Long before there was the Fast and Furious franchise there was The Cannonball Run. It featured several big stars of the day. The cast included Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and even Jackie Chan, among others. But one of the undisputed stars of the show was the Cannonball Run Lamborghini Countach LP400S. It was probably the first time most people had seen a Lamborghini, ever. The Italian automaker had produced just 55 vehicles the year the movie was released. Compare that to the near 30 it currently produces per day. This movie is probably the reason millions of petrolheads love the brand until today. Not to forget countless poster sales.

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Hero Car

The Cannonball Run Lamborghini Countach LP400S appeared in the opening sequence of the 1981 movie. The comedy was based on real-life cross-country races organised by journalist Brock Yates. The low-slung supercar went on to win the race. If you haven’t already, you should stop reading and watch the video below: 

Reunion

The Cannonball Run Lamborghini Countach LP400S celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. To celebrate, Automobili Lamborghini brought together the female duo Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman who ‘drove’ the winning car in the movie. It was the first time since the movie that the trio were together. The car was ‘dressed up’ to look more purposeful for its Hollywood appearance. As a result, it was fitted with a winglet and extra lights on the nose, a spoiler, three aerials and 12 exhaust pipes (yeah, 12 – Ed) at the rear. Additionally, the interior featured fake instruments. Most of those items have been retained until today.

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A Historically Significant Vehicle 

The Cannonball Run Lamborghini Countach LP400S was added to the National Historic Vehicle Register in 2021. The register was created to preserve America’s auto heritage for future generations. It currently consists of just 32 vehicles. Among these is the DeLorean from the Back to the Future trilogy. You can see the full list at this link.

“I had never realised how successful the movie was until people started to ask me for my autograph. Still today,” Barbeau added, “in spite of my success as an actress in horror movies and playing Cat Woman in the Batman movie, people ask me above all to autograph Countach model cars.”

“It’s impossible for me, too, to remember how many times I signed a photo or a model car of the Countach!,” Buckman added.