The Lamborghini Countach represents perhaps the pinnacle of 1980s iconic sports car design. Exciting angles, crisp edges and subtle curves all balance perfectly in the epitome of the classic wedge-shaped sports car.
First seen in 1971 and available to buy from 1974, the Countach was designed by Marcello Gandini and had a style that endured in popularity over a 16-year production run that spanned six standard models. Of the six, perhaps the most iconic variant is the 5000QV, and it is that which LEGO® Icons has decided to reimagine in brick form, in set 10337 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole.
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10337 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole- Release date: 1 July 2024
- Parts: 1506
Price:
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Buy individual pieces from 10337 on LEGO® Pick a Brick
In this article I examine the new pieces included and use one of them in my own LEGO creation. For my review of the actual build, go to my
second article.
As soon as I saw that this set was rumoured, I have eagerly anticipated its release. The Countach was my favourite car as a boy. I have fond memories of feverishly building a ten module-wide blue version from parts in my LEGO® Space collection. I had a couple of model kit versions at different scales; a Tamiya and an Airfix, if I recall correctly. There was also
Sideswipe from the Transformers and numerous '80s-style airbrushed images on my wall. I watched the opening scenes of Cannonball Run (I & II) on repeat, countless times, marvelling at the looks of the dreamy Italian speed machine.
My inner ten year-old then, was excited beyond normal levels when I learned that I was going to be reviewing the set! With midlife crisis mode set to ON, let's go.
New moulds
There are three new moulds present in the Countach.
- 4 x Wheel 30.4 x 20 with 5 holes in Flat Silver (6481570 | 5650)
- 2 x Brick Round Corner 4 x 4 x 1 with Bottom Cut Outs [No Studs Flat Top][1/4 Arch] in White (6481567 | 5649)
- 6 x Slope 1 x 4 with 1 x 2 Cutout in White (6481586 | 5654)
- 4 x Slope 1 x 4 with 1 x 2 Cutout in Dark Red (6505207 | 5654)
It is clear all three of these moulds will have applications outside of these initial usages. Let's take a look at each in turn.
Wheel 30.4 x 20 with 5 holes (5650)
The new wheels are dual sided, accounting for differences in the Lamborghini's front and rear wheel hubs. The hubs/rims are designed to fit the wider of the tyres in the set, Tire 49.53 x 20 (
15413).
As always, the desire to make connections was strong in me.
The wheels do have one connection that I found, the ray-gun (13608 / 87993). It attaches neatly into the wheel hole via the second of its diffusers. I'm certain this is very much unintended, and illegal. It's initially a reasonable connection, but will loosen quite easily, which is unsurprising. This is enough of an inspiration for me to explore further options for a MOC though!
Brick Round Corner 4 x 4 x 1 (5649)
This smaller curved corner slope has been created to better approximate the wheel arches of the Countach.
A smaller version of the existing 5x5 round corner slope (
76795 / 3374), it is always nice to see parts introduced that continue or create a lineage. When a new part follows an established LEGO System design, it feels like it opens up so many more building possibilities.
Slope 1 x 4 No Studs (5654)
Similarly, it is nice to see another addition to the collection of available slopes.
This design is almost equal to two 1x2x⅔ slopes (see above upper right), be they the original cheese grater (
61409) or
new "grateless" version (5404) pictured here. This is a welcome addition that very much continues on from the recent 1x6 slope (
4569)!
They're also a perfect match for the angle found on a 2x4 wedge plate (above lower left).
Combined with a regular 1x4x1 slope and a 75° slope laid sideways (above lower right), you can create subtle diagonal stepping.
There is one further recent mould in this set that I thought I'd take a quick look at.
Bracket 2 x 4 - 1 x 4 (5175)
This bracket is new for 2024 but we have not yet covered it in our reviews, despite it being already present in seven sets!
- 2 x Bracket 2 x 4 - 1 x 4 in White (6461067 | 5175)
The new bracket joins more similar elements, even more than those pictured above, and functionally it will obviously do much the same as the rest of the pictured sub-classification that I think of as "down" brackets. There will undoubtedly be occasion (as found in this set) where this new element will be indispensable.
Let's return to see what other elements are is new in this set.
Recolours
A small group of exclusive recolours add to the attraction of the set.
- 1 x Windscreen 1 x 14 x 6 Tapered in Trans-Black (6490496 | 80573)
- 8 x Brick Special 1 x 4 Palisade [aka Log] in Dark Red (6505207 | 30137)
- 2 x Plate Special 1 x 2 with Pin Hole On Side in Black (6506033 | 3172), also coming in 10338 Transformers: Bumblebee
- 5 x Brick Special 1 x 2 Palisade [aka Log] in Dark Red (6506542 | 30136)
Exclusive prints
A big surprise was that there was no sticker sheet included in the box! All the decoration in the set has been achieved either within the build or with this selection of printed elements.
