With the 1973 oil crisis taking a sledgehammer to sales of high performance cars, Lamborghini hit hard times and Ferruccio sold 51 per cent of his company to long-time friend and Swiss businessman Georges-Henri Rossetti for $600,000.
A year later Ferruccio Lamborghini sold his remaining 49 per cent stake in Lamborghini Automobili to Rene Leimer, a friend of Georges-Henri Rossetti. Having severed all connections with the cars and tractors that bore his name, Lamborghini retired to an estate in the province of Perugia in central Italy, where he would remain until his death.
In 1974 the Italian car manufacturer unleashed the eye-popping Lamborghini Countach. Yet another Marcello Gandini design, the Countach was initially powered by the traditional 3929cc Lamborghini engine kicking out 370bhp, which remained until 1982 when the Countach LP500S was launched. Equipped with a 4.8-litre V12 providing the fireworks, yet with the same power output of 370bhp, torque was up to 308lb ft at 4500rpm.