Lamborghini Countach Drags Ferrari 812, SF90, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N; Guess Who Won?

The jolly team from CarExpert has managed to get their hands on the only Lamborghini Countach LPI-800-4 from Down Under, and what better way to show it off than by pitting it against two of its natural enemies? Since we’re talking about Italy, there’s only one possible answer as to what family those ruffians come from: Ferrari.

The Raging Bull and the Prancing Horse have been at war since Ferruccio and Enzo had a beef over a clutch disagreement. To spite his arrogant archrival, Ferrari, Lamborghini chose a charging bull as the symbol of his automobiles.

The symbolism is subtle but grim: the bulls were the main characters in a corrida, but the horse fatalities surpassed the number of slain bovines during a bullfight (at least, before the horses were mandated to be dressed in protective padding).

History aside, the Aussies chose two extremely rapid Ferraris to counter the continuator of the original supercar. An 812 Competizione and an SF90 cross cranks with the unique Countach (the only one in Australia). The supercar trio garners 36 cylinders and 2,600 horsepower between them. They can safely be considered ‘very fast supercars’ without any shadow of a doubt.

The rules of engagement observe an eliminator-type of drag race: the winner stands on the strip, battling the next challenger in line. The Countach and the 812 Competizione go first: a clash of two philosophies: hybrid on the Lambo, pure combustion on the Ferrari. Both cars sport a 6.5-liter twelve-cylinder powerplant.

However, the Lamborghini’s is seconded by a tiny electric motor that ups the 769-hp naturally-aspirated output with an extra 33 hp fed from a supercapacitor. That’s 803 total horsepower sent to all four corners at all times. In metric, that’s 814 PS; torque-wise, the super-rare Lambo is good for 531 lb-ft (720 Nm).

The Ferrari 812 Competizione may be old (by car standards), but it’s no garden snail. 818 hp and 510 lb-ft (829 PS, 692 Nm) is no joke for the rear wheels, especially given that the sleek car has its engine behind the front axle. And yet, despite the technology gap and the generational rift separating the two Italian gems, the Ferrari can reel in the Countach as if the latter owns the former money, an apology, an explanation, and a favor.

However, the Countach is quickly off the line and stays there for the entire 1,320-foot-short run against the Ferrari’s best efforts. The roles rapidly switch when the roll race comes up, and the prancing horse takes the first step of the podium. The Ferrari gets across the finish line in 10.99 seconds, while the Lamborghini scores a personal best of 10.77 and advances to the next round.

Another Ferrari is just around the corner, and this is even quicker, faster, newer, and more powerful than its stable mate. The SF90 Stradale has a twin-turbo engine with eight cylinders that displace four liters combined. An electric motor at the back backs the V8, and two more on the front spin the front wheels. This is a more even bout regarding traction architecture, but the SF90 massively outguns the Countach.

986 combined horsepower (1,000 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) put it in another class altogether, and it shows immediately. The Ferrari leaves the Lamborghini in the dust after the first few yards of the race and puts a distance between them that can be measured in astronomical units. Overkill would be an understatement – the difference is so abrupt that comparing the two doesn’t make sense.

Frankly, the surprising fact is the performance displayed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, a car so vastly unlike the other three that it shouldn’t be in this race altogether. Three extra doors (we count the hatch as the fifth), a profile high enough to get the aerodynamics to work overtime, and enough body mass to grow its gravitational field (because electricity weighs a lot in cars, as we all know.

The irony couldn’t be stronger: the almost-massless elementary subatomic particle needs some hefty storage gear. Thus, the battery-electric crossover from Korea tips the scale at over 2.2 tons. Still, it compensates with 641 hp, 546 lb-ft (650 PS, 740 Nm), all-wheel drive, zero noise/sound (depending on your energy source preference), and a very low price compared to the other three two-seaters.

In order of appearance, the four contenders achieved the following results over the standing quarter-mile sprint: Lamborghini Countach – 10.77 at 211.43 kph (131.37 mph); Ferrari 812 Competizione – 10.99 at 220.33 kph (136.90 mph); Ferrari SF90 – 10.30 at 233.99 kph (145.39 mph); and the introvert Hyundai – 11.32 at 195.92 kph (121.73 mph).