Photo: Lamborghini
Thanks to a recent global health crisis we'd all like to forget, the official record for the Cannonball Run will probably never be broken again. But that doesn't mean the legacy of the event, plus the movie it spawned, will fade from memory. In fact, the iconic Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S is turning 45 this year, and we all still remember it with fondness. To commemorate the event, Lamborghini assembled a group of the 1981 movie's female cast to reminisce about a film that's been a cultural dynamo in the automotive space for decades.
It'd been nearly half a century since Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman, the iconic due of Marcie Thatcher and Jill Rivers, had seen each other since the iconic movie's filming ended in the early 80s. Since then, so many film's stars like Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, and Dom DeLuise have sadly passed on. But the shared memory of driving what's ostensibly one of the most famous and iconic Lambos of all time has led to a sisterhood that's kept each other's memory in their hearts for nearly half a century.
With its iconic custom front spoiler and twin full-beam headlights to distinguish itself from literally every other Countach made in its model year, the Cannonball Countach is nothing short of breathtaking in its appearance. Its Nero (black) paint scheme on top of a funky Senao (Mustard) seats are a treat in themselves as well. It's as if everything that was timelessly cool about the late 70s and early 80s was shoehorned into a form factor capable of being mounted on four wheels. Did we mention the thing had 12 exhaust pipes? Need we say anymore?
After a grueling film schedule and enough hairspray residue from the makeup department to start a chemical fire, the Cannonball Countach spent time under the ownership of a friend of the film's director Hal Needham. In 2009, the car was sold to a New York expat in Florida called Jeff Ippoliti. Since then, the Cannonball Countach has been kept in stunning, numbers-matching condition with regular maintenance all the while. Thanks to the loving care of a man who truly understood the significance of this car, the stage was set for the two women who spent the most time behind the wheel of it to get re-acquainted a bit.
"I immediately thought it was beautiful, simply beautiful, and it still is," explained Adrienne Barbeau, who, along with Tara Buckman, portrayed spandex-clad femme fatales who used seduction to great effect. “We had the best car, and it was definitely the most beautiful of all,” added Buckman, equally enthusiastic about getting her hands back on the steering wheel of what's undoubtedly one of the sexiest film cars of the 20th century.
With its iconic custom front spoiler and twin full-beam headlights to distinguish itself from literally every other Countach made in its model year, the Cannonball Countach is nothing short of breathtaking in its appearance. Its Nero (black) paint scheme on top of a funky Senao (Mustard) seats are a treat in themselves as well. It's as if everything that was timelessly cool about the late 70s and early 80s was shoehorned into a form factor capable of being mounted on four wheels. Did we mention the thing had 12 exhaust pipes? Need we say anymore?
After a grueling film schedule and enough hairspray residue from the makeup department to start a chemical fire, the Cannonball Countach spent time under the ownership of a friend of the film's director Hal Needham. In 2009, the car was sold to a New York expat in Florida called Jeff Ippoliti. Since then, the Cannonball Countach has been kept in stunning, numbers-matching condition with regular maintenance all the while. Thanks to the loving care of a man who truly understood the significance of this car, the stage was set for the two women who spent the most time behind the wheel of it to get re-acquainted a bit.
"I immediately thought it was beautiful, simply beautiful, and it still is," explained Adrienne Barbeau, who, along with Tara Buckman, portrayed spandex-clad femme fatales who used seduction to great effect. “We had the best car, and it was definitely the most beautiful of all,” added Buckman, equally enthusiastic about getting her hands back on the steering wheel of what's undoubtedly one of the sexiest film cars of the 20th century.
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