Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | March 2024
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Here’s another Countach. This one is the followup to the LP500 S, and it’s called the 5000 QV, for quattrovalvole. Produced from 1985 until 1988, it was the last Countach variant to really stick mostly to the original styling before Horacio Pagani updated it for 25th Anniversary Edition duty. 610 were built.
Yes, the 5000 QV was boxier than the original LP 400. It had big wheel arch flares, impact bumpers for the U.S. market, and the big V-shaped rear wing, which was optional. There was also an optional front wing… which is one of the most insane ’80s automotive touches there was.
Power is from a 5.2-liter V12 with four valves per cylinder (hence the “QV”) that made 414 horsepower in U.S.-market trim with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection. This car has been converted to European-spec, with six downdraft Weber carburetors. When new, cars equipped like this made 449 horsepower. This car was first titled in 2018 and has less than 1,000 miles. It also has an estimate of $850,000-$950,000. More info can be found here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Coral Gables, Florida | March 2024
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The first Lamborghini Countach was the LP400, which was produced from 1974 through 1978. These were the cleanest of all of the models – the sleekest. Beginning in 1978, the LP400 S was the only Countach you could buy, and it had fiberglass wheel arch extensions and an optional V-shaped rear wing.
The 3.9-liter V12 carried over but lost some oomph, producing 350 horsepower, which was down 20 from the earlier model. The LP400 S was produced in three series until 1982, with this car here being a Series II model. That means it had a lower ride height and smooth-face concave wheels. 105 Series II cars were built, making it the most common LP400 variant.
Just 237 LP400 S cars were built in total. This one has had five owners and was refreshed in 2022. It now has an estimate of $700,000-$800,000. Click here for more info.
Didn’t know this one existed. There were quite a few Diablo variants, but roadster models were only available as a VT. Or were they? This is one of apparently two SV roadsters built, which means it is one of only two rear-wheel-drive Diablo roadsters (the VTs had four-wheel drive).
The SV featured a power bump over the standard Diablo. It’s 5.7-liter V12 was rated at 510 horsepower, which was more than the base car or VT. This one is finished in bright yellow with black graphics that makes it impossible to mistake what it is. The color-coordinated wheels and rear wing are a nice touch.
The car is offered as part of Sotheby’s “sealed” program, which is just another weird venue to purchase a car. Unclear why it is being offered that way. But who knows. No estimate is available, but you can read more about it here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 26, 2022
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The VT Roadster is one of the ultimate cars of the 1990s. RM calls it an example of Lambo’s “first production convertible,” which is kind of a half truth. One, it’s not really a convertible as it’s more of a targa. And Lambo had done targas before, namely the Jalpa and Urraco. But the difference is that the Diablo had an electronically retractable carbon-fiber roof panel, whereas the two earlier cars had a lift-off removable top panel.
At any rate, this facelifted Diablo features faired-in headlights instead of the earlier model’s pop-up units. It’s also powered by a 5.7-liter V12 rated at 529 horsepower. It also has four-wheel drive with front and rear limited-slip differentials.
Something like 100 of these roadsters were made for the facelifted model. The car could hit 200 mph and achieve sixty in under four seconds. As popular as these were 20-25 years ago, they seem few and far between today. Check out more about this one here.
Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021
Photo – Gooding & Company
The original Miura debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show and went into production in P400 guise later that year. In late 1968, Lamborghini upped the ante with the P400 S. It features some slight differences from the base Miura, including chrome window trim, power windows, and revised camshafts and intake manifolds.
These last two changes helped boost power from the 3.9-liter V12 to 365 horsepower. The S would remain in production until being replaced by the P400 SV in 1971. In all, 338 examples of the P400 S were produced.
This particular car is finished in a not-too-exciting shade of silver and was sold new in Spain. It was purchased by the late Neil Peart (the drummer for Rush) in 2014. The Miura is the original supercar, and even when finished in a disappointingly un-flashy color, it still rocks. It should sell for between $1,200,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Cheserex, Switzerland | June 20, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
The Diablo is the ultimate 90s supercar, and the model received a facelift in 1998 when the pop-up headlights were replaced. In 2000, the car also got a mechanical overhaul and some styling tweaks for the end-of-the-line Diablo 6.0.
But what we have here is a super rare track variant. Lamborghini sold 80 examples of the track-oriented Diablo GT road car between 1999 and 2000. Then they also built 40 GTR full-race variants. It was the last of a short line of Diablo race cars. It was basically a stripped GT with pneumatic air jacks, a big rear wing, and magnesium center-lock wheels.
