Jalopnik
I've been dreading this week for months. I knew that sooner or later I would have run a Lambo for entrance into the Fantasy Garage and how on earth do you pick which one? True, we already ran the LM002 flag up the Fantasy pole, but the Lamborghini's SUV is the Oscar Acosta of the Fantasy Garage, a high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to not be in Jalopnik's Garage. Plus of course, Hunter S Thompson drove one, so piss off. But that still leaves me with the dilemma of which mid-engined Bull to nominate. My heart says the Miura, as few if any cars have ever been as lovely. Yet my brain is demanding the LP640, as it is by far the most capable of the three. However my balls are screaming "Countach!" How do you argue against the Countach, as the thing defies logic? So, I will cop out and let you the reader decide. Good luck.
Miura
The Miura blew the doors off the 1965 Turin Motor Show. And that was just the chassis. Crowds were sent reeling five months later in Geneva when the Miura showed up clad in its luscious Bertone skin. Inspired by the success of the Ford GT40, the Miura was the first mid-engined sports car available for the (filthy rich) layman. True, the DeTomaso Vallelunga came along in 1962, but no one really cared. The Miura however, changed everything. Here at last with its muscular V12 mounted sideways mid-ship, the world had its first supercar. In fact, the term "supercar" was coined by journalist L.J.K. Setright in his review of the Miura. High end sports cars would never be the same.
Pros:
- Impossibly good looking. Every curve, ever angle, every pronounced bulge is exactly right. Even the Venetian blind slats over the back window (lifted directly from the 1963 Corvair Monza GT, we should add) are perfect. Despite its mid-engineness, the Miura mostly maintained the proportions found on such rolling pieces of sex as the Jaguar E-type, only with a longer rear. Utterly beyond bellissimo.
- Lamborghini was of course trying to punch Ferrari between the eyes, so all Miuras had potent V12s, even if they mounted 'em funny (transverse). With 350 to 385 horsepower nestled just behind the driver's skull, it wasn't just the outside of the Miura that was sexy.
Cons:
- Because of Lamborghini's decision to use racing Weber carbs, fuel would collect while the car idled at a stop light. When the driver hit the gas, the engine would catch on fire. Small price to pay for all that beauty if you ask ask us.
- The front-mounted fuel tank would and empty and get lighter, causing the car to become quite unstable. So high speed runs were only for the very brave. And as Lamborghinis should only be purchased by out and out studs, that's not really an issue either.
- Though Setright described the Miura as a "supercar" in Car magazine, the contemporary Ferrari Daytona out performed the Lambo, even with its engine up front.
Of Note:
- The Shah of Iran owned one, which was confiscated by the Ayatollahs after the revolution in 1979. This Miura was eventually sold to Dubai, and later purchased by Nicolas Cage for $490,000, the most ever paid for a Miura.
- Frank Sinatra owned an orange Miura, with matching orange leather and shag carpeting.
Countach
If the Miura shook things up at Turin and Geneva, the Countach's 1971 debut was a paradigm shift. A moon landing. Columbus setting foot in the New World. 35 years later, the Countach still looks as wild and impossible as ever. A veritable symbol of excess, the design was so ground breaking that Lamborghini was able to produce the Countach from 1974 to 1990, a remarkable run in the "what have you done for me lately" world of top shelf supercars. Their plan, of course, was to just keeping stuffing burlier and burlier engines in the back while simultaneously slashing scoops and strakes into any flat surface left unmolested. By the time the 25th Anniversary Countach bowed in 1988, the poor thing looked more like a Transformer than the gorgeous icon penned by Marcello Gandini, the same man who drew up the Miura, Dino and Pantera. If it were up to me and only me, we'd be inducting the wingless and still utterly flabbergasting earlier LP400 iteration. Though Davey and I had an hour long IM chat about it, and he feels strongly that the LP500S is indeed the uber-Countach. But you know what? Any Countach is utterly mind blowing, so just imagine your favorite.
Pros:
- Frickin' scissor doors
- Whereas most Lamborghinis are named after bulls, the word "Countach" roughly translates to, "Holy shit! Did you see her ass?"
