This is so funny! I put that car back into running condition! I worked at a shop in Reno and was told a countach was coming in in pretty bad shape, another mechanic he knew had taken it apart and it had been sitting since. When it was finally unloaded I was in shock, all i could think was what lunatic would paint that car candy apple red! There were several boxes of parts stuffed inside on the white seats, the carb banks were laying on the engine, most of the oil lines in the boxes and it was a total mess. It took a few weeks of working on it in bits and pieces, talking to the owner and assessing it's condition before I went ahead and made the fuel system it has, with the Holley fuel pump and the braided fuel lines. I did all that! It's so good to see, I'm so happy that it was actually rarer than I thought it was (I figured it was the first turbo'd one as other pics of turbo lambo's had intercoolers). Amazing and so happy to see that I had a part in a piece of history. Yes i drove it around the parking lot, and was told by the salesman that some guy came out from Florida just to see it and was amazed that it started and ran. I miss working at that shop, but it's gone and the business sold. No i had no manual, I did find pictures of other cars and a place online with poor but still useful prints of microfiche slides. The owner was happy to see it run and showed me a lot of pictures of modern wheels he was hoping to have put on, so glad it stayed as it was. You even kept the old radar detector on the dash, thanks for doing that. I'm glad that in a way i had something to do with this car coming back from the dead, and also now a treasure for someone who thought it was gone forever! P.S. I had nothing to do with putting silicone seal on the valve covers. I wanted to remove all of that crap but the owner was just interested in getting it presentable and running first.
You did all that but didn't document any of it to put on your UA-cam channel? it would have given serious provenance to the owner/ seller... they would have owed you big time for that... I hope you did take some shots/ videos. be glad to see it
@@JETJOOBOY I have a few pix left of it, annoyingly My phone I had it on died and was only able to find the ones i sent to friends when i was doing the job. Honestly though in the restoration business it's not really tolerated to go bragging about customer vehicles as information leaking out can lead to trouble. I worked on many rare high end cars at the shops i've been at, and their policy was always to let the owner decide on who to let have information. The shop itself had all my notes and info on the project, and as a mechanic what people own is none of your business, it's a job to do and nothing more. I have spoken with a number of others in the far rarer car market, their shop locations and operations are usually not in the public eye as dealing with people who just want to see what they're doing is a pain, and also customers of these kinds of cars don't want attention or a chance of the car being damaged or stolen which does happen.
Not for me because money doesn't have the value the car does. I mean after you spend the money then you don't have the money or the car, so i just don't sell them.
@@anti4107 bill pennington was actually a great guy and for as rich as he was a very good person that took very good care of all his friends and employees!
As a Swiss I know Max Bobnar and I remember the interview in the 80is. He built that car because he was driving roughly over 200kph when a Porsche 928 came from behind (on German autobahn). When he tried to outrun the Porsche he had problems to pull away. So he knew he needed more power. After he put in the turbos he never had problems to leave all other cars behind. I also had a poster but still could not afford a Countach 😩
Probably because the Countach's engines were overrated by the factory but most importantly at high speeds the aerodynamics were abysmal. You would be hard pressed to create a draggier supercar than the Countach with a wing.
The saddest thing is knowing that there are so many beautiful cars hidden away some in good storage then others that are just wasting away rusting and just disappearing. It’s so sad.
Remember that this was a time before digital computing, where things like branding were a big deal. A 10 year old today can do better graphics than was commercially available when these cars were new to market. It's natural they shared resources and art assets, there's a reason a Diablo 6.0 had Nissan 300ZX headlights: things were more expensive to design and put to market, especially in low production runs, back then.
"I told you to blow the bloody doors off" I am just obsessing now about the doors in that fucking living room. Must have been a FAT fucking family eh? haha
Only a shady used car salesman would brag to UA-cam about banking on the storage owner not knowing the value and history of the car, convincing him Countaches aren’t that valuable then getting him to come down on the price. - right after telling UA-cam how unique and invaluable the car is!
8:39 is the part when you see the "dealer" colors show through. "Got into such an arguement" means you probably low balled the shit out of him. You know you paid way less than what it's worth.
Well, I mean, he bought it. So they must not have been too far apart ultimately. It's also true that if the seller threw out a number without a good enough fight the buyer said, "Okay!" the seller knows there was still money on the table and might renege on the deal. You also, as he said, don't know what you're getting into with some of these situations. When hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars can be the price tag on a car with no way of having a real clear-cut answer on what it's worth, it's risky. He would make money on the car if he bought it before it went back into the public consciousness, as long as he didn't just say, "Name a number between 6 and 7 digits long." and pay whatever was said, at least. It was probably a situation where the owner wanted the car more than the money and the buyer wanted it to make sense to buy it. I have seen people get very heated over much smaller amounts of money when that happens. One thinks the thing is worth infinite money and the other knows it is valuable but won't just ignore reason. I'm sure that John has more "the one that got away" stories than ones where he landed the deal. Because, of course, he does. Every professional trader has those white whales. Deals where they could smell the ink right before signing but it fell apart for some random reason. Shit that keeps them up at night and just as many where they did sign the deal and it keeps them up at night... I know I'm replying to a three-year-old comment that is well-liked and being very long-winded, but I feel like you're making a ton of assumptions that John was wholly the bad guy in the scenario if the owner still sold to them. You don't often give away something you love to someone you hate without trying other options first.
2:44 Ok, judging by the style and the letter's font... the turbo badge on this Countach is from a Renault XD The Side skirts Turbo lettering also come from the Renault 5 Turbo and the turbo stickers under the headlights also come from some Renault, the lettering and aesthetic is litteraly the same
What! That's it? You left us hanging when u finally found the car and just ended with a side story! Where's the car now? Does it run? Are u keeping it or selling it? This video needs a part 2!!!
