You may remember the Lamborghini Countach. Often hailed for single-handedly jump-starting the poster industry more than 25 years ago, it's also one of the most misunderstood supercars of all time.

It's often lambasted by those who have never driven one and dismissed as a toy for poseurs during a midlife crisis. But this Lamborghini's time has finally come. Its place in history as the ultimate high-performance car of its era is now secure.

The Countach lived a long life, remaining in production from 1974-'90 through some very tough years at Lamborghini. But its appeal as the ultimate fantasy car remained undimmed. You can't help but admire a model created with just two very clear aims: to go faster than all others, and keep Ferrari out of the spotlight.

The Debut
Rolling out the original Lamborghini LP500 prototype at the Geneva auto salon in March 1971 might have seemed premature, especially since it shared the limelight with the Miura SV. Although the LP500's transition to production car was far from assured when it was built at Bertone's studios in Turin, the amazing styling and avant-garde mechanical layout assured that potential buyers would be clamoring for the new sports car.

New Chief Engineer Paolo Stanzani decided to improve on the Miura's flawed weight distribution by mounting the LP500's engine longitudinally and then placing the gearbox between the front seats. This was a brilliant reversal of conventional thinking, and meant that the prototype was shorter in wheelbase and length than the Miura.

It was nominally more powerful, too, with a claimed 440 horses, though, of course, it didn't matter whether that figure was true or not. This was a showcar, and it needed big numbers to match its amazing Gandini-penned styling.