CAFÉ RACER 76

Jingle Bulls: Lamborghini Countach meets LM002

In the late 80s, if you’d ordered a V12 from Sant’Agata, it was either an edgy, wedgy supercar or a three-ton SUV monster. With the festive family season upon us, we chose to reunite the Countach LP 5000 S Quattrovalvole with the LM002…

The child-like grins of Countach owners were hidden behind mirrored Ray-Bans

Step back to 1985, and the Countach has been on the market for more than decade. Most supercars would look dated by this point, but the outrageously futuristic lines of the legendary Lambo are maturing nicely. Spring sees the Countach LP 5000 S Quattrovalvole revealed in Geneva – a brutal, barely controllable beast with a V12 now of 5.2-litre capacity (and four valves per cylinder, hence the mouthful of a name), conjuring 455bhp and 340lb ft of torque. The ‘QV’ sobriquet also has visual connotations, with wide arches and a huge rear spoiler diluting the purity of the lines originally penned by Gandini – with ‘diluted’ becoming ‘destroyed’ in the case of the US-spec models, which were fitted with an unsightly front bumper hanging from the tapered nose. However, despite the lack of changes to address the Countach’s major drawbacks – low-speed manoeuvrability, lack of visibility and asthmatic air-con – buyers remained enthusiastic, their child-like grins hidden behind mirrored Ray-Bans.

A 4x4 monster which shook the world... and the ground beneath it

The Countach was by far the most eye-catching supercar at the time but, if you really wanted to be noticed, you’d go for the most brutal machine ever to leave Sant’Agata: the LM002. The 2.7-tonne leviathan had its roots in an ill-fated project for the army – the oil crisis meant demand for supercars had waned, while the US was in search of a vehicle with desert warfare in mind. By the time the ‘Rambo Lambo’ had been civilianised, the engine had not only moved from the rear to the front, but had also morphed from a lazy Chrysler V8 to the very same 5.2-litre V12 as found the Countach QV. This meant that, for many years, the LM002 was the fastest SUV in the world.

A bull for all occasions

Of course, those who could afford the luxury would have both these polar opposites in the garage: the Countach QV for boulevard showboating – including the famous reverse-parking-with-doors-up manoeuvre – and the LM002 for when the minimal ground clearance of the QV proved inadequate. But while the Countach is considered to be one of the all-time greats of supercar stardom, the relatively rare LM002 (fewer than 300 are believed to exist today) remains an acquired taste.

One for the bad boys

The LM002’s unsurprising thirst made it popular in oil-rich countries, but the intimidating road presence also made it a hit with the bad boys. We’re not only talking pop-culture mischief-makers such as Sly Stallone and Mike Tyson here; the likes of Muammar Qadaffi, Pablo Escobar and Uday Hussein were also known to have owned one – the latter’s sequestered LM famously blown up in an explosives demonstration by U.S. soldiers unaware of the car’s rarity.

Despite its laughable impracticality in today’s society, it’s ironic how ahead of its time the LM002 was. Rivals would have included Cayenne Turbos and AMG G-Wagons had it been produced today; onlookers barely bat an eyelid at these cars, while Lamborghini’s brutal 80s beast would stop them in their tracks.

Photos: Jan Baedeker

2008 Triumph Thruxton - 'Steampunk Racer' by BCR

Written by Ian Lee.

Speed hole: (noun) a sometimes superfluous modification where a hole is drilled into an automotive accessory, denoting a sporting aspect in relation to the machine. See also; 'awesome'.

Sometimes a bike appears in the Pipeburn inbox that is truly something special. A high level of work, thought, and time, create a truly magnificent motorcycle, the sort of machine that catches your eye and won't let go. BCR's latest project, the 'Steampunk Racer', is one such bike. A transformed Triumph Thruxton with a beautiful finish, nicely matched with tasteful performance mods. And speed holes as far as the eye can see.