Something about this guy and his whole attitude really irks me, he didn't 'discover' anything, the car had an owner that cherished and respected the car already. There's clearly a lot of ego at play here with these barn find people, like they see themselves as some sort of Indiana jones. We only know one side of the story, but he didn't go to particularly great lengths to hide the fact that he effectively bullied a (probably elderly) gentlemen for more than a year into selling a car he didn't want to sell, all so he could 'unveil' it to the world for his own narcissistic reasons and 'make his mark', I could be very wrong, but the video gave off an odd vibe.
Let's not forget that besides "making his mark" he probably made a lot of money. Everything about this story and this guy screams "used car salesman", in the worst possible way. I hope i'm wrong.
I agree with this. The car was viewed in a casino over the years by millions of people. Some random storage guy knew all about the car and the turbos. So how exactly was this car "missing" and "discovered"??? Seems like a lot of bluster and slight click-bait for a car that wasn't all that missing.
Yeah. The storage place knew, the guy had it in his living room so all of his friends and family knew. And everyone at the casini knew it existed. He didnt pull it out of a long lost storage container in backwood new york. Also he almost wasnt aloud to buy it, but wasnt rude. Sounds more like he tried to lowball him, then doubled down trying to use normal coutach market value as an excuse. Every video this guy screams "i have to own all my favorite cars".
Seriously? All of that setup, history and back story, and you can't even provide us with an engine rev of this unicorn? That car deserves to have a documentary done on it, and a talented driver put it through it's paces around a track, for ALL Countach lovers!
@@BarracoBarner Thank you! That video is pretty cool. You're right. It doesn't really give you the satisfaction you want, but, it's better than nothing.
As a child, I too worshipped this particular Countach and the iconic white (Miami Vice) Testarossa. Thus, this is by far my favourite VINwiki story. Cheers John!
curated sold it, what do we think for? my guess is he bough it for $450k and sold it for $750k, but I have no clue . just basing that off of other auction results I've seen.
@@fubarexress6359 Shit. I *thought* I paid too much for his mom. I guess she's just more of a shrewd negotiator. I'll pay less next time, or maybe see if we can get a group discount.
These stories are by far my favorite man, I don't have a love for these old cars as some but I appreciate the history and how much they mean to some people.
This is insane 2 years ago I saw this car just sitting outside the dealership in Reno and the salesman didn't even know what was in front of him I went home and researched it that night and found it was a super rare turbo. Glad that vinwiki finally made a video about it.
I know nothing about cars but love watching these stories. I was supprised when he mentioned Gemballa. I had my first job across the street from them and the whole street would vibrate everytime they would load up a truck full of supercars.
That story is as dramatic as the Countach itself. So awesome. 100,000 views in one day confirms it. Great story John. I've loved this car since I first saw it in a Countach magazine in 1986. Remember, this was a time when modifying a Lamborghini was as rare as seeing one on the road. Icon. Awesome details and answers about the car I've always wanted to know.
What a find! I grew up with Countach posters in my bedroom walls....nothing today compares to the ultimate dream car!! This Turbo is a masterpiece!! Great story!!
@@Strike86 im not too sure on the front and rear badges on it as ive grown up with old 80s-now renaults and it doesn't look familiar to me.. but they do just look like generic stickers you would get at a auto parts store from the 90s if anything..
Thats what boggled my mind as well. Thought he was going to consider it his "keeper". Also the fact that he's trying to talk down the value of the car to the storage seller, yet he himself is just going to jack up the price because collectors item is such the typical used car salesman move.
That's the thing: it's a story and is told very well! People are discrediting the guy because he's a dealer. But I think the backstory of the car and how it was discovered; the way he tells it at least, definitely deserves to be on VINWiki imo.
I have read that Lamborghini seriously considered building a Turbo Countach right before Ferrari debuted the Testarossa. They toyed around with it but had a lot of problems with the oil getting too hot and the engine overheating. They just decided to produce the four valve cylinder head instead and call it the Countach Quattrovalvole.
Being an associate of one of Bill Harrah's 'confidants' - I can unequivocally assure you of the outright laugh worthy claim of this being his favorite, or even -- one of.
Speaking of finding rare cars on Instagram....There's a black 300SL Roadster that was stolen 2 years ago in August from a hotel near the Nurburgring, and it was posted on Instagram. Since then, there's been nothing about it. I'd love to see it found!!
The Gen X holy grail. We all dreamed of how someday we could afford to own one after Cannonball run. No other car has spoken to so many people on such an emotional level.
The majority of the Vinwiki speakers are millennials and I’ve never heard any of them talk about Supras. I can’t see a mass production car ever having the same appeal but everyone’s opinion is valid.
I remember this car. In 1985 I worked as a tech in a gray Market Conversion shop. The guy he mentions who owned Circus Circus, I think his name was Pennington, Bought 12 Countach (s)? ad 8 Jalpas to import into the US. The shop was in a free trade zone at the port in NC so as long as the cars stayed in the warehouse, they were not considered by customs to be in the US. That way we could store and work on the cars without the 90 day compliance period kicking in. The Turbo he bought as his personal car and he took his lifetime EPA exemption on it. At the time one of the compromises the EPA wrote into the emissions laws was that every US citizen was entitled to import one car in their lifetime without having to do emission compliance work. The catch was that the car has to be 5 years old or more. So Pennington bought the car when it was 4 years old and had it shipped into the free trade zone where he stored it for a year, when the car turned five, it came out. Legally, we were supposed to do the DOT work on it, Lights, bumpers door bars etc, but that could be worked around with a few fake photos and some creative documents.
@6:56 ! So if anyone played Counter Strike Source 20 years ago youll remember that there is a McLaren F1 sitting inside the casino of the map "de_LasVegas"...
