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Check out the best traits of the Lamborghini Countach and the Porsche 959, two iconic supercars with incredibly rich histories

It’s debatable whether the Lamborghini Countach was the car that took Lamborghini up a notch and made the brand a popular, immense power-hungry, and luxury car manufacturer. After the Lamborghini Miura’s great reception, it was a hard task to top it, but Lamborghini did just that. The bold and wedgy design by Marcello Gandini was brave, but it worked.

It left everybody bewildered in a good way, and soon after the car's release in 1971, it became the poster car for many. In 1986, almost two decades later and the world would see the Porsche 959 was released, an incredible car and way ahead of its time. When the Porsche 959 was first introduced it was the world's fastest road-legal production car.

Relative to the era in which the Porsche 959 was released, it is still considered to have the most advanced technologies fitted onto a car. We pitch these very distinctive take-ups on supercars of the 1970s and 80s. On one hand, the Lamborghini Countach was all about emotions. But, on the other hand, Porsche 959 showed the world that technological marvels can create a timeless masterpiece.

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The production run of the Lamborghini Countach was lengthy, running from 1971 up until 1990, this alone suggests that the Lamborghini Countach was an amazing supercar that was in extremely high demand. For the means of this article, let's focus on the Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV as it's relevant to the Porsche 959 regarding the time of release. This particular model would run from 1985-1989.

First made available in 1985, the LP5000 QV was fitted with a naturally aspirated four-cylinder 5.2-liter V12 engine partnered with six Downdraft Weber carburetors, working together they could produce 455 hp with a 0-60 mph time of 5.2 seconds and an impressive top speed of 182 mph. Working in tow with the spectacular engine was a 5-speed manual transmission and a rear-wheel-drive system.

Related: The Only '80s Sports Cars We'd Buy Over A Lamborghini Countach

Although the Lamborghini Countach L5000 QV was a sleek and highly attractive motor in Europe, it had a different appeal when it made it to America. To meet America's emissions and safety regulations saw an unsightly rubber bumper attached to the Lamborghini.

The engine also had to be amended, the American version used a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injector which fortunately raised the horsepower by 35 hp. A hideous-bumper-clad supercar with an extra 35 hp or an attractive supercar with 35 hp less? You decide.

Related: 5 Sickest Lamborghini Countach Special Editions Vs The 5 Meanest Diablos

For a car that was designed more than three decades ago, the Porsche 959 is still more than capable of competing with many supercars of today. The Porsche 959 was equipped with a rather small but rather impressive 2.85-liter flat-six engine that was fitted with a turbocharger and was both air-cooled and water-cooled.

Although all-wheel-drive systems are fairly common in modern supercars, in the 1980s it was very uncommon, as the Porsche 959 was fitted with an all-wheel-drive system it made it even more advanced and made an even more desirable appeal.

Another huge piece of advanced technology made available in the Porsche 959 was the computer system which helped the car decide what direction to dispatch power to avoid skidding out of control and maximize the amount of power reaching the tarmac. 0-62 mph was achieved in 3.7 seconds while the Porsche 959 would reach a top speed of 196 mph, which is incredible for a car designed more than 30 years ago! At its disposal was 450 hp.

Related: Check Out The Rear Wing On This JDM-Inspired Porsche 959

The Porsche 959 is probably the most advanced car of all time, at its time of release. It was equipped with anti-lock brakes, which at the time, you guessed was a relatively new transformation. Not only that but the Porsche 959 held eight hydraulic dampers and a highly innovative computer system that made height and damping adjustments to the road conditions.

It doesn’t stop there! The Porsche 959 featured electronic tire pressure monitoring, the first time it would ever be seen in a production car, another ground-breaking element of the Porsche 959 was the tires which were placed on the world's first production car magnesium wheels with hollow spokes, the clutch was also highly modernized with the hydraulically-actuated clutches being computer-controlled.

Related: This Is How Much A 1988 Porsche 959S Costs Today

This is possibly the easiest decision ever made on supercar icons, although it may be highly controversial, and you may disagree, the Porsche 959 was miles ahead of the Lamborghini Countach L5000 QV. In terms of exterior and interior visual appeal, the Lamborghini Countach L5000 QV was phenomenal.

Its wedges seem to take the attention away from the curvy Porsche 959. The performance statistics of the two cars were nearly incomparable, despite Lamborghini’s great statistics, the Porsche was just too futuristic for the Lambo to handle.

Sources: Media.lamborghini.com, Newsroom.porsche.com

Tom is currently working as a radio presenter, film producer and also a writer. He is a true Mancunian, with a big passion for the media industry, he feels privileged to be in so many different sectors of the industry.