-U.S. spec.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAccording to the auction house and comprehensive documentation, the car has undergone a four-year, show-quality restoration.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n\tThis Countach, presented in the marque\u2019s Nero Tenebre color scheme complemented by a black-leather interior, is one of just 300 built. It\u2019s also one of only 13 carbureted QVs imported stateside. Records show it came off the Sant\u2019Agata Bolognese assembly line in July of 1985, and was delivered to Portman of London, a U.K.-based Lamborghini importer at the time.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Stanley, the car had been earmarked for Stanislaw Zag\u00f3rski, a New York\u2013based Lamborghini collector, as well as a famed artist and graphic designer. It was Zag\u00f3rski who created iconic album-cover designs for everyone from Ray Charles, Miles Davis<\/a>, and Isaac Hayes, to Cream and Roberta Flack. He also illustrated numerous covers for Time magazine.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe European-spec V-12 engine, with a sextet of throaty Weber 44 DCNF downdraft carburetors, delivers 455 hp.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n\tWhether Zag\u00f3rski took delivery of the car is unclear\u2014Portman went under in 1992\u2014though records show it was shipped to the U.S. in September of 1985. A year later it was sold to Whiteford Bean, of Norwood, Mass., who kept it until 2011.<\/p>\n

\n\tIts next caretaker was prominent Lamborghini collector Richard Molke of New Jersey, who immediately commissioned a full engine rebuild. Seven years later, his check book opened again when he called on Dugan Enterprises, a Southern California\u2013based Lamborghini specialist, to carry out a full chassis rebuild and repaint. That bill alone came to $601,783.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tExtras include a second set of OZ wheels dressed in gold.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n\tMolke celebrated all the good work by showing the car at the 2021 edition of the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering<\/a>\u2014during Northern California\u2019s renowned Monterey Car Week<\/a>\u2014where it was part of the display for Lamborghini\u2019s reveal of its 803 hp Countach LPI 800-4<\/a> hybrid.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn October of 2021, Molke passed the car on to its current owner, a well-known Northern California\u2013based collector, who continued with the restoration work through Dugan and other marque specialists. His bills so far total just over $140,000.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThis Raging Bull rips from zero to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, and has a top speed of 195 mph.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n\tPart of that investment included acquiring extras, such as a second set of OZ wheels\u2014this time in gold to complement the original silver ones\u2014and a second engine cover, one without the trademark rear wing. According to Stanley of RM Sotheby\u2019s, this will allow the next owner to show the car in various body combinations depending on their personal taste.<\/p>\n

\n\tToday, the car shows 33,010 kilometers (approximately 20,511 miles) on the odometer, and is being offered with a copy of the handwritten build ledger, the original owner\u2019s manual, the tool kit, and a file of restoration invoices and photos.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe odometer shows 33,010 kilometers (approximately 20,511 miles).<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuch a finely restored example of Lamborghini\u2019s most powerful Countach would certainly make a striking addition to any supercar aficionado or Sant\u2019Agata enthusiast\u2019s collection,\u201d says Stanley.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe car is part of the RM Sotheby\u2019s Monterey Auction, which will take place at the Monterey Conference Center between August 13 and 15. There, this classic Countach is estimated to fetch between $900,000 and $1.1 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tClick here<\/a> for more photos of this 1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV \u201cDowndraft\u201d supercar.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe 1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV \u201cDowndraft\u201d that\u2019s soon to cross the auction block through RM Sotheby\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tted7.com, courtesy of RM Sotheby\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Its painstaking, four-year restoration cost over $700,000. The rebuild of its 5.2-liter quattrovalvole V-12 engine alone totaled more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[26095,61,60,15486,589,115277,15905,80],"class_list":["post-492448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-classic-cars","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lamborghini","tag-market","tag-rm-sothebys","tag-supercars","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}