It's not what you do It's how you do it. Be anything you want to be It's not what you got It's how you use it You be you And I'll be me It's just a matter of style You can fake it Mile after mile Feeling free If you got the soul you can make it Move-em out (move 'em out) Let 'em roll (let 'em roll) From sea to shining sea Ball (ball) Cannonball (cannonball)
John has put on a really classy show at the Miami Design District Concours over the past two years. It was really exciting to see this car in person. I hope that the event can continue for a long time.
I didn't even know this Countach existed, definitely a unicorn. Rare cars like this in this condition seem to go up on price every decade. This guy sells and buy exotic cars, what ever money he paid i am sure he knows his business and will quadruple his investment. Smart people like this always get rich.
@@andrewlaw Look it up,The fuego turbo had the same exact badge and side stickers, the 5gt was a little different, the color or something, the side stickers are the same though. I owned a 5 alpine turbo and the badge in the back was also the same, side stickers were different (same font as badge in red).
It's owned by RSE Collection LLC according to the wikipedia page iirc. But not everyone who owns a rare car wants to be known. They could've very well said hes not allowed to disclose that to the public.
Renault 5 badging and decals. My first, yes first car was a 5 sport that I wide bodied into a Turbo tribute. Black with gold Gotti three piece wheels. Took my exam in that 4 speed manual. Examiner past me partly because he said he had never seen one before, it was a stock slab side car at the time and because he thought it was obvious that I could handle driving. Having showed up in a manual transmission car, having to row my own gears. Toronto circa 1990. Still very proud of that achievement!
That Image at 1.30min, etched in my mind, I had that magazine back in circa 1986. It was my prize possession as a 14 year old, but unfortunately like many of my car magazines, it ended up in the bin as my parents were not happy with my "unhealthy obsession with these bloody Lamborghini Countach's!"- rather than my school work. It's so great to see this car and those photos, I still remember them clearly! I don't own a Lamborghini Countach, but I am in my 25th year working in the motor industry. It was a different time back then with parenting, but with my kids and my nieces and nephews I always say 'follow you passion' (* as long as it is legal of course!)
"I wasn't being rude, I was just very honest about the value of Countaches and the market." So he told the guy it wasn't worth much more than a normal Countach. I'd have told him to get bent as well.
@@Lazerus2008 The side decals were probably the right size off the shelf from Renault. It follows they would use the front/rear badges with the same font.
bill pennington was original owner of this car! wendy foreman was his mechanic for 26 years and was a friend of mine at we will call it "the end" of the original ownership, they had fuel system problems so i pulled both banks of blow thru webbers off of the car for wendy to rebuild, wendy and bill both had parkinsons disease, (horrible to watch!) and wendys wife put him in a home being tired of taking care of him! and john howe from intrepid racing ended up getting to re assemble the car! i like john but was very jealous! but thats the back story on this car!! and an awesome car it was! i was thrilled when i happened across this story!
The guy that wanted it since he was a child and had a poster was standing in front of his hero and let his WIFE decide his happiness for him. From that moment on he will never have it and she’ll probably divorce him in 5 years when he begins to hate her for it. Moral of the story, buy the car.
I saw this car at the storage facility Reno along with the white one, and am ashamed to say I saw the turbo letters on the side and thought "hmm, must be a kit car or something" and didn't even realize what I was looked at and sort of ignored it. Goes to show you never know it all!
In the city I grow up in, a local Coffee factory owner also had a “special car” dealership as a hobby/collection. One of the cars I often showed on the lawn outside the factory was a Black Lamborghini Countach Turbo (think it was a twin turbo, made by König, but not sure) it was for sale a 495.000,- Danish kr. ( about $75.000 us) It was the car of my dreams. When I was 18 years old I fell into a good talk with the owner, and he let me drive the car from the lawn to the garage! But when I turned the key, it just clicked. The battery was dead, we tried to jump start it but the car alarm would have non of that... so it all ended with they had to tow the car, and I never got to drive it... Luck would have it, and after years of hard work I got the money to buy it. I had kept an eye on it for years, and it had still been for sale. But again it wasn’t meant to be. The Turbo Countach had just been sold... never saw the car again. If anybody knows where the Black Lamborghini Countach Turbo from Denmark has ended up, please let me know.
Freimopp777 well the one I describe was blank black, and on the side skirts it said TURBO written in big red letters. In the article you link to, it seams like Köenig only build one? But this one is definitely not the same car. But thanks for the link :)
This is my great-grandmothers dream car. She described it down to the seat belts to me one day and I had to inform her that there was literally only 1. I will get it for her someday.
how do you go from arguing with the owner to the point of not being allowed to buy to buying them? So many ways to advertise today, this guy wasn't the only option.
Man, I got goosebumps and I'm not that hard into Lamborghini's, my friend told me I could drive his white Countach, and I told him I don't drive what I can't afford. I am sworn to secrecy about the location of a couple of old Mopars, a '67 Z-28, and the missing Silver Baldwin Stage3 Corvette. The 'Vette was bought for $2800 on the side of the road back in '74 and stored indoors since, so it is still nice. Came from the hometown of Mr. Regular from RCR.
Oh my goodness , thanks for sharing this story, it’s so awesome as a car guy to hear the actual stories and not to mention I’m a Lamborghini Lover since I could crawl !!! Hahaha just an awesome story thanks again made my day !
"The car is so rare it's hard to put value on it" Couple minutes later "owner was so piseed at my offer had to explain the market value" So markets the car saying how priceless it is while also snakes the previous owner for money.
Is it just me, or does the ticket clinic ad feel like the setup for a bad adult film?
Yes
Sex sells.