- Still as freakishly bonkers now as it was then. Much like the SR-71. Its shape and overall zeitgeist will never be improved upon.
- Kinda looks like a vampire crossed with shark.
- Towards the end of its life, performance finally caught up with the perception.
- You had a poster of a Countach on your wall in high school.
Cons:
- Countach is now a synonym for cocaine.
- Looks like 1984
- While extroverted to the nth degree, it lacks the subtle, timeless beauty of the Miura.
- Horrendous to drive. Hot and cramped with a clutch set in cement and no rearward visibility whatsoever. Lamborghini employees soon learned that you must pop the door and sit on the sill to reverse.
- So many of us had posters of the Countach because it is a cartoon that appeals to the 15-year-old mentality. Like Hulk Hogan.
Of Note:
Lamborghini made three Walter Wolf Specials with a hoony 447 HP V12 that reved to 7,900 rpm. As these Wolf Countachs were based off the LP400s Models (albeit with flared fenders for the massive Pirelli P7 tires) they featured massive performance without the garishness of subsequent models.
Murcielago LP640
We still remember seeing the Murcielago for the first time at the 2002 Los Angeles Auto Show. We we stunned. Here was a car as wide as any full-size pickup truck, yet so low as to not even come up to our crotch. However, in 2003 on the opposite side of the room sat the all new Ferrari Enzo. The Murci, by way of comparison, just didn't have it. All that changed in 2006 when Lamborghini introduced the LP640. Equipped with a larger 6.5-liter V12 (and still mounted "backwards"), the Murcielago now produces an Enzo-besting 640 horsepower, with 0-60 acceleration squarely in the "Jesus F''n Christ" range (3.4 seconds — the much lighter Enzo takes 3.3). We simply love the asymmetrical air scoops and the fact that you can stick your foot up to your knee in the massive tailpipe. Did we mention you can get it as a roadster? Hot damn.
Pros:
- Even though it was, as Clarkson never tires of pointing out, designed by a Belgian (Luc Donckerwolke), the Murcielago is exquisite looking. Calling upon the best elements of the Countach, Donckerwolke managed to create a wedge that is fresh, distinct and modern, yet instantly recognizable as a Lamborghini. Compare the LP640 to Ferrari's new 599 GTB, and the prancing horse looks like Corvette in a funny suit.
- Friggin' scissor doors; still got 'em.
- Bat wings
- Asymmetrical bodywork — no longer just the parlance of British SUVs.
- Interior by Audi
- F1-style launch control lets you light up all four wheels. We love that.
- Batman drives one, natch.
- 11.8 in the 1/4 mile and a top speed of 211 mph is just plain whacky. In a great way.
Cons:
- While the Miura and the Countach were both breakthrough designs that set the car world on its ear, the Murci is just an evolution of Lambos past. While we love looking at it, there is something slightly retro and derivative.
- Does it have to weigh nearly two tons?
- A 70/30 rear to front torque split is cool, but wouldn't making the Murci RWD drop a couple hundred pounds of weight? And improve the steering?
- Expect 4 mpg. Downhill.
- Uh... the name is hard to pronounce (yes, we're grabbing at straws).
Of Note:
- Kobe Bryant bought one for his wife, only she couldn't be bothered to learn to drive stick. So, he had the manual swapped out for an automatic to the tune of $100,000. Karl Marx made a lot of good points.
- From Wiki: "The name Murciélago comes from a bull that survived 24 sword strokes in an 1879 fight at the arena of Córdoba, and fought with such passion and spirit that the matador chose to spare its life, a rare honor." We're just curious what the hell the matador was thinking after the 23 sword stroke. Prick.
Conclusion:
So there you have it. Three utterly desirable Fantasy cars, but only one parking space. In our mind, the LP640 gets the nod. However, the second we complete that thought, in pops the Miura and we're instantly filled with regret. And if we convince ourselves that yeah, it's the Miura, we find it impossible to deny the Countach. That's why this decision falls squarely on your stout shoulders. Will you listen to your brain, your heart or your balls? Happy voting.
