REVIEW: 76908 Lamborghini Countach

[Oky]

Today we’re going back to the 1970’s to take a look at another Italian classic from that era, the Lamborghini Countach! It’s best known for featuring in the 1981 movie Cannonball Run. The car in the movie was black and modified for the US market, so some might be disappointed that the LEGO version is the original version in white, although considering how terribly sexist, racist, and just plain boring the movie was, perhaps it’s for the better. So, did TLG recreate this iconic vehicle as well as the last two cars we reviewed? Let’s find out!

Set Number: 76908
Name: Lamborghini Countach
Theme: Speed Champions
Year of Release: 2022
Ages: 8+
Pieces: 262
Price: £17.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€
Online Shop description:

Quote

Kids and car enthusiasts now have the chance to explore one of the world’s most iconic sports cars with the LEGO® Speed Champions Lamborghini Countach (76908) building set. Stunning from every angle, this detailed replica model delivers an engaging building experience, is perfect for display and awesome for epic racing action.

The Box

The front of the box depicts the Countach speeding down the riverside across from the Castel Sant'Angelo. It's a lovely scene, but I fail to see the connection between the Lamborghini and the Mausoleum of Hadrian other than that it is located in Italy, home of Lamborghini. If anyone knows why they chose this particular location, let me know in the comments.

The back has images of both the real and Lego Countach parked on the streets of Italy, looking sexy as heck.

The top, the bottom, and the sides of the box are similar to those on the other sets I reviewed, except that one side has a sticker of authenticity from Lamborghini

Contents

Inside the box there are one instruction booklet, a sticker sheet, and two numbered bags, one with a white stripe and one without. I could never figure out the logic behind which bags get the stripe and which don't, or what the point of it even is. If you know, please enlighten me in the comments.

Instructions

The instructions are easy to read and feature the gray progress bar at the bottom like in the other instructions. The illustrations of all the black, white, and red parts provide a nice contrast.

Notable Parts

Like the Evija, this set comes with the new style of wheels with the fixed tire, although in this set they are black, and instead of molded hubcaps, it comes with printed 2x2 tiles to cover them. While a new mold for the hubcaps would have been nice, the prints look good and do the job just fine. The windshield is printed too as always, but there is something off about this one. Let's discuss that later. There are also some parts in rare colors such as a 1x3 jumper plate in red and 2x4 wedge plates in white, but not much else of note.

Minifigs

The minifig included as the driver for the Countach has yet another generic head with stubble and the same hairpiece as Bob from the Evija, except in dark brown. And like Bob, he comes with a plain black helmet and a wrench. The only thing of note about this guy is his Lamborghini branded jacket. This torso is different and a bit more detailed than the one(s) included in set #76899 as it features a silver zipper, dark blue wrinkles, pockets and a thicker collar. Unfortunately, his pants don't have any printing like those of the drivers in the previous two sets, although their dark blue color matches the wrinkles on his jacket nicely.

Now that's the face of someone who is lucky enough to own such a legendary sports car! Lambo Guy is the only minifig in this entire wave to feature a double-sided head. The back of his jacket is printed too, although my copy has a small scratch on it unfortunately.

The Build

Like with the Evija, the build starts out on the standard Speed Champions car base, but uses some interesting techniques for the shaping of the front and back of the car. The curved slopes in the back are attached at an angle by sticking a dark gray nipple tile into a Technic connector and lowering that into the car. Very unique.

The front bumper is attached by sticking it onto two small bars similar to the taillights on the Ferrari 512 M. Note the headlight stickers which are facing up and are later covered by the hood.

Spare Parts

The leftovers are the usual small bits. Some standouts are a round plate with handle in black (which I forgot to mention among the parts in rare colors), an unprinted gray microphone, and one of the dark gray nipple tiles. It's good to get an extra of those because as my weird uncle always says, you can never have too many nipples. (He doesn't get invited to family gatherings very often.)