Or a good one. LOL thought the same thing
Let me Splain your options
The girl is sara underwood, and appears pretty often naked on the internet
This is so funny! I put that car back into running condition! I worked at a shop in Reno and was told a countach was coming in in pretty bad shape, another mechanic he knew had taken it apart and it had been sitting since. When it was finally unloaded I was in shock, all i could think was what lunatic would paint that car candy apple red! There were several boxes of parts stuffed inside on the white seats, the carb banks were laying on the engine, most of the oil lines in the boxes and it was a total mess. It took a few weeks of working on it in bits and pieces, talking to the owner and assessing it's condition before I went ahead and made the fuel system it has, with the Holley fuel pump and the braided fuel lines. I did all that! It's so good to see, I'm so happy that it was actually rarer than I thought it was (I figured it was the first turbo'd one as other pics of turbo lambo's had intercoolers). Amazing and so happy to see that I had a part in a piece of history. Yes i drove it around the parking lot, and was told by the salesman that some guy came out from Florida just to see it and was amazed that it started and ran. I miss working at that shop, but it's gone and the business sold. No i had no manual, I did find pictures of other cars and a place online with poor but still useful prints of microfiche slides. The owner was happy to see it run and showed me a lot of pictures of modern wheels he was hoping to have put on, so glad it stayed as it was.
You even kept the old radar detector on the dash, thanks for doing that. I'm glad that in a way i had something to do with this car coming back from the dead, and also now a treasure for someone who thought it was gone forever!
P.S. I had nothing to do with putting silicone seal on the valve covers. I wanted to remove all of that crap but the owner was just interested in getting it presentable and running first.
Dude. this is what internet was made for! Thanks for your comment!
You did all that but didn't document any of it to put on your UA-cam channel? it would have given serious provenance to the owner/ seller... they would have owed you big time for that...
I hope you did take some shots/ videos. be glad to see it
JETJOOBOY This would have been done ages ago.
@@JETJOOBOY I have a few pix left of it, annoyingly My phone I had it on died and was only able to find the ones i sent to friends when i was doing the job. Honestly though in the restoration business it's not really tolerated to go bragging about customer vehicles as information leaking out can lead to trouble. I worked on many rare high end cars at the shops i've been at, and their policy was always to let the owner decide on who to let have information. The shop itself had all my notes and info on the project, and as a mechanic what people own is none of your business, it's a job to do and nothing more. I have spoken with a number of others in the far rarer car market, their shop locations and operations are usually not in the public eye as dealing with people who just want to see what they're doing is a pain, and also customers of these kinds of cars don't want attention or a chance of the car being damaged or stolen which does happen.
Small world. Amazing story, thank you for writing about it.
“Not for sale” is just term used by the shrewdest of negotiators
Anything has a “price” on it
“Not for sale” means I don’t think anyone is crazy enough to pay how much I want.
@@connoisseuroftigolbitts *everything*
Not for me because money doesn't have the value the car does. I mean after you spend the money then you don't have the money or the car, so i just don't sell them.
Say that to John Wick...
If you’re ever selling a car and this guy shows up you need to immediately do some extensive research
I'd just tell him it wasn't for sale and make him squirm.......
Keep in mind, this guy is a salesman, and you can take anything a salesman says and assume it is pure bullshit.
indeed, 'cos his only motive is to short-change you to make a quick buck
Or get a restraining order. He's annoying af.
100%
ah.. I just love these old beautiful cars being bought and sold and hidden away forever...
Gotta love the super rich.
@@nicholascortez728 Na the collector snobs are to blame
@@anti4107 bill pennington was actually a great guy and for as rich as he was a very good person that took very good care of all his friends and employees!
@@voodoomotors who is Bill Pennington?
I known it's sarcasm, but it is kinda cool when you see them come back, and tbh it's partly why we're able to see these unmolested cars
As a Swiss I know Max Bobnar and I remember the interview in the 80is. He built that car because he was driving roughly over 200kph when a Porsche 928 came from behind (on German autobahn). When he tried to outrun the Porsche he had problems to pull away. So he knew he needed more power. After he put in the turbos he never had problems to leave all other cars behind. I also had a poster but still could not afford a Countach 😩
Probably because the Countach's engines were overrated by the factory but most importantly at high speeds the aerodynamics were abysmal. You would be hard pressed to create a draggier supercar than the Countach with a wing.
Yeah think it made around 740hp back in the 80s.
@@vulcanproject You remember the road test without that pretty rear wing too?
My old GF had a euro spec 928s and I can tell you it ripped, I bet it was as fast as a lambo
Wasn't it Hubert Hahne that ordered and owned the said Countach Turbo?
I didn't even know a turbo model existed. Love it.
Edit: I know it's not factory, I just didn't know this was a thing at all.
Me either bro, learn something new everyday..
It didn't.
Actually it didn't and it was tuning firm creation but i love it. Never knew it was done and its like UGR / Total race Lambo back in time. Super cool!
It don’t exist. It wasn’t made from Lamborghini.
its modded, the only lambo with forced induction is the urus
The saddest thing is knowing that there are so many beautiful cars hidden away some in good storage then others that are just wasting away rusting and just disappearing. It’s so sad.
i hate non driving car collectors. it turns a car into real estate prospecting.
"There's nothing sadder than locking a beast in a cage."
- Dominic "Dom" Toretto
I'm pretty sure that Turbo badge on the back of the Countach came out of a Renault 5 Turbo. It looks exactly like it.
Only it costs £400 instead of £4
Yep was looking for that exact comment. Looks bloody like it
the font looks the same indeed
And the turbo down the side Im pretty sure if off a Renault 5 turbo 2 with the 2 cut off?
Remember that this was a time before digital computing, where things like branding were a big deal. A 10 year old today can do better graphics than was commercially available when these cars were new to market. It's natural they shared resources and art assets, there's a reason a Diablo 6.0 had Nissan 300ZX headlights: things were more expensive to design and put to market, especially in low production runs, back then.
"Keeps the cars in his living room." That's an interesting conversation piece.