[The Jalopnik Fantasy Garage appears every Wednesday. Readers vote the cars in or out. The idea is that we'll have 50 cars in our Fantasy Garage, the world's greatest mechanic and endless wads of cash. Would you like to nominate a car for the Fantasy Garage? Write tips@jalopnik.com with the subject line "Fantasy."]
The Jalopnik Fantasy Garage, So Far:
RUF RT12 | 1978 Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Honda 1300 Coupe 9 | 1931 Daimler Double Six 50 Corsica Drophead Coupe | Ferrari 288 GTO | Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 | 1970 Buick GSX 455 | First Generation BMW M Coupe | Bugatti Veyron 16.4 | Ford GT | Citroen SM | Porsche 928 | Jensen FF | DeTomaso Vallelunga | Audi Quattro S1 | Buick GNX | Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R | Honorary Fantasy Garager: The LS1 Powered Rotus | Lamborghini LM002 | Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe | Ferrari 250 GTO | Bentley Speed Six | Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni et Falaschi Raindrop/Teardrop Coupe | Porsche 917 | Audi RS4 Avant | Maybach Exelero
Comments
LP640 - Very nice
Wile the LP640 is BaddddAsss I have always had a soft spot for the Miura. Me thinks is represents the peak of Italian body design and styling.
The LP640 is a sweet ride, but it isn't Italian enough. It's pretty close between the other two, but I have to take the Miura over the Countach.
Face reality. You're gonna look at it, not drive it.
Ergo Miura.
I've never understood everyone's love for the Countach, I've always thought it was hideous. I went LP640, because everytime I see one on the street,I interrupt any conversation I'm having and check it out. I have no problem with the Miura though.
No love for the Countach? That was the one car I could recite stats for in Jr. High!
The Miura was one of the most drop-dead beautiful cars ever made. Easy peasy.
The Countach is just so insane. And in 2050, it will still be totally mad, bad, and dangerous to know. If Picard's nemesis Q drove a car, this would be it.
F-this crap. I would kick out several of the cars currently in the garage to make room for both the Miura and the Countach. The LP640 not so much, because you know they are eventually going to make a better flagship car...oh wait, they already did.
The Miura, as Jonny notes, was the first of the mid-engined supercars. Hell, according to his write-up, it was the first supercar! And who can deny that it's just plain sexy? Alleged nose lift at speed notwithstanding, what a pretty nose!
Then the Countach...I happen to like LP 5000 with rear spoiler and euro bumpers. Make mine black with gold Campys please. Like this toy, except real:
[cgi.ebay.co.uk]
Throw out the stupid Excelero, the Speed Six, the Honda, the ZR-1, the GNX, among many others....but the Countach and the Miura are in. Or, like Fifty Cent, I'm retiring.
Miura.
We've got a Veyron in the garage, so you've already got a bat (out of hell) car for when you're feeling the need for speed. Owning the first 'super car' with a mid-engine placement truly makes the Miura something special. The Jalopnik fantasy garage clearly isn't about having the 50 fastest, burliest cars available - its about having access to speed, handling, class, history, and most importantly, options. When you talk auto history, the Miura simply cannot be ignored, especially for its role in challenging Ferrari to be better.
The garage is not a King of the Hill battle - its about building a quiver. And I would love to take the Miura out on a Sunday, teaching my (not-yet-created) offspring in the passenger seat a thing or two about automotive history.
As soon as I saw the topic, I knew my answer. Miura.
I'm not picking the Muira because it couldn't outperform the Daytona, and performance is more important than looks. I'm not picking the Countache because I'm not 15 anymore, so the LP640 it is. Still, I'd rather have an R8.
see thing is, I love the Miura, but I don't consider it a car, because cars are capable of moving under their own power for extended periods of time.
LP640 please.
Countach. There's nothing wrong with having a 15-year old Hulk Hogan mentality; you say it like it's a bad thing!
Plus, it was the only car I drew obsessively in middle school. Only because I couldn't master the art of the Miura yet.
But...include the Miura too. This is a fantasy garage, and both of them take center stage in mine. So I'm sure you can make room in yours too.
Nothing could ever be so indelibly ingrained in a prepubescent boy's brain then the Countach. Other boys had Farrah on their wall, I had the Countach plastered everywhere. I probably got my first erection looking at Countach pictures. I still remember the first one I saw in person many years later.