The Complete Set

Once you attach the spoiler, hood, windscreen, and tires, the Lambo is finished! The overall shaping of it looks great and aside from the six studs on the roof, it is studless and smooth. However, there is something off about the look. Can you tell what it is?

Comparing it to the real Countach, the designers did a great job recreating the iconic shape of this Italian speed machine.

One of the coolest design features of the set are the headlights. The orange that you see is actually a reflection from the sticker below which is a very clever way of recreating the slim turn signal lights of the Countach.

The Lamborghini Countach has a very uniquely shaped rear and the designers captured that iconic angular look excellently with angled curved slopes hugging the trans-red cones that represent the taillights. The "lamborghini countach" sticker adds the finishing touch.

The dark recesses where the door handles are located on the Countach are recreated nicely by leaving a gap over a curved slope. It's a shame the doors don't open like the iconic scissor doors on the real Countach. According to this interview on New Elementary, the designers did try to incorporate opening doors, but had to abandon the idea since they couldn't find a good way to execute it and because none of the other Speed Champions sets have opening doors which is fair enough.

Unfortunately, this is where we have to start talking about the negatives of the set. You may have already noticed what one of the main issues of the set is from previous pictures, but it is unmissable when looking at a top-down view of the car: The white printing on the windshield is far too dark, making it look more like light gray and stick out like a sore thumb. It really ruins the clean white look of the car, and judging by other reviews of the set, my copy isn't the only one that has this issue. Very disappointing.

To seat the minifig inside, you have to remove the ugly windscreen. The interior feels a bit tight, the steering wheel is off-center, and the only nice detail is the use of a microphone as the shift stick. Not very impressive.

Oops! Looks like Lambo Guy had a little fender bender. Another big issue of the set is stability. All of these angled sections look great, but due to the fact that most of them are only attached by one or two bars, they get easily misaligned during play or when you just pick up the car which is not ideal if you're buying this for a child. I have a hard time keeping the air intakes in the back to sitting on the car without a gap showing underneath.

Ratings

Design: 7/10
The car looks very cool and recognizable, and the reflected headlights are very creative, but the design is a bit unstable in parts.

Build: 8/10
Some interesting angling techniques on a standard base.

Playability: 4/10
The unstable design makes this better for display than play.

Figures: 6/10
A nice new Lambo jacket, but otherwise a very generic fig.

Parts: 4/10
No new parts and not many rare colors. Poor windscreen printing ruins what is an otherwise great looking design.

Price: 9/10
Again, not as good as the Ferrari, but better than the Evija.

Overall: 6/10
Sadly, this one was a bit of a letdown for me. The first two cars in this wave were great and this one looked to be just as good from the official images, but it doesn't look or feel so good in person. While the design is still pretty good, the poorly printed windscreen ruins the look and the easily misaligned angled sections make you not want to touch it. That along with the lack of interesting parts or minifigs makes this one set you can skip.

Thanks for reading and thanks to TLG for sending me this set for review. What do you think of the set? Let me know in the comments and in the poll above. The set will release on March 1, 2022: https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/lamborghini-countach-76908

In my next Speed Champions review, we are going to the Formula 1 race track!

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

15 minutes ago, Oky said:

There are also some parts in rare colors such as a 1x3 jumper plate in red and 2x3 wedge plates in white

They're 2x4 wedge plates (the pointy ones) :)

Another solid review. I liked this set a lot more than you seem to have done, but all your criticisms are on point. I had the same issue with the windshield print being almost closer to LBG. I think they also should have included a bag of wheel rims as an alternative to the printed tiles, plus a few extra 1-wide plates would have allowed for adding optional side skirts/body kit as per the real car shown on the box rear.

[Oky]

59 minutes ago, BrickMonkeyMOCs said:

They're 2x4 wedge plates (the pointy ones) :)

Another solid review. I liked this set a lot more than you seem to have done, but all your criticisms are on point. I had the same issue with the windshield print being almost closer to LBG. I think they also should have included a bag of wheel rims as an alternative to the printed tiles, plus a few extra 1-wide plates would have allowed for adding optional side skirts/body kit as per the real car shown on the box rear.

