Yahoo Autos Lamborghini Had a Hilariously Simple Way to Make the Countach's Engine Bigger
Lamborghini's original V-12 displaced just 3.5 liters in the 350GT of 1964. By the time the Countach Quattrovalvole rolled around in 1985, the V-12 had grown to 5.2 liters. That's quite obviously a big shift, and one of Lamborghini's methods for enlarging the engine was ingenious and hilarious. The company just added a metal plate between the block and head, which you can see in the image above. We see this in R&T editor-at-large Matt Farah's video of the engine removal in his 1987 Countach.
The original Countach and LP400 S used a 3.9-liter version of the Lamborghini V-12, while the LP500S of 1982 had its engine bored and stroked to 4.8 liters. To get from the 4.8 liters of the LP500S to the 5.2 liters of the Quattrovalvole, Lamborghini just increased the stroke, and it seems like its engineers ran out of room. Rather than make a new block casting to accommodate the longer stroke, why not just put a spacer between the halves of the engine? The company might have also ran out of room on the top of the engine with the switch from a two-valve to four-valve per cylinder design.
Crude but effective. Probably cheap too.
Lamborghini used the same basic V-12 in the Diablo and Murcielago, and while both had even bigger engines than the Countach, based on photos, it appears the company ditched the spacer. The Diablo was developed under Chrysler ownership, and the Muricelago under Audi, so Lamborghini clearly had more money to make new castings.
Do take the time to watch Farah's video. As we've previously written about, Countach engine extraction is unlike anything else, as the V-12 and gearbox have to be taken out as a single unit through the engine bay. It looks, uh, stressful.
You Might Also Like
