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'Cannonball Run' Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S turns 45

  Meet the car that turned its single film role into a million bedroom and dorm room posters: the 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S from the 1981 movie "The Cannonball Run." Back when Lamborghini was making around 50 cars per year and there were only about five regular TV channels, the only way for most people to see a Lamborghini was in a bookstore. And even if you were familiar with the car, you'd never seen one that looked or sounded like this, with 12 exhaust pipes and a rack full of carburetors. We recommend checking out the opening scene as an historical artifact if nothing else, a totem that not only hypnotized hordes of young boys into being car enthusiasts (this one included), but that inspired the cult of modern amateur Cannonballers continues to this day (a dying cult, thankfully): This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Lamborghini celebrated the 45th anniversary of the hero car by reuniting the actresses who drove it for the first time since they worked on the film: Adrienne Barbeau (seated) who played Marcie Thatcher, and Tara Buckman who played Jill Rivers. Barbeau said, "I had never realized how successful the movie was until when people started to ask me for my autograph," and that she still gets requests to sign Countach model cars. Buckman added, "It’s impossible for me, too, to remember how many times I signed a photo or a model car of the Countach!” According to the automaker, the Nero over Senape (black over mustard) coupe left the lines in Sant'Agata for a dealership in Rome, where it got put on a boat for a buyer in Florida. Cannonball director Hal Needham apparently knew the buyer, which is how the Countach ended up being borrowed for the film. To make sure that even those familiar with Lamborghinis at the time knew they were watching something meant to be special, the props department added the front wing and two more headlights, three CB-looking antennas, a dozen exhaust pipes, and in the cockpit, a mobile phone and a set of fake gauges in front of the passenger's seat (since removed).    The original buyer left the coupe in movie spec, minus the phone and fake gauges. Florida resident Jeff Ippoliti said he saw the car in 2007, and after 18 months of negotiations, bought it in 2009.

Watch a Lamborghini change color thanks to thermochromic paint

German artist Rene Turrek went from being a punk kid using spray paint to illegally tag walls to a global celebrity artist working with clients such as Mattel and Nikon. He may have become a little more corporate, but he still finds a way to do some playful work for himself. Recently he has turned his attention to creating incredible paint jobs on some pretty cool cars. Turrek released this video last week of his Lamborghini Gallardo, which at first just seems like a pretty purplish color. But a little bit of water splashed on the hood reveals an awesome tribute to that most awesome of crimefighters, Captain America. Turrek isn't some sort of nerdy witch. The car is coated in thermochromic paint, which reacts to temperature changes. When not activated, the Lambo is disguised as a mild-mannered purple supercar. A cup or two of warm water thrown on the special paint and it becomes translucent, revealing the car's true colors. After a few moments the paint becomes opaque again. Turrek calls the work 'The First Avenger.' We've seen a similar use of the paint on a R33 Nissan Skyline, which allowed the car to turn from orange to black and back to orange again. This isn't the first superhero supercar Turrek has produced. He also created a BMX X6 that looked blue under normal conditions, but revealed The Incredible Hulk on the hood when hit with warm water. Unfortunately the disappearing effect fades once the paint is exposed to too much sunlight, so to keep the paint job safe these cool cars would have to be kept in the dark. And at $400 a pint, Thermochromic paint can cost thousands of dollars to coat a car. It may not be the most cost-effective way to enhance your ride, but certainly one of the coolest. Related: Video:

Latest ultra-light Lamborghini only costs around $32,000

Lamborghini, not finished celebrating its 50th anniversary with special models like the Veneno, has subtracted two wheels for the next stage of the party. The BMC Lamborghini 50th Anniversary Edition Impec is the second go-round of the collaboration between Swiss bicycle maker BMC and the Italian carmaker, both based on linking the carbon-fiber framed Impec to the carbon-fiber bodied Aventador.
Last year's run-of-30 Impecs has become this year's run of 50, each one built to order, and each costing 25,000 euros (about $32,000 US). BMC's special framebuilding technique is graced by a paint job unique to the model, Italian components and the same leather used in that taurean coupe. As with the car, you can order it at your local Lamborghini dealer and take delivery there.
If you're keen, the press release below can tell you what it will take to throw a leg over.