Hot Wheels of the Day

Lamborghini Countach

1996 Treasure Hunts

RELEASE YEAR: 1996 • CASTING DESIGNER: Larry Wood

Ahhhhh…. The fluorescent beauty which is an absolute pain to photograph. That is how I remember it. Most, however, know it as the #1996 Treasure Hunts #Lamborghini Countach. This thing is ultra cool for two reasons: 1. The fluorescent paint and 2. the #Countach has always been the poster car kids in the ’80s grew up dreaming of. I never saw one on the pegs, but between the hot paint and unique car design, it’s hard to imagine any collectors (or kids) overlooked this one up on the pegs in 1996. Add in the fact that this one came standard with #Pro-Circuit 6-Spoke Wheels (PC6), and its hard to imagine it not being the talk of the Hot Wheels collecting community at local events.

Today, this 1988 #Larry Wood Design sits a little awkward in comparison to its modern brethren, but you have to understand that there was no 3D printing models and making tweaks back in those days. Instead, new castings were created out of giant wood blocks in something close to 1:18 scale and then tools were created at the factory out of these wood patterns.

For the #Lamborghini Countach, the design of the real car is blocky itself. That was the Countach! It is such an iconic design in the car world, and while you can look for flaws in a 35-year-old casting, we should really be focusing on how cool it is to be able to put this one next to some of the modern, premium Lambos of today.

This old #Lamborghini Countach casting was a metal/metal design as the base actually comes up on the side to give the body a break similar to that of the real car design. The casting is essentially a premium casting by today’s standards being that it is metal/metal, has premium wheels (for that era) and has a full deco. Hot Wheels racers can recall all Hot Wheels Countachs being horrible track cars because the casting was too wide for the orange track. This is simply another reason that I believe this casting was designed for the growing collector base in the late ’80s / early ’90s instead of kids.

One thing you may be thinking is: How does this 1996 Treasure Hunts release resonate with today’s collectors? Let’s take a look!

Color (material): Fluorescent Orange (metal)
Chassis (material): Fluorescent Orange (metal)
Windows: Clear
Interior: Beige
Deco: Orange & Silver Front Lights, Black Vents, Red Taillights
Wheels: Chrome Pro-Circuit 6-Spoke Wheels
Country of Manufacture: Malaysia
Toy# (SKU): 15075

ESTIMATED MARKET VALUE (In Original Packaging, August 2023)

$60.76 ▼

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Value-wise, prices on the #1996 Treasure Hunts #Lamborghini Countach seem to be coming down from where they were a year ago. It appeared as this release would be valued over $100 not before long. Value has come back down into the $60-range, but are still up over the last decade. There have been an influx of awesome #Lamborghinis put out by Hot Wheels lately as evidenced by the pic above — which doesn’t even include the premium Lamborghini Countach LP500 QV casting or the ultra-premium ’82 Lamborghini Countach LP500 S — but that should only help #Countach nostalgia. After all, if you’re going to have one Countach from this era, this would be the one!

I would be remiss to not mention the rare variation of the #1996 Treasure Hunts #Lamborghini Countach. I seem to remember there being a moderately-rare variation with mixed #Pro-Circuit 5-Spoke Wheels (PC5) and PC6 wheels on it — some even consider it an error. The ultra rare variation, however, is the one with all PC5 wheels. I’m not even sure what those go for in today’s market, but if you have the funds, one can be yours on eBay for a mere $5,000. I’m thinking I’m good with this one. 😉