I guess it’s a matter of having a living room with the right size
"I told you to blow the bloody doors off"
I am just obsessing now about the doors in that fucking living room. Must have been a FAT fucking family eh? haha
In my mind the owner is in there with a bag of chips watching tv
What an insane car and gorgeous colour. Hopefully it doesn't spend the rest of its life hidden away in storage.
Zennith Clark it will lol
Some Saudi teenager is drifting it on a dusty highway as we speak
To late... It is in storage. Rally Rd. An investment firm. Complete waste
It likely broke within 2000 miles.
@@truantray Yup better keep it in storage to retain its value and with enough time even increase in value.
Great car, love the fact that the Turbo badge on the back is off a Renault 25 V6 Turbo...
And 11 turbo too haha
Damn that is the sweetest one ever. If you grew up in the '80's you had a Countach poster on your wall
You DM'ed someone on IG and then badgered an old man into selling his prize possession. Truly a great accomplishment.
Hard days work for a trust fund baby. Give him some credit.
Only a shady used car salesman would brag to UA-cam about banking on the storage owner not knowing the value and history of the car, convincing him Countaches aren’t that valuable then getting him to come down on the price. - right after telling UA-cam how unique and invaluable the car is!
first rule is to _know_ what you have, your fault if you let it go
@@teddysadcat
"Never interrupt your adversary when he makes a mistake"
Don't hate the game or the players
Yep and I would do the same buddy.
He does look like a greasy weasel. Unfortunately it was the owners error. Shoulda told him 4 mill or piss off.
"A car like this is such a Unicorn". Spoken like a True Car Salesman!
8:39 is the part when you see the "dealer" colors show through. "Got into such an arguement" means you probably low balled the shit out of him. You know you paid way less than what it's worth.
Well, I mean, he bought it. So they must not have been too far apart ultimately. It's also true that if the seller threw out a number without a good enough fight the buyer said, "Okay!" the seller knows there was still money on the table and might renege on the deal. You also, as he said, don't know what you're getting into with some of these situations. When hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars can be the price tag on a car with no way of having a real clear-cut answer on what it's worth, it's risky. He would make money on the car if he bought it before it went back into the public consciousness, as long as he didn't just say, "Name a number between 6 and 7 digits long." and pay whatever was said, at least.
It was probably a situation where the owner wanted the car more than the money and the buyer wanted it to make sense to buy it. I have seen people get very heated over much smaller amounts of money when that happens. One thinks the thing is worth infinite money and the other knows it is valuable but won't just ignore reason. I'm sure that John has more "the one that got away" stories than ones where he landed the deal. Because, of course, he does. Every professional trader has those white whales. Deals where they could smell the ink right before signing but it fell apart for some random reason. Shit that keeps them up at night and just as many where they did sign the deal and it keeps them up at night...
I know I'm replying to a three-year-old comment that is well-liked and being very long-winded, but I feel like you're making a ton of assumptions that John was wholly the bad guy in the scenario if the owner still sold to them. You don't often give away something you love to someone you hate without trying other options first.
Orlando Bloom has let himself go a bit.
This should be top comment
Hahaha! Genius!!
DUDE!!!! hilarious 🤣
Hahahaha 😂🤣
Yes I try to think who it is this man!
Can't wait for the ticket clinic sponsor spot to go away. Looks like an intro to cheap porn
So if it was a classy porn, you wouldn't mind?
So? 😉
Too bad she’s not a pornstar. Sara Jean Underwood for research purposes 😉
@@MrGrazzhoppa she was in playboy back in like 2006. You can google those tits bro
That's why it's great.
My dad and I went to Curated and met John. Very nice guy, knows his stuff. If you ever in Miami, do yourself a favor and stop by.
2:44 Ok, judging by the style and the letter's font... the turbo badge on this Countach is from a Renault XD
The Side skirts Turbo lettering also come from the Renault 5 Turbo and the turbo stickers under the headlights also come from some Renault, the lettering and aesthetic is litteraly the same
Nice catch
That's literally what I was thinking
🥇
works really well tbh!!!
Yes, Renault 5/11 Turbo badges
What! That's it? You left us hanging when u finally found the car and just ended with a side story! Where's the car now? Does it run? Are u keeping it or selling it? This video needs a part 2!!!
Something about this guy and his whole attitude really irks me, he didn't 'discover' anything, the car had an owner that cherished and respected the car already. There's clearly a lot of ego at play here with these barn find people, like they see themselves as some sort of Indiana jones. We only know one side of the story, but he didn't go to particularly great lengths to hide the fact that he effectively bullied a (probably elderly) gentlemen for more than a year into selling a car he didn't want to sell, all so he could 'unveil' it to the world for his own narcissistic reasons and 'make his mark', I could be very wrong, but the video gave off an odd vibe.
Let's not forget that besides "making his mark" he probably made a lot of money. Everything about this story and this guy screams "used car salesman", in the worst possible way. I hope i'm wrong.
@@TheSVKJosifek a guy who keep's car's in his living room and does not use them is a bloody idiot lol
I agree with this. The car was viewed in a casino over the years by millions of people. Some random storage guy knew all about the car and the turbos. So how exactly was this car "missing" and "discovered"??? Seems like a lot of bluster and slight click-bait for a car that wasn't all that missing.
He's a car dealer, he has to keep the lights on one way or another...
Yeah. The storage place knew, the guy had it in his living room so all of his friends and family knew. And everyone at the casini knew it existed. He didnt pull it out of a long lost storage container in backwood new york.
Also he almost wasnt aloud to buy it, but wasnt rude. Sounds more like he tried to lowball him, then doubled down trying to use normal coutach market value as an excuse. Every video this guy screams "i have to own all my favorite cars".
The paint job on that car blows me away. Just beautiful. Thanks for sharing that story.
Seriously? All of that setup, history and back story, and you can't even provide us with an engine rev of this unicorn?
That car deserves to have a documentary done on it, and a talented driver put it through it's paces around a track, for ALL Countach lovers!
