When the Lamborghini Countach first hit production in 1974, it was rather unadorned. The big fenders, wide tires and wing that came to define the supercar didn't arrive for a few more years. You can thank Canadian businessman and F1 team owner Walter Wolf for those.
We've told his story before, so I'll just summarize it here—Wolf was a Lamborghini man, through and through, and he wanted more out of the then-new Countach. He turned to genius engineer Gian Paolo Dallara—one of the fathers of the Miura—to up the ante a bit. They came up with a red Countach with black fender flares shrouding custom-developed Pirelli tires measuring 335mm in width (over 100mm wider than the standard Countach's Michelins), a hotter V-12 engine and, most importantly, an adjustable rear wing.
Wolf had two more custom Countaches built for him, with upgrades Lamborghini incorporated in its own LP400 S and every subsequent Countach. The red-and-black Wolf Countach now belongs to Eiichi Okado, who runs a Lamborghini repair shop in Japan. Okadao-san actually sat in this very car as a kid, kicking off his love for Lamborghini, and when it came up for sale, he knew he had to have it.
Other than some Mid Night Club stickers, Okadao-san now presents the Countach as Wolf had it back in the mid-1970s, complete with emblems from the Wolf F1 team. It looks absolutely spectacular driving through Tokyo—somehow totally alien and perfectly at home at once.
Functionally, the wing on a Countach didn't do much other than generate front-end lift at high speeds, but you can argue it made the car. For most people, it's hard to picture a Countach without one. We have this red car to thank.
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track's engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he's not a convertible person, despite owning three.
