The wraps fell away to reveal the first wedge-shaped supercar from the Italian brand, a sculpture in sheet metal whose form went on to revolutionise the sports car market. The Countach also became the supercar pin-up for fans around the globe.
Marcello Gandini's bold design threw down the gauntlet to rivals Ferrari with dramatic gull-wing-doors and an all-aluminium, quad-cam V12 engine offering seamless power.
Orders for the new car poured in but it was to be several years before the Countach went into production. The finished model graced the company's stand at the Paris Car Show in 1973 and the LP400 version was built in various incarnations from 1974 to 1990.
"The Countach was provocative and it divided opinion strongly," said the marque's current design chief Mitja Borkert. "And in its radical, uncompromising way, it shaped all our cars after that."
The Countach still has an otherwordly aura to it as if it had just touched down from outer space. Driving one is a transcendental experience too.
On paper many modern tuned saloons outgun the 455-horsepower engine of this example form the factory collection but when the glorious 5.2 litre power-plant erupts into life all comparisons go out of the window.
Once the tyres have warmed up, the growling Countach can be thrown at curves with abandon. The supercar roars through the mountains of the Emilia Romagna, accelerating relentlessly.
No sports car is perfect and the Countach cabin is a cramped affair. Access under the guillotine-like doors is tight, the headroom is minimal and forward vision through the windscreen is like looking through the slit of letterbox.
There is little elbow room and the seats are hard but most drivers will forgive all that for the experience of riding this rocket.
The Countach was always an expensive beast to buy and well-kept examples do not come cheap.
Expert Frank Wilke from the price monitoring organisation Classic Analytics ranks the Countach among the all-time sportscar greats. He puts it up there with the Porsche 918, the McLaren P1 and the Bugatti Veyron.
Despite the praise that has been heaped on the car, the Countach as dogged by its sometimes shady image.
Brightly-painted examples could been seen parked in red-light districts around the world and car snobs turned up their noses at the Ferrari rival for allegedly lacking style and finesse.
Some even dubbed it a vulgar "Corvette for the ultra-rich."
Gold-plated examples have reinforced the car's bling image but values have risen steeply.
A good Countach will cost around €800,000 (RM3.8mil) to buy and even a ropey example will not sell for less than a third of that sum.
For fans with more money to spend Lamborghini has revived the nameplate, with a car that boasts many new features but pays hommage to the 1970s design.
The idea is "to imagine how the iconic Countach of the '70s and '80s might have evolved into an elite super sports model of this decade," Lamborghini told the US motoring magazine Car & Driver.
Underneath the retro restyling of the reborn Countach is a Lamborghini Aventador powered by an electric motor which is mated to the naturally-aspirated V12.
This Countach dash from 0 to 100kph in 2.8 seconds and costs at least €2 million (RM9.6mil) to buy.
Perish the thought of buying one as the run of 112 examples slated for production is already sold out.