- 1 x Brick 1 x 3 with ‘Countach’ print in White (6490702 | 3622)
- 1 x Brick 1 x 3 with ‘Lamborghini’ print in White (6490700 | 3622)
- 2 x Tile 1 x 2 with Black print in White (6504278 | 3069b)
- 1 x Slope 30° 1 x 2 x 2/3 with ‘Lamborghini Bull Logo’ print in White (6504277 | 85984)
- 2 x Slope 30° 1 x 2 x 2/3 with air intake print in White (6490704 | 85984)
- 1 x Tile 2 x 4 with ‘Countach’ print in Black (6504276 | 87079)
- 1 x Brick 1 x 6 with console/speedometer print in Dark Red (6490703 | 3009)
Rare parts
We suspect that these useful parts will not remain so rare in sets for very long.
- 4 x Brick Sloped 1 x 6 x 1 with 1 x 2 x 1 / 3 Cutout in White (6463124 | 4569) in three sets
- 1 x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Left in White (6507844 | 5095) in three sets
- 1 x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Right in White (6477757 | 5093) in three sets
- 4 x Tile 1 x 2 with Stud Notch Left in White (6477744 | 5091) in three sets
- 4 x Tile 1 x 2 with Stud Notch Right in White (6477750 | 5092) in three sets
- 8 x Slope 18° 2 x 1 x 2/3 in White (6485124 | 5404) in two sets
- 1 x Tile 4 x 4 in Black (6469830 | 1751) in two sets
- 2 x Plate Special 1 x 2 with Clips Horizontal [Open O Clips] in Sand Yellow/ Dark Tan (6474324 | 49563) in three sets
- 1 x Technic Beam 1 x 2 Thin in Bright Yellow/ Yellow (6431477 | 44862) only in 42151 Bugatti Bolide last year
- 3 x Slope 33° 2 x 4 Double in Dark Red (6407991 | 3299) only in 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 1969 from 2022
- 4 x Plate 3 x 3 Corner in Dark Red (6490321 | 77844) in two sets
- 1x Plate Special 1 x 8 with Door Rail in Dark Red (6376639 | 4510) in three sets
Kev Levell's MOC using new wheel hubs (part 5650)
I'd been keen to try making something with the wheel hubs after discovering that the ray-gun would attach to them. It's pretty much a jet engine, I thought.
Then, the thought that the Lamborghini Countach was once the fastest road-legal car that had ever been built reminded me of a quote from The Phantom Menace; "I have acquired a pod in a game of chance, the fastest ever built".
It's not even remotely original to build a podracer from LEGO bricks, but the idea amused me enough to try building a caricatured chibi-style podracer.
Obviously built in my preferred sportscar red, with a flavour of the Countach in its forms ready to be dragged behind the jet engines.
I also wanted to use the fantastic M:Tron Powerlifter mecha liftarms from the Series 26 LEGO® Minifigures as the control cables or connecting umbilicals.
As an aside – fair warning on 'clipping' the ray-guns into the holes of the wheel rims – after one or two attachments the "clutch" I initially felt is significantly reduced! Definitively an illegal connection!
Conclusion
Three useful new moulds is an exciting prospect, and the lack of stickers in 10337 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole is also laudable. There's a handful of nice recolours and some reappearances of some newer rare parts. From a parts pack point of view, it's not quite enough and it is fairly expensive too. So I'm going to be checking for extras of those new parts on Pick a Brick sometime in October!
READ MORE: Continue to part 2: building the model, and discussing it with its designer Sven Franic
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Oh, the new slope looks beautiful! Great that we get more options for creating sloped surfaces without irritating steps. Thanks for the article Kev!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with that! Longer smooth slopes are a really nice addition to the more recent selection! You're welcome :-)
ReplyDeleteI’ve been scratching my head looking at the windscreen in the “Recolours” photo… I think something about the perspective had me thinking it was a “right trapezoid” instead of an “isosceles trapezoid”. (Or trapezium, for the Brits). This really had me spinning for a second, until I realized it was the same piece from the Delorean! Love the dedication to finding something to stick in those wheels!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, that's a strange optical illusion for sure!
DeleteIt's always a pleasant surprise when parts do fit together in unintended ways!
If only this car would have a less boring colour. Why white ? There are so many nice color to use, such as the latest dark orange, gold, lime or purple, for example..
ReplyDeleteRed would have been my choice from a nostalgic point of view. White is a pretty familiar colour for the Countach though!
DeleteAs an old Futuron fan, I always welcome new useful parts in white.
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