You Need a Comically Tall Hoist to Get the Engine Out of a Countach

The Countach and all subsequent V-12 Lamborghinis use a strange layout, where the gearbox sits ahead of a mid-mounted engine, with a driveshaft running back through the oil sump getting power to the rear wheels. For servicing, the whole thing comes out vertically through the engine bay as one unit, as the design of the tubular-frame chassis prevents it from being dropped out from underneath.

Car collector Harry Metcalfe of the excellent Harry's Garage YouTube channel is having some alarming noises on his Countach addressed, and that means the whole drivetrain had to come out. He shot video of the process, and it's quite extraordinary.

For one thing, it requires an enormous engine hoist. Metcalfe's mechanic, Iain Tyrrell, says his was previously used by the Royal Navy to raise up sunken nuclear submarines. If you think that seems like overkill for a car, even an iconic supercar, it isn't. The engine and transmission assembly of a Countach is so long, you need all the height.