No contest.
I was going to go for the LP640 because I'm sure it would be the most fun to actually drive, and I'd have the spyder, which is gorgeous.
And then I remembered we had the Veyron, which does just about everything the LP640 does, but better. Except for of course not being available as a spyder (yet?) and not looking as good.
So, would I have a LP640 spyder or a Miura, I'm going to go with the classic this time, but I hope there's a spot in the garage for the spyder at some point.
I STILL have a Countach poster on my bedroom wall. Framed. It was the thing that dreams were made of in my youth, but the realization of its lack of performance was like simultaneously learning that Santa and the Easter Bunny weren't real.
Murcielago is a beautiful car- period. I see resemblance, but not any more derivation from past models than the Enzo or other supercars. And as you said, the caped crusader drives one. That's just awesome in an only-Lambos-can-be-this-outrageous way.
However, I'm a believer in the garage truly being a fantasy- meaning, only for the rarities that not every Tom, Nick, and Al-Saud can afford. So I go for the Miura. Just plain gorgeous. And its got more hair on its chest than Burt Reynolds could wish for.
As an owner of both once stated in C/D:
"Ferraris are the well-mannered, classy woman you marry in style. Lamborghinis are the wild slut you fool around with on the side."
Interesting b/c I just watched the youtube clarkson test of the lp640 last night.
Anyway, while it is ridiculous and I certainly wouldn't kick one out of bed, the LP640 doesn't make the cut. First off it has a bad rep already as a death car. Didn't they kill like 5 pre production models in crazy wrecks?
Secondly, it is not really a new model style wise and I don't like that Lambo tried to present it as such. Third the gallardo is better looking for almost half the money. Since they currently make a car that I like better and this one is dangerous... despite it's hotness and relative supercar value, the Murci fails. Also I love the 599 and 575 so that doesn't hurt.
The Countach is an excellent fantasy car but it should remain just that, a fantasy. It looks better and certainly drives better in my mind than in reality. Perhaps the thing to do is have one mounted on the wall like that guy in LA. You could put one on the fantasy garage's wall and save the floor space for the real king Lambo, the Miura.
The Miura is widely considered the sexiest car of all time and and happens to be ground breaking, revolutionary, and fun to drive. Give me an SV in maroon with gold trim please. If it catches on fire we can tow it for repairs with the LM002.
I went with the Miura based on sheer loveliness and historical significance, but I won't cry if the Countach makes it in. The "mur-thee-EL-ago" I can live without.
And why did I read "Karl Marx" as "Karl Malone?"
I voted Miuria, it just has that Italian style that you can't mess with. I couldn't go with the Countach mainly because a car that is no fun to drive on the street just isn't my fantasy. And for some reason I'm not a huge fan of the lp640s styling, although I imagine it's the best driver out of the three. Does anybody else feel that Kobe should've swapped his wife for one that drives stick instead?
@cardesignmike: My framed Countach is in the hall. BMW M1 is in the bedroom...
While all three are found in my own personal fantasy garage, I agree with Al Navarro. Miura and Countach both belong in the JFG.
Between those two, Miura. For all the reasons above. Plus, the Miura was designed during a period of automotive history where cars were actually inspiring on an emotional level.
Miura. F**kin sexy. And even though the early models had problems with understeer when the fuel tank started to empty, I belive they fixed that on later models...
Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) has a very nice one.
Murcie roadster, please.
@Fitty7lax:
The Miura can move just fine, even for an extended period of time. Just be sure to have your halon fire supression system installed.
Miura, as there will always be another newer faster supercar than the LP640.
The Countach would be in my personal fantasy garage in lieu of the Miura because of cost.
I was torn by the Miura or Countach.
In its purified (early) form, the Countach was just so !@#$ing impossible... There's a reason why someone yanked the engine out of one, amde that a coffee table and hung the car on the wall in his house...
BUT, the Miura is THE first supercar. And it hit Ferarri squarely between the eyes. (just didn't KO, but did sting).
When I got really into cars in middle-school, I 'found' the Miura and well, that's it.
