Lamborghini has unveiled a new US$2.6 million supercar with a very familiar name: Countach. The original Lamborghini Countach, unveiled as a concept car at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971, made the Italian automaker world famous. The new Countach, unveiled at the Monterey Car Week in the United States, celebrates the 50th anniversary of that debut. In many regards, the new Countach is a direct descendant of the original. It has a V12 engine, directly behind the two seats. And, like every Lamborghini sports car since the Countach, it’s shaped like a low-profile wedge. There’s one big difference. The new Countach LPI 800-4 is a hybrid. It’s not a plug-in hybrid but, as the car drives, it stores power in a supercapacitor that can provide some additional power to the wheels during hard acceleration. At low speeds, it also provides power between gear shifts to help smooth the uncomfortable surging and bucking that can come from Lamborghini’s aggressive race car-style transmission. Supercapacitors are more expensive than batteries and they are not as good as batteries at storing energy for long periods. But they can store more energy per cubic centimeter than batteries and they can absorb and release energy more quickly. In all, the new four-wheel-drive Countach can produce up to 802 horsepower, with 769 coming from the gasoline engine and an additional 33 horsepower from the electric motor that is attached to the side of the gearbox. In the new Countach, there is a glass sunroof inside the notch that can be darkened when the sun is too bright. Unlike other modern Lamborghinis, the new Countach also has rectangular headlights designed to mimic those of the original. There are no fang-like light designs on the front, as Lamborghini’s other new supercars have. Only 112 of these new Lamborghini cars are being built and, according to Lamborghini, all of them have already seen sold. (SD-Agencies) | 