I am a collector of die cast car models. Even today, i am struck in awe at the design of the Countach and how "spaceage" it must have been back in the 70s. But is it the first modern day supercar? Which of these two spectacular cars can claim it? The Muira came earlier and was unveiled at the 1965 Turin Motor Show; the first of 12 cyclinder mid engined sports cars available to those who could afford it. In fact, Journalist L.J.K. Setright in his review of the Miura, first coined the term supercar". The Muira changed things forever and started the onset of the quest of the ultimate "supercar" up to today.
The
Lamborghini Countach was a
mid-engined sports car produced by Italian automaker
Lamborghini from 1974 to 1990. Its design both pioneered and popularized the wedge-shaped, sharply angled look popular in many high performance sports cars. The "cabin-forward" design concept, which pushes the passenger compartment forward in order to accommodate a larger engine, was also popularized by the Countach.
In debating the car that holds the title of worlds first supercar, what factors do we use? Time (being produced first by definition meant one is technically first?), design in shape (timelessness) and cutting edge technology of that time needs to be considered. In my opinion, this has to be the Countach, although coming in later than the Muira, has had longevity given that most supercars after, and not just the lambos, (think Bugatti etc) have kept to the angles and design shape of this wonderfully designed car at of that period; the cabin forward design has maintained its popularity with the engineers.
After 35 years, one still marvels at the design mastery of the Countach. Dont get me wrong, the Muira was a relevation in the 60s but cannot match up to the aura of the Countach as the first and definitive modernday "supercar" that future supercars built upon.
Trvia: Muira's are auctioning for GBP500,000 upwards today
Related links :http://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/section.asp?catid=74&docid=3554