Not exactly what you asked for, but you may enjoy this video 'Valentino Balboni drives the Long Lost 1 of 2 Lamborghini Countach Turbo'
@@BarracoBarner Thank you! That video is pretty cool. You're right. It doesn't really give you the satisfaction you want, but, it's better than nothing.
As a child, I too worshipped this particular Countach and the iconic white (Miami Vice) Testarossa. Thus, this is by far my favourite VINwiki story. Cheers John!
Who would win? A v12 with 2 nagasaki spooly bois or a Wikipedia article?
frederic duwe Nagasaki noisy bois*
Taiwan twirly spinny thing
@@jeffuclyptis771
Ying Yang Spinny Thangs
Nagasaki NoiseMakers
frederic duwe Hiroshima hairdryers
C'mon 2 Nagasaki Spooli Boi's on anything would clean house on any day!!!
This guy probably is truly a nice guy, but imagine him talking to anyone that works for him detailing these priceless gems.
"Its hard to even put a value on it" Sounds like a cheap salesman lmao
Your mom is cheap.
curated sold it, what do we think for? my guess is he bough it for $450k and sold it for $750k, but I have no clue . just basing that off of other auction results I've seen.
Kaum Dawnd You can tell from the way he says “car” that he’s a car salesman.
@@fubarexress6359 Shit. I *thought* I paid too much for his mom. I guess she's just more of a shrewd negotiator.
I'll pay less next time, or maybe see if we can get a group discount.
He didn't give a shit about the car, but a whole lot about his profit margin IMO
So glad that the guy with means found a car that only 3% of most people in the world could afford. Warms my heart....
So where is this unicorn now? It sounds like owner is not interested in selling and I get the feeling it will likely disappear again. Great story!
it sold to an anonymous buyer who is apparently not the man in the northeast who had a dream of owning it.
Nice happy ending -_- welp guess it’s lost again
If you are so worried about other peoples property why didn’t you buy it?
2fastHarley no shit
@@xXgtagod369Xx it was neverlost LMAO it had an owner was being taken care of and people clearly knew about it and wernt trying to hide it
These stories are by far my favorite man, I don't have a love for these old cars as some but I appreciate the history and how much they mean to some people.
This is insane 2 years ago I saw this car just sitting outside the dealership in Reno and the salesman didn't even know what was in front of him I went home and researched it that night and found it was a super rare turbo. Glad that vinwiki finally made a video about it.
I worked at that dealership and was the one who put it back together and got it running.
I know nothing about cars but love watching these stories. I was supprised when he mentioned Gemballa. I had my first job across the street from them and the whole street would vibrate everytime they would load up a truck full of supercars.
I picked up and delivered this car to Miami!
That story is as dramatic as the Countach itself. So awesome. 100,000 views in one day confirms it. Great story John. I've loved this car since I first saw it in a Countach magazine in 1986. Remember, this was a time when modifying a Lamborghini was as rare as seeing one on the road. Icon. Awesome details and answers about the car I've always wanted to know.
Thank you for finding this car. I have a Lamborghini book that shows this car.
What book is it?
What a find! I grew up with Countach posters in my bedroom walls....nothing today compares to the ultimate dream car!! This Turbo is a masterpiece!! Great story!!
side TURBO decal font looks like it was taken straight off a Renault 5 turbo 2 🤣😂😋
Probably was - the rear 'Turbo' badge is definitely from a Renault - same font and everything.
@@Strike86 im not too sure on the front and rear badges on it as ive grown up with old 80s-now renaults and it doesn't look familiar to me.. but they do just look like generic stickers you would get at a auto parts store from the 90s if anything..
And the back is also yeah. I was like wait what, is that made in cooperation Renault? 😂
That’s because they were!
This car had 740hp... back in the 80s.... truly the peak of lunacy for Lamborghini I'm surprised it's not well known.
So you didnt actually want the car. You just wanted it to sell and make money.
Absolutely 100 percent in it for the money. Total car shark right there. Flippity flip flip. PLUS made a few bucks on youtube.
Thats what boggled my mind as well. Thought he was going to consider it his "keeper". Also the fact that he's trying to talk down the value of the car to the storage seller, yet he himself is just going to jack up the price because collectors item is such the typical used car salesman move.
People like this are the reason no one trusts car salesmen.
If i was the owner I would have put it out there to gauge interest as a real collector could have been found to truly appreciate the car.
Totally, imagine the interest at an auction.
This might actually be the coolest car story on this channel.
That's the thing: it's a story and is told very well! People are discrediting the guy because he's a dealer. But I think the backstory of the car and how it was discovered; the way he tells it at least, definitely deserves to be on VINWiki imo.
I have read that Lamborghini seriously considered building a Turbo Countach right before Ferrari debuted the Testarossa. They toyed around with it but had a lot of problems with the oil getting too hot and the engine overheating. They just decided to produce the four valve cylinder head instead and call it the Countach Quattrovalvole.
the turbos probably blew up the engine
Circus Circus and Bill Harrah had revolving collections in Reno. They always featured different high end cars every month..!
Being an associate of one of Bill Harrah's 'confidants' - I can unequivocally assure you of the outright laugh worthy claim of this being his favorite, or even -- one of.
Bill harrah never owned Circus Circus, but maybe this dude has his facts wrong about which casino it was...
@@timspeedinc I Never claimed that.. They are 2 different entities. Just what I saw when in Reno years ago
BMEPdoc that’s dope insider info.. could you expand on that?
This is why Vinwiki is so good. There is nothing better than a car with a story and this is the place for those cars.
Speaking of finding rare cars on Instagram....There's a black 300SL Roadster that was stolen 2 years ago in August from a hotel near the Nurburgring, and it was posted on Instagram. Since then, there's been nothing about it. I'd love to see it found!!
Came for the Countach, stayed all the way to the end of the Ticket Clinic ad.
