The wild tale of the rarest and most powerful Lamborghini Countach ever built

The Lamborghini Countach is an icon of the 1980s era of bold and extravagant supercars.

With its scissor-opening doors and angular design, this model is legendary enough.

But there are two ultra-rare versions that take it to the next level.

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Two turbo prototypes were produced and while one is in a museum, the other just disappeared.

One Lamborghini devotee made it his life’s mission to track it down and did, thanks to Instagram.

The ’80s were an exciting time, with manufacturers producing radical cars and tuners pushing mods to the extreme.

The Countach was one such car, cementing Lamborghini’s brand as being synonymous with excellence.

It featured on the poster of many a bedroom wall and had a starring role in Wolf of Wall Street.

Last year the company relaunched it and Supercar Blondie’s Alex Hirschi got to take it for a spin.

With a mid-mounted V12, displacing 3.9 liters and producing 380 hp, the Countach wasn’t that much more powerful than the rest of Lamborghini’s fleet, though.

One tuner, Max Bobnar, decided to take matters into his own hands.

He installed adapted pairs of Rajay aircraft turbos into two Countachs – one red and one black.

Bobnar did such a good job that Lamborghini itself proudly displayed the turbocharged cars at various events.

Eventually, the black one found its way into a collection in Germany, while the red one seemingly disappeared.

John Temerian, owner of the vintage car dealership Curated, like many Lamborghini fans, was always curious about the missing red Countach.

The turbocharged vehicle was iconic and inspired toys and posters made in its image.

Temerian has a habit of checking hashtags for various missing cars, and the red Lamborghini Countach was one of them.

One day he found a new result on Instagram: a photo of a red Countach with red wheels and notable side skirts.

He messaged the account and discovered that the car was in a storage facility in Nevada.

And they weren’t looking to sell.

He insisted on driving out to try and convince the owner otherwise.

As a dealer, Temerian is well-versed in keeping a poker face, but the Countach made him lose his cool.

“I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face,” he said.

“I realized at that moment that sitting in front of me was the lost Countach turbo.”

It turns out that in the 1980s, a local casino owner had bought the car.

He put it on show in his casino, alongside other supercars.

When he passed away, it was bought by an acquaintance of his, who saw cars as works of art and displayed them in his living room.

After a year and a half of negotiations, Temerian managed to buy the Lamborghini Countach.

We can only imagine how much he forked out for such a rare Lambo.

“I would have paid anything for the car,” he said.

“A car like this is such a unicorn that it’s hard to even put a value on it.”