Performance
When talk about its real performance, there is always room for debating. However, before our long discussion starts, let us have a look at the performance data measured by different magazines :
Model
Magazine
Year
0-60mph
0-100mph
1/4 mile
Top speed
LP400
Motor
1975
5.6 sec
13.1 sec
14.1 sec
--
LP400
Road & Track
1976
6.8 sec
13.3 sec
14.4 sec
--
LP400S
Road & Track
1978
5.9 sec
14.4 sec
14.6 sec
--
LP500S
Autocar
1982
5.6 sec
12.9 sec
14.0 sec
164mph
LP500S
Car and Driver
1983
5.4 sec
12.1 sec
13.5 sec
--
LP500S + wing
Motor
1984
4.8 sec
11.3 sec
13.2 sec
155mph
5000QV
Autocar
1985
4.9 sec
10.6 sec
13.0 sec
178mph
5000QV + wing *
Car and driver
1986
5.1 sec
11.0 sec
13.3 sec
166mph
5000QV (US)***
Road & Track
1986
5.2 sec
12.0 sec
13.7 sec
173mph**
5000QV
Fast Lane
1986
4.2 sec
10.0 sec
12.5 sec
190mph
 
 
Note : 
* Car & Driver's acceleration test made on a US version Countach, while the top speed come from European model.  
** Road & Track's 173 mph was recorded in an oval track, this could lose a few mph.  
*** US version Countach has 420 hp instead of 455 hp. 

As you can see, the performance data deviates very much from magazine to magazine. Just take the 5000QV as an example, someone measured 190 mph while someone did only 166 mph ! someone could took a full second more to complete 0-60 mph, 2 seconds more to 100 mph ! From my experience, no other car could be more controversial.

How to explain the performance deviation?
Firstly , as pointed out by Peter Dron in the book "Lamborghini Countach - The Complete Story", Countach's engine particularly need more mileage to run-in than normal cars, otherwise the engine will be tight and not able to develop full potential. Peter Dron himself made the test for Fast Lane, in a Countach that regularly run to top speed by owner Pierluigi Martini ( the ex-F1 driver ). No wonder the data recorded was by far better than other magazines. On the contrary, Autocar's tests were always the earliest in the English world, this is one of its advantage, but inevitably picked a relatively new Countach for test.

 Secondly , Lamborghini's production tolerance is also in questioned, at least before the Diablo appeared. According to Lamborghini's own statement, some 5000QV engines produced 470hp on the test dynamometer, compare with the official figure 455hp. If we apply this explanation to a different direction, we can say some engines may had only 440hp.

 Thirdly , the rear wing has decisive influence on the top speed, as mentioned before. With the wing, Car & Driver measured 166 mph in an European version QV ( unlike the acceleration which was measured in a US version ), very much lower than Autocar's 178 mph, let alone the controversial 190 mph that recorded by Fast Lane.

 Fourthly , the test method is also arguable. Motor and Car & Driver used to conduct the acceleration test by racing-style launch, that is, wind the engine up to red line, than release the clutch as sharply as possible. Not only for this car, they did the same for every car they tested. Now you know why C&D always produced far better result than R&T, and Motor did better than Autocar. We cannot determine which one is RIGHT, but I can tell you most other mainstream magazines did the same as Autocar and R&T, such as Auto, Motor und Sport ( the largest car magazine in Europe ). Autocar is the largest in UK, while R&T equals C&D in USA. We'd better to follow the majority's choice.

The top speed measurement of Fast Lane is very unbelievable. For some reasons, Peter Dron measured it by a controversial method - the Italy's Autostrada highway has a " Kilometer Post " between every kilometer, he traveled at top speed in the Countach's passenger seat, press the stop watch in his hand when the car is passing a post, then press again at the next post, and the speed can be calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the time took ! Measured again in the opposite direction and he got the two-way top speed of 190.1 mph !! Obviously, we cannot trust this human-dependable test method, especially when his data was so much faster than others have ever recorded. Anyway, the acceleration figure was achieved with a fifth wheel and calibrated electronic recorder, this is fully trustable. It seems that the acceleration result alone can prove that his Countach must be in particularly good condition.

Which one is the most believable?
The most believable top speed figure comes from Italian Ministry of Transportation. It timed the QV 181.6mph in Nardo test track. As the Anniversary is unlikely to be faster than the QV, we can say the Countach ultimately did 181.6mph. This was among the fastest in the world, although quite no match with the originally proposed 200 magic mph. Porsche 959 took 2 more years to eclipse this record.

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