The Gen X holy grail. We all dreamed of how someday we could afford to own one after Cannonball run. No other car has spoken to so many people on such an emotional level.
Sorry bud but I think millennials and the Supra took its place after all the (good) F&F movies
The majority of the Vinwiki speakers are millennials and I’ve never heard any of them talk about Supras. I can’t see a mass production car ever having the same appeal but everyone’s opinion is valid.
Cannonball: Best good times movie of all time.
@@CowboyBluffBand There's no such thing as a "good" F&F movie.
The Ferrari 308 gtb/gts was pretty emotional to see.
The Lamborghini countach is the most iconic supercar, ever!
My favorite of all time as well.
I don't know why I get tears while watching this
I remember this car. In 1985 I worked as a tech in a gray Market Conversion shop. The guy he mentions who owned Circus Circus, I think his name was Pennington, Bought 12 Countach (s)? ad 8 Jalpas to import into the US. The shop was in a free trade zone at the port in NC so as long as the cars stayed in the warehouse, they were not considered by customs to be in the US. That way we could store and work on the cars without the 90 day compliance period kicking in. The Turbo he bought as his personal car and he took his lifetime EPA exemption on it.
At the time one of the compromises the EPA wrote into the emissions laws was that every US citizen was entitled to import one car in their lifetime without having to do emission compliance work. The catch was that the car has to be 5 years old or more. So Pennington bought the car when it was 4 years old and had it shipped into the free trade zone where he stored it for a year, when the car turned five, it came out. Legally, we were supposed to do the DOT work on it, Lights, bumpers door bars etc, but that could be worked around with a few fake photos and some creative documents.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT JOHN?! WHY YOU LEAVING US HANGING?
I've followed this story ever since John found it, it's been one hell of a ride. I'm glad you guys are documenting it here.
@6:56 ! So if anyone played Counter Strike Source 20 years ago youll remember that there is a McLaren F1 sitting inside the casino of the map "de_LasVegas"...
Between the Ticket Clinic ad and the Countach story I thought it was a set up for the next Cannon Ball Run movie!
It's not what you do
It's how you do it.
Be anything you want to be
It's not what you got
It's how you use it
You be you
And I'll be me
It's just a matter of style
You can fake it
Mile after mile
Feeling free
If you got the soul
you can make it
Move-em out (move 'em out)
Let 'em roll (let 'em roll)
From sea to shining sea
Ball (ball)
Cannonball (cannonball)
The value of any item is what someone will pay for it. Thats the easiest way to put a value on anything.👍
lol that what I was thinking that's the value of anything...
John has put on a really classy show at the Miami Design District Concours over the past two years. It was really exciting to see this car in person. I hope that the event can continue for a long time.
*enter covid*
Sooo where is the car now? Still in Miami? because I want to see it lol
I didn't even know this Countach existed, definitely a unicorn. Rare cars like this in this condition seem to go up on price every decade. This guy sells and buy exotic cars, what ever money he paid i am sure he knows his business and will quadruple his investment. Smart people like this always get rich.
Is this a Gordini Countach haha it's got Renault Turbo vibes everywhere.
The badge and the side sticker looked familiar, and then I realized it these are from the Renault fuego.
@@lucasd1646 5GT Turbo.
@@andrewlaw Look it up,The fuego turbo had the same exact badge and side stickers, the 5gt was a little different, the color or something, the side stickers are the same though. I owned a 5 alpine turbo and the badge in the back was also the same, side stickers were different (same font as badge in red).
Out of all the people to find it, its the guy who's about as entertaining as a rock. Nice lol
I'd keep that in my living room, too.
Nice to see how they slapped the Turbo logo from 1980's Renault models on the back of the car. It really put an accent on how experimental the car is.
You left the most important detail of the car out. Where is it now?
It's owned by RSE Collection LLC according to the wikipedia page iirc. But not everyone who owns a rare car wants to be known. They could've very well said hes not allowed to disclose that to the public.
Renault 5 badging and decals. My first, yes first car was a 5 sport that I wide bodied into a Turbo tribute. Black with gold Gotti three piece wheels. Took my exam in that 4 speed manual. Examiner past me partly because he said he had never seen one before, it was a stock slab side car at the time and because he thought it was obvious that I could handle driving. Having showed up in a manual transmission car, having to row my own gears. Toronto circa 1990. Still very proud of that achievement!
Found a "lost" car that was owned by collectors that knew exactly what it was. We really need to revisit the definition of lost.
home boy doesnt know what context is
That Image at 1.30min, etched in my mind, I had that magazine back in circa 1986. It was my prize possession as a 14 year old, but unfortunately like many of my car magazines, it ended up in the bin as my parents were not happy with my "unhealthy obsession with these bloody Lamborghini Countach's!"- rather than my school work.
It's so great to see this car and those photos, I still remember them clearly! I don't own a Lamborghini Countach, but I am in my 25th year working in the motor industry. It was a different time back then with parenting, but with my kids and my nieces and nephews I always say 'follow you passion' (* as long as it is legal of course!)
"I wasn't being rude, I was just very honest about the value of Countaches and the market."
So he told the guy it wasn't worth much more than a normal Countach. I'd have told him to get bent as well.
I would of sold the car to anyone else but him
I remember this infamous turbo as a kid. Even getting a wall poster of this car was almost impossible back in day. Glad to see It's still here.
Coolest story I've heard on this channel!!
Love your videos and can listen to them for hours and hours!
By the way, Chicopee MA native here!
A multi million dollar twin turbo Lambo wearing the graphics and badges off a Renault 18 Turbo.
diablo with nissan headlights
xj200 interior, as many ford bits as a regular ford
@@chrisdavidson911 yeah, but Renault .
