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Of all of the overfender-equipped creations to return out of the thoughts of Liberty Stroll's Wataru Kato, the automotive you see is probably probably the most lovable.
That doesn't imply the LBW Lamborghini Countach didn't make an influence when it was first proven to the world on the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon. fairly the opposite. There was as a lot love and hate following the disclosing – as there all the time is for any custom-expanded collectible traditional.
The Liberty Stroll Countach might by no means hit as laborious as Kato-san's Ferrari F40 did final 12 months. If you concentrate on it, that might be an unimaginable feat. Nonetheless, what the LBW Countach did do was show that wide-body conversions might be scrumptious.
It's all due to the place to begin, because the twenty fifth Anniversary Countach was geared up with overfenders from Lamborghini's Sant'Agata Bolognese manufacturing facility.
Penned by Horacio Pagani throughout his design tenure at Lamborghini, the twenty fifth anniversary mannequin took the late Marcello Gandini's iconic Countach silhouette and put it by an intense health club session. The consequence had been entrance and rear fenders and bulging vents, spoilers and lips, which collectively turned the automotive into an nearly caricature-like evolution of the bottom mannequin.
Liberty Stroll did simply that – on prime of the twenty fifth Anniversary Countach Redesign.
Emphasizing the overfender remedy, the LBW Countach is just not solely thick, however it additionally has a Japanese bosozoku Really feel about it.
Wider, redefined and reshaped fender flares be part of a squarer, extra raised bumper topped by a flat lip spoiler and a pair of canards.
Nevertheless it's on the again the place issues actually get wild.
The huge rear wing is mounted on stays that rise from the underside of the automotive, the place a dramatic wanting diffuser is connected. There's additionally a posh exhaust system hidden in there, which screams a V12 symphony by 4 upturned ideas.
Regardless of all this complexity, I believe the rear seems cleaner than the inventory twenty fifth Anniversary Countach. That's as a result of the bumper part has been eliminated – just like the body-coloured grille panel – and changed by carbon fiber and Toyo tire branding.
The LBW package is enhanced by air suspension, permitting the automotive to be lowered straight to the bottom for optimum influence.
There was one thing acquainted about tagging alongside for a shoot.
For 2024, Liberty Stroll has wrapped its 2023 TAS show-stopper in blue and fitted a brand new set of wheels. The brand new shade helps it keep related. Not that the F40 with rear overfenders might ever fade into the background.
It was the right automotive for the brand new 2024 mission.
The query have to be requested: Who does it for you? F40?
…or Countach?
This can be a troublesome selection. Each vehicles collided head-on and for various causes. The F40 seems nice, and the LBW overfenders the Countach, to upset the purists.
Since I had probably the most talked-about vehicles at TAS 2024, I received to make use of a lot of Tokyo's iconic automotive backdrops for the shoot.
So earlier than the LBW folks returned to Nagoya, we hit the principle purchasing avenue of Ginza.
The Countach seemed proper at house. The right accent to indicate off in one in all Tokyo's wealthiest districts.
Sitting a centimeter above the bottom, it seemed just like the epitome of aggression.
It’s important to hand it to Kato-san – he by no means fails at this sport.
He does it 12 months after 12 months, present after present, to the purpose the place you surprise what his subsequent transfer will probably be.
If the rumor is true, he could also be loopy Actual Lamborghini Miura subsequent. For those who recall, he had beforehand modified a Miura kitcar, however maybe the duplicate didn't catch his eye. I’m wondering what Marcello Gandini would take into consideration this…
Dino del Carbonere
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dino@speedhunters.com