When Ferruccio Lamborghini introduced his exotic Countach prototype at the 1971 Geneva Auto Show, the car’s wedge-shaped styling—created by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone Design Studio—seized the attention of automobile cognoscenti and the most casual of onlookers alike.

The powerful mid-engine sports car was wide and low with sharply angled panels, “scissor” doors, and a forward-placed passenger compartment to allow for the large V-12 engine.

The body was light and strong with aircraft-grade aluminum skin over a tubular space frame.

Once production began in 1973, the distinctive styling put the Countach in its own class.

The combination of standout design, performance characteristics, and its stratospheric price tag quickly earned the Countach its “supercar” status.

There is perhaps no more widely recognizable or iconic supercar than the dramatically styled Lamborghini Countach, the poster car of a generation.

To ensure that the Countach remained jaw-dropping throughout its ent...