(BTW, no relation to JayKay from Jamiroquai)
OK, the Countach was the first Lamborghini I had ever known of and I had the 6' long poster of it in my bedroom. But then I found out about the Muira. I was wishing for a similar poster...
Any car that is in such a state of tune that it just might catch fire is so rad I can't stand it. A former co-worker talked about the Muira his father owned and how it would damn near self ignite just on start up, it would spit so much fuel.
While a Murci makes me giddy when I see one on the road, and a Countach is the stuff of boyhood hoonage dreams, it is the Miura that really gets me all warm and gooey. Even more so if it's an SV or Jota
All you commenters with Countach posters still on your walls...are you married? If so, do your wives really let you have a poster from our junior/highschool years in the house? Framed?
Wow.
Tough one. I chose the Miura, even though the Countach was my absolute dream car when I was a kid. The Murcielago is out because it's not as groundbreaking for its time than the other two, although it's the best car of the three.
The Miura I think aged best. The Countach was great, but when I look at it now, it doesn't give me that special something anymore. And I see the same thing happening to the Murcielago.
I sat with my cursor between the "Muira" and "Countach" buttons for about 5 minutes. I finally picked the Countach, but I really wish I'd managed to jimmy the poll and allow the selection of both.
The Countach, of course, would have to be an early LP400. A daydream - or maybe a vision - was what finally swayed me into my decision. My mind went back to that James Bond scene when he drives his Esprit out of the water on to the beach, amidst flabbergasted sunbathers. Then I imagined myself pulling up in the brand new LP400 and one-upping Mr. Bond. Not many cars could do that.
Hey, didn't Lambo build another car in there somewhere? What was it... Ah yes! the Diablo.
I saw a dark blue, twin turbo 600HP Gemballa Diablo a few years back. Sounded fiiiiine. Looked absurd puttering through the mall on the way to dinner.
We already have a far too heavy, exceptionally powerful VW in the garage. Though that one goes by Bugatti.
The Miura is the pinnacle of Italian design. An achingly, utterly gorgeous death trap with a penchant for bursting into flames.
It's in.
I'm not sold on exotic appeal, however legendary, if I have to 1) have halon installed in my engine bay if the throttle is 20%, all the time. Achingly hot, no mistake... but if your styling is informed by the GT40 anyway... rather have that anyway. No go.
Countach. Loved it as a teen in the '80s... but them's long gone. Any vehicle that requires sitting on the sill of a cracked door to back into a parking space stimulates uniquely teen brains. Maybe for my 20th class reunion...
Ah, the Murch. Designed most precisely by canny Audi, executed with expected brio by Italians. Like Quattrosport without the iciness (even the R8 inherits this, actually the Gallardo, too). My pick for surviving 2400 sword-like miles across Europe (including city centers), then snarling for more. Try that with the other two...
@Al Navarro: While still single, I still have my OG Countach poster. Only now it is framed.
Actually, the poster is a red 308, a white Countach and a black 911. It says something goofy like "Dreams."
I have to vote Countach. In about 1988 I came upon a parked Cocaine edition 25th Anniversary Countach. White on white. Rear wing. Front wing. It was much better looking in person. The attention to detail was phenomenal.
I went with the Countach, and my thinking is this:
The Miura's going to win no matter what.
The LP640 owner's association has got to be 99.9% douchebag.
The Miura is something like an anti-douchebag serum. It's impossible to be douchey while driving a Miura.
All douchebag leases on Countaches are long up by now, and they're probably owned by people that appreciate them. And I had a poster.
The Miura's going to win no matter what.
Maybe I was born just one year too late because I had a 6 foot Diablo poster instead of a Countach.
So my dream Lambo puts me square in between the Countach and Murcialaluhloler.
What to do, what to do....
@jonnylieberman: Same. Exact. Poster.
i am sick of people trashing the honda. when it gets kicked out of the garage finally, please send it my way and i promise i will take care of it.
i voted for the murcielago because i figured it is probably the nicest to drive. i seriously doubt if the older 2 get any better mileage either so the 4mpg thing counts for nothing.
@Al Navarro: They allow their husbands to put framed Countach posters as long as they get to display their ceramic doll collections, et al. somewhere equally conspicuous.