@@Lazerus2008 The side decals were probably the right size off the shelf from Renault. It follows they would use the front/rear badges with the same font.
bill pennington was original owner of this car! wendy foreman was his mechanic for 26 years and was a friend of mine at we will call it "the end" of the original ownership, they had fuel system problems so i pulled both banks of blow thru webbers off of the car for wendy to rebuild, wendy and bill both had parkinsons disease, (horrible to watch!) and wendys wife put him in a home being tired of taking care of him! and john howe from intrepid racing ended up getting to re assemble the car! i like john but was very jealous! but thats the back story on this car!! and an awesome car it was! i was thrilled when i happened across this story!
Last time I was this early I should have traded my wife for a C5
U can still trade her for th c6 corv
Can you imagine a couple of Countaches as "living room decor"? Crazy! Very interesting story.
The guy that wanted it since he was a child and had a poster was standing in front of his hero and let his WIFE decide his happiness for him. From that moment on he will never have it and she’ll probably divorce him in 5 years when he begins to hate her for it. Moral of the story, buy the car.
2nd moral is never get married! Date em, fuck em, love em, breed em, but never marry em!
MGTOW Baby!
Because that's what marriage is about. Making yourself happy.
Grow up.
Vykk Draygo piss off and stay miserable.
Moral of the story: Cars before thots
I saw this car at the storage facility Reno along with the white one, and am ashamed to say I saw the turbo letters on the side and thought "hmm, must be a kit car or something" and didn't even realize what I was looked at and sort of ignored it. Goes to show you never know it all!
In the city I grow up in, a local Coffee factory owner also had a “special car” dealership as a hobby/collection.
One of the cars I often showed on the lawn outside the factory was a Black Lamborghini Countach Turbo (think it was a twin turbo, made by König, but not sure) it was for sale a 495.000,- Danish kr. ( about $75.000 us)
It was the car of my dreams. When I was 18 years old I fell into a good talk with the owner, and he let me drive the car from the lawn to the garage! But when I turned the key, it just clicked. The battery was dead, we tried to jump start it but the car alarm would have non of that... so it all ended with they had to tow the car, and I never got to drive it...
Luck would have it, and after years of hard work I got the money to buy it. I had kept an eye on it for years, and it had still been for sale. But again it wasn’t meant to be. The Turbo Countach had just been sold... never saw the car again.
If anybody knows where the Black Lamborghini Countach Turbo from Denmark has ended up, please let me know.
www.supercars.net/blog/1986-koenig-specials-countach-turbo/ ?
Freimopp777 well the one I describe was blank black, and on the side skirts it said TURBO written in big red letters. In the article you link to, it seams like Köenig only build one? But this one is definitely not the same car. But thanks for the link :)
@@ClubLiveDK I read that a black countach turbo in denmark for sale. That was in 2007?
Freimopp777 that sounds just like that one, ended up buying a Ferrari 348 spider instead, and that was in 2007
@@ClubLiveDK translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.carpassion.com%2Fforum%2Fthema%2F25364-ex-max-bobnar-turbo-countachs%2F
This is my great-grandmothers dream car. She described it down to the seat belts to me one day and I had to inform her that there was literally only 1. I will get it for her someday.
*Ed Bolian Voice* And then Kimmie quite literally started doing the stanky leg
*VINWIKI intro starts playing*
The "hosts" on this channel do such a fantastic job of sharing their fascinating stories, A+++
You always gotta convince the wife when you buy something😂
I used to have the poster of this car, loved it then, love it now. Beautiful
And here I am paying for YT premium so I don’t have to watch the ads. Ugh
worse part is ... its a fucking terrible advert with bad acting bad sound over and shit editing.. :|
At least they tack 'em on the end of the video.
Kenneth Monson true true
And to think VinWiki is promoting this company since like, day 1. That ad is beyond cringe!!!
Jigsjigz it’s an ad for a ticket ad that is rated quite poorly. But who really gives a shit? Sara Jean Underwood is always worth looking at
The fact that I work down the street from where this car was just blows my mind.
how do you go from arguing with the owner to the point of not being allowed to buy to buying them? So many ways to advertise today, this guy wasn't the only option.
halleffect1 not everybody has the money to buy cars such as this, on a whim.
I get it, took me 6 months to convince an owner of a rare motorcycle to sell it to me.
That's what's called "the art of the deal", baby!
Am I the only one who recognises the "turbo" badge on the back and the side stickers from Renault?🤔🤗
Keep bringing John back he’s an amazing story teller
Not really.................
This is amazing! I saw this car in person as a kid. So cool to see it after all these years.
That's a comfortable looking t--shirt 😎
For a Jersey boi
Man, I got goosebumps and I'm not that hard into Lamborghini's, my friend told me I could drive his white Countach, and I told him I don't drive what I can't afford. I am sworn to secrecy about the location of a couple of old Mopars, a '67 Z-28, and the missing Silver Baldwin Stage3 Corvette. The 'Vette was bought for $2800 on the side of the road back in '74 and stored indoors since, so it is still nice. Came from the hometown of Mr. Regular from RCR.
How much did it end up selling for after curated got it though?
Oh my goodness , thanks for sharing this story, it’s so awesome as a car guy to hear the actual stories and not to mention I’m a Lamborghini Lover since I could crawl !!! Hahaha just an awesome story thanks again made my day !
"The car is so rare it's hard to put value on it"
Couple minutes later "owner was so piseed at my offer had to explain the market value"
So markets the car saying how priceless it is while also snakes the previous owner for money.
I am glad there are crazy gear heads out there with the money to seek out these cars and bring them back
You're a dealer you weren't honest with its value... lol
I had the privilage of seeing this car up close...Wow..Curated is a unique place great people.
I also had a poster of that car on my wall in high school. I had dreams of one day driving it. Amazing!
I wonder what happened to that pearl white 1989 Conuntach from Wolf of Wall Street..
I had a poster of the black/black Countach when I was a kid. I'll never forget it.