There are the boys, and then there are the bearded men. Ken Imhoff, an American with a screw loose and engineering knowledge too much, belongs decidedly to the second group (stiff-bearded men).
Why? Because he built a Lamborghini Countach from scratch in his basement.
Imagine yourself sitting on the couch watching a movie, when a Lamborghini passes the small screen, you fall in love with the car (the easy part) and you turn to your wife and say: “Look, that's great Maria, a Lamborghini! We have to get your mom out of the basement, because I need space to build a Lamborghini down there (the hard part).” The logistics issue resolved… let's get to work!
Amazing isn't it? Apart from putting the mother-in-law to sleep in the recycling bin, that's how it happened. Ken Imhoff fell in love with the Lamborghini Countach when he saw the movie Cannonball Run and decided to make one. It was love at first sight.
Raised by a father of German origin, car building enthusiast and a believer in the maxim “it's crazy for people to buy objects they can build themselves” it's not surprising that his son also wanted to build a car. And that's exactly what he did. He set to work and for 17 years of his life he invested all his money and free time – the project was worth more than 40 thousand dollars, not counting the tools for that purpose – in building the car of his dreams: the Lamborghini Countach LP5000S euro spec from 1982.
"The exhausts were twisted and molded with the strength of their own arms"
The beginning was not easy, as a matter of fact, none of the steps in the process were. As in Wisconsin (USA) the winters are very harsh and our hero didn't have the money to pay for the heating of his garage, he was forced to start the project in the basement of his house. And like any normal basement, this one also has no exit to the street. Access is either through interior stairs or through windows. All pieces had to enter through the window, or through the stairs. How did the car get out? We'll see…
Once the space was reached, another torment began for Ken Imhoff. The Lamborghini Countach is not exactly a car around the corner and making an exact replica using photographs is not the best method. Don't forget that the internet was something that didn't exist at the time. It looked like the project was doomed to failure.
“(…)the refined and rotating V12 engine (from the original Countach) gave way to a rough and impetuous Ford Cleveland Boss 351 V8 engine. Even the American one!”
Poor Ken Imhoff was already dismayed when a friend called him to say that he had discovered a stand where a “Lambo” was for sale. Unfortunately, the seller did not allow Ken Imhoff to take the measurements for its construction. Solution? Going to the booth undercover, during lunchtime, when this evil salesman was away, and use the measuring tape. Which James Bond! Hundreds of measurements were taken. From the size of the door handles, to the distance between the turn signals, among so many other trivial things.
With all the measurements noted on the block, it was time to start making the body panels. Forget about state-of-the-art tools. It was all made using a hammer, English wheel, wooden molds and arm strength. Epic!
The chassis offered no less work. Ken Imhoff had to learn to weld like a pro, after all he wasn't exactly making a shopping cart. Every time I turned on the welding machine, the whole neighborhood knew – the televisions got the distorted picture. Fortunately, your neighbors never really cared about it and understood. All built in tubular steel, the chassis of this “fake Lamborghini” was eventually better than the original.
“After 17 years of blood, sweat and tears, one of the most critical moments of the process arrived: removing the Lamborghini from the basement”
By this time, it has been a few years since the beginning of the project. His wife, and even Imhoff's dog, have already given up on sitting in the basement and enjoying the construction of his dream. But in critical moments, when the will to continue began to fail, he never lacked words of support and encouragement. After all, designing from A to Z a supercar in the basement of a home is not for everyone. Is not it!
And this “fake Lamborghini” was not intended to be just an imitation. He had to behave and walk like a real Lamborghini. But since this Lamborghini wasn't born in the verdant meadows of an Italian province, but rather in the wild lands of Wisconsin, the engine had to match.
So the refined, rotating V12 engine (from the original Countach) gave way to a rough and brash Ford Cleveland Boss 351 V8 engine. Even the American one! If, in terms of the chassis, this “fake Lamborghini” already left its real brother in a bad light, what about the engine? There are 515 hp of power debited at 6800 rpm. The gearbox chosen was a modern five-speed ZF unit, manual of course.
At the end of the project only the minimum and essential parts had been purchased. Even the wheels, replica of the originals, were made to order. The exhausts were twisted and molded with the strength of his own arms.
After 17 years of blood, sweat and tears, one of the most critical moments in the process arrived: removing the Lamborghini from the basement. Once again, Germanic blood and American culture have allied to simplify the process. A wall was broken and the creation was towed from there on top of a chassis created specifically for the purpose. Et voilá… A few hours later the wall was built again and the “Lamborghini Red-Neck” saw the light of day for the first time.
In the neighborhood, everyone gathered around the bull that had been born in the neighborhood. And according to Imhoff, everyone considered the evenings when they almost had no television, or the afternoons when the clothes on the clotheslines smelled of spray paint were well employed. The looks were of satisfaction.
In the end, this project turned out to be more than the mere materialization of a dream. It was a journey of personal growth, discovering new friendships, and a lesson in resilience and selflessness. With examples like these, we are left with no arguments for not solving our life's problems, right? If you're reading this text with a hat on, it's a good time to take it off out of respect for this man. Angry!
If you want to know a little more about this project, visit Ken Imhoff's website by clicking here. As for me, I have to go take measurements in my garage… I decided to build a Ferrari F40 right away! Leave us your opinion about this article on our Facebook.
