YES WE KNOW ITS OLD BUT ITS STILL COOL
First I need to say, yes I know this insert isn’t a hot rod or a muscle car, but you have to admit this is pretty amazing. This is proof that if you are determined enough, you can build anything, even a faux Lamborghini Countach.
We found this article on http://www.Jalopnik.com but to read the full story go to http://www.kiengineering.com/The_Bull.php.
Seventeen years ago, Ken Imhoff watched Cannonball Run and became enamoured with the Lamborghini Countach in the film. So not being able to afford one, he decided to build his own in his basement. Ken designed and fabricated his own tig-welded frame.
He installed a thoroughly “massaged” 351 cubic inch V8 with a ZF-25 5-speed transmission. As well as hand-formed the aluminium body over a meticulously measured and accurate body form and finished it all off in a beautiful metallic grey. It took Ken 10 years to complete the project and the results, as you can see by the photos, are amazing. There’s only one problem; when you build a car in a basement — how do you get it out? Find out below.
Ken started the project fully aware of the problem of getting the car out of his basement — it was your classic ship-in-a-bottle project problem. When the faux Lambo was complete, he actually hired a contractor to knock out a part of the basement wall, build an earthen ramp and then drag the car out of its subterranean workshop.
Mr Imhoff, our hats are off to you sir. You are an inspiration to us all; we want to be like you when we grow up. Considering the quality of the work here, we’re fairly confident your car is actually better than the factory. More reliable, better handling and faster and you have the satisfaction of having built it yourself. Congratulations sir, you are a grease monkey superhero.
A little history on the car. It is a 100% hand-crafted Countach out of aluminium and a space tube frame. All aluminium bodies are formed on a wooden buck using an English wheel. He used his own design space frame with Corvette hubs and custom A-arms. This was mated to a ZF-25 5-speed. S.S. 180 degree headers GT40 design “bundle of snakes” Boss 351 bored stroked to 377 515hp 48 IDA Webbers.
As well as a custom brake package to fit 16″ wheels, fuel cell, and twin aluminium sprint car (Howe) radiators. It has an all aluminium interior with a leather dash, Momo seats and 5 point harness, on board a halon fire bottle. Furthermore, it has a quick-release steering wheel. It is low to the ground at 2700 lbs. Let’s not forget it is 100% body correct by using a real Countach to measure the body from. This was over 10 years in the making.