The 6.0-liter V12 was also revised to produce 590 horsepower. The car was rear-wheel drive and featured a five-speed manual transmission. This is car #11 and it won the 2001 Lamborghini GTR Supertrophy series. It also competed in the 2003 French GT Championship. It’s now ready for some historic stuff, at a price of $890,000-$1,100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | March 20, 2021
Photo – Historics Auctioneers
The Lamborghini Espada is an interesting car. They’ve never been as valuable as any other 1960s Lambo, and they feature a pretty polarizing design. It is kind of like someone smashed a Murena GT, an Iso Lele, and DeTomaso Mangusta into one four-seat, front-engine GT.
This rear-wheel-drive car is powered by a 3.9-liter V12 that was rated at 350 horsepower when new. The Espada was built in three different series between 1968 and 1978, with the Series 3 launching in 1972. Only 456 S3 cars were built, but they seem to be the ones that crop up most often (the S2 cars were actually more common).
This one has been restored and is finished in black. Some Espadas wear some pretty wild colors, so this one looks pretty restrained. The pre-sale estimate is $155,000-$175,000, which is expensive, but not Miura expensive. That said, this is not a cheap car to own. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 13, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
This is the middle child of the Countach family. The Countach launched in 1974 in LP400 configuration. That was the cleanest, sleekest Countach: no fender flares, no boxy bumpers, no horrendous wing.
1978’s LP400 S started to get boxy. And 1982’s LP500 S (sometimes referred to as the 5000 S) continued that trend. The LP500 S was produced until 1985, and in total, 321 examples were built. It’s not the rarest variant, but not the most common either. Things would get even boxier by the time the 25th Anniversary model rolled out in 1988.
This car is powered by a 4.8-liter V12 rated at 370 horsepower. Top speed was 182 mph, a big jump from the LP400 S, and 60 arrived in 5.2 seconds. I’m sure owning one of these in the early 80s was a nightmare from a servicing standpoint, but the knowledge exists now, and this should make a fun, occasional ride for someone. You can read more about this one here, and see more from RM here.
Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | October 20, 2020
Photo – Osenat
The Islero was a pretty Lamborghini 2+2 that was the successor of the 400GT. It was actually sold alongside the Miura and the Espada (that’s right, they had three models at once in the 60s!). It was only produced for two years. A base trim was offered, as was an up-rated “S” model like the one shown above.
The S shared the same 3.9-liter V12 as the base car, but power was increased a bit, from 325 horsepower to 350. That boosted top speed to 161 mph, and 60 arrived in 6.2 seconds. The last one of these I saw in person was finished in light blue, and it was very striking in person.
Just 100 examples of the Islero S were built, making them just slightly rarer than the base car. This example was first registered in Venice, of all places, and it was restored about 15 years ago. It should sell for between $300,000-$350,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
The auction world started picking up steam in August, with most houses turning to online or partial-in-person sales. First up is Silverstone Auctions, where this 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV sold for $2,503,366.
Photo – Silverstone Auctions
The one-off RA4 Vanguard failed to sell, but the Zenos brought $26,506 and the Benova $41,231. More results are available here.
Next up is Gooding & Company, a sale from which we featured two cars. Both sold. The Duesenberg brought $1,012,000, and the VLF sold for an undisclosed amount, WHICH IS LAME. You should assume they paid $15,000 for it, and then refuse to buy it from (presumably) whoever is about to try and flip it for an insane profit (based off of that $15,000 number). The top sale was this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose for $3,080,000. Go here for more results.
Photo – Gooding & Company
Bonhams’ “Quail” sale was held in Los Angeles this year. The cars with the four largest estimates all failed to sell (including the Offener Tourenwagen), leaving this 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder atop the heap at $2,232,500.
RM’s Monterey sale also shifted to the internet (they called it “Shift/Monterey”). The top sale was a 2001 Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive for $4,290,000.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
To start, a BMW M1 Procar we featured a while back sold here for $913,000. The Duesenberg from this sale sold for $781,000, and the Fiat Wonderful Coupe brought $181,500. All of our feature cars actually sold, which I guess means they were well-selected. The Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 sold for $176,000, the Edwards America convertible $148,500, and I’m pretty sure a previously-featured Fiat 1100 Allemano cabriolet sold for $158,000. Complete results are available here.
H&H had another online sale this month, and two of the cars we featured from last month failed to sell again (see: Willys-Knight and Renault). The good news is that the Hupmobile found a new home for $32,396. The top sale was actually this 2007 Jaguar XKR (with crazy low mileage) for $36,814. More results can be found here.
Photo – H&H Auctioneers
Finally, the FAM cabriolet prototype was withdrawn from the otherwise all-motorcycle Bonhams auction.