Starting out with a 2008 model Trumpy with 8000 miles on the clock, the BCR crew decided they wanted to build something out of the ordinary. The factory cafe racer was relieved of a good part of it's aesthetic componentry, and a design brief decided to finish the bike in bare polished and brushed aluminium with jet black highlights. The frame, engine and suspension geometry was to remain as Triumph intended, but the rest would have to be something not seen before.

Stripping the front end, the Triumph forks have been replaced by a set from an early 2000s CBR1000RR. In order to accommodate the Honda forkset, BCR fabricated a new steering stem and the steering bearings changed to suit. To allow for a spoked front wheel a 40 hole hub from a Harley-Davidson was sourced, a set of axle and spacer adapters machined up in order to keep the front end dual rotor setup. The calipers are the stock CBR units, ensuring no adaptors were required for fitment.

Looking now at the upper end of the forks, the top trees were cleaned thoroughly and a set of stainless steel clip-ons were made in house. Sitting atop the forks is a custom dash, using a Harley tacho/speedo and keeping the factory warning lights. The dash has been treated to some speed holes to add lightness and cool to the build. The front fenders are fibreglass with stainless steel struts.

One of the many highlights on this bike is the aluminium front fairing. BCR didn't want to take the well travelled road and just put a fairing and a headlight on the front. That would be "too easy". A teardrop bead was used and the yellow headlight offset in the fairing. A panel was hand beaten and used to secure the headlight. In the opposite side to the headlight, louvred have been fitted to keep the voltage rectifier cool under pressure. Mounted atop the fairing in a 1/4" plexiglass windscreen and underneath is covered up by an aluminium panel.

Once this was done, it was time to change the hand levers. To eliminate the factory clutch cable setup a hydraulic clutch system was fitted, courtesy of a Ducati 900SS. Using the master and slave cylinder from the Duc, a side cover was fabricated and some speed holes added. To keep with the Italian aesthetic, the brake lever was exchanged again for a 900SS unit and matching brake reservoirs mounted.

To ensure the bike had an overall look unlike any other, the fuel tank was built from scratch. The main idea was for it to be streamlined and unique. An organic scallop bead was run across the the front of the tank to match the front fairing. A tank cap was fabricated, and to keep with the raw industrial look of the bike a vent tube was added and exposed. To round out the tank, a hand hammered badge was mounted and speed holes added.

Once the tank was made, the next step was to fabricate a new seat and tail assembly. To keep with the lines of the tank, the seat widened the further back it sat. This was also done to keep with the stock wide seat frame and to accommodate the 18 inch 160 profile rear tire. The bottom end of the freshly made ducktail kicks up, mirroring the fairing at the front end of the bike and is split to allow for the large tire. The seat trim is black cowhide with single piping front to back, reinforced by double stitching and piping at the rear. Mounted where the seat and the ducktail meet, a speedholed aluminium strip holds the two materials together.

Sitting under the rear end of the bike, the tail light is mounted in aluminium and designed to keep in tune with the headlight. The rear fender is painted jet black, matched with stainless struts again to match the front end of the machine. To keep with the look of the new seat, fenders and tank, a new exhaust system was fashioned up. Starting out high the piping kicks in under the rider, then branching out and culminating in twin reverse megaphone silencers flanking the rear guard. To protect the rider from pipeburn a set of exhaust shields were produced, complete with speedholing.

From the front to the back, from the tires up, BCR has gone all out to prove themselves to be one of the top custom bike outfits around. The little touches, the amount of in house fabrication, the speed holes, all add up to this being one of the most unique and beautiful custom bikes to grace the pages of Pipeburn. BCR themselves say it best: "We had a lot of fun building this bike. As a company, we wanted to evolve, show people that we could come up with a different look, and that we can go in a different direction when it comes to the overall look and design of a bike. Sure, we could just slap on any of the other parts that we offer, but, again, that would be too easy. We are always up for a challenge and with this build we proved to ourselves that we could do it." We have to agree.