Oops, thanks for pointing that out. And yes, the lack of customization options is one of the detractors of this set.

[Ecclesiastes]

These Speed Champion cars are getting better, at such a scale it looks amazing. And I'm not a car lover, but as a kid I played an insane amount of NFS and my favorite car was the Countach. So this car will be sitting on my desk soon, just for nostalgia!

[noahtheb]

Personally, this is my favorite set of the wave, because of its legacy as well as its potential for modding. Even unmodded, it would still look great, but I feel like I would add the bodykit shown on the rear of the box.

Edited February 25, 2022 by noahtheb
I forgot a word

[whitepen]

7 hours ago, Oky said:

In my next Speed Champions review, we are going to the Formula 1 race track!

 

Can't wait for it! 

7 hours ago, Oky said:

aside from the six studs on the roof, it is studless and smooth.

You forgot the stud below the mirrors! 

[Jack Sassy]

Great review!  There has always been something charming about Countach...maybe it is just me. 

 

Have to buy this at some point.

[MKJoshA]

From the initial pictures I thought this car would be my favorite. But after seeing more close-ups I think it falls to the bottom. The way the "window" trans-clear tile isn't flush with the windscreen is really an eye-sore. And the rear intakes just seem too bulky. An amazing looking car still, but perhaps the weakest of this wave.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I want this set NOW!

[Pato Sentado]

I love this set. The rear spoiler was an extra. The minifig should wear red trousers, a blue Hawaiian shirt and axe sideburns.

[VBBN]

Great review Oky!

These sets continue to impress and this one is no exception in terms of shaping and build quality. Strange that the real-life photo on the back of the box isn’t of a stock model, but maybe an oversight. 
 

I agree with you that the windscreen is quite an eyesore. I’m curious to see how it looks in person, but clearly white was a bad choice here and it reeeeeeally kills the final look for me. That alone drops this to (so far) the bottom of the pile for this wave, unless your other upcoming reviews reveal any other surprises. 

[Generaltrons bricks]

One of the best speed champion models yet. Im not that much of a car enthusiast but wow.... This one is slick.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

22 hours ago, Oky said:

The Complete Set

Once you attach the spoiler, hood, windscreen, and tires, the Lambo is finished! The overall shaping of it looks great and aside from the six studs on the roof, it is studless and smooth. However, there is something off about the look. Can you tell what it is?

In my opinion, what makes this set a bit disproportionate, compared to the splendid @barneius' model, are two details: the wheels with the 2 x 2 round tiles that have lost depth and the rear wing taller than long

[_TLG_]

Based on the photos I like this set. Maybe some detiails could be done a bit better and more proportional, but I like it especially compared to the other ones. I like that more details are brick built and less stickers are used and I like especially the rear light solution.

[brickphisto]

On 2/25/2022 at 9:08 AM, Oky said:

Another big issue of the set is stability. All of these angled sections look great, but due to the fact that most of them are only attached by one or two bars, they get easily misaligned during play or when you just pick up the car which is not ideal if you're buying this for a child. I have a hard time keeping the air intakes in the back to sitting on the car without a gap showing underneath.

I just finished the Lambo and you are spot on. Some techniques used here seem too "moccish" imho. I fear the designers are pushing the boat out a bit too far when sacrificing the stability for the looks. Still a great set and I really enjoyed the build

[DeanLearner]

Thanks for the review! A fair assessment of the set’s pros and cons, and a fun bit of spicing it up with the humour.

[Pato Sentado]

I have just finished it.

One of my favorites to date. Enjoyed both the build and the final result.

Driver with proper clothing. I hate the rear wing, it was and extra and supposed no advantage, and the one in LEGO is flimsy

Edited March 22, 2022 by Pato Sentado

[Johnny1360]

Very much enjoyed building this set and reading your review, to see if we share the same thoughts. Definitely a flimsy build and I am actually surprised it passed, many of my mocs are like this but rarely an official set. Still it is a great set and fun build, get it!