Lamborghini Countach from ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ sells for record $2.5 million – UPDATE

UPDATE, 18 December 2023: The second of two Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition cars featured in The Wolf of Wall Street has sold at auction for a record $US1,655,000 ($AU2,460,000).

This example, sold at RM Sotheby's New York event on the weekend was the pristine example, and eclipsed the high bid placed on the 'damaged' car's recent auction by almost $AU500,000.

Last month the other car used in the film, a purposely screen-damaged Countach, was passed in at auction by Bonhams in Dubai for $US1,350,000, making this result the new record for the model.

The highest price previously paid for a Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary was $US775,000 in January 2023, less than half the value of The Wolf of Wall Street car.

Our original story continues below.

5 August 2023: No car underscores the lurid excesses of the 1980s 'decade of decadence' more than the final iteration of Marcello Gandini's Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition (further styled by Horatio Pagani).

Built to celebrate the Italian marque's quarter-century in 1988, the overstyled extensions fitted to the once elegant and exotic wedge were a perfect commentary on the period of time when more was best and greed was good.

Perhaps the most famous example of the 'final' Countach is the white-on-white example used in Martin Scorsese's 2013 film, The Wolf of Wall Street, where it is driven by actor Leonardo DiCaprio in a particularly memorable scene.

In the production, two cars were used to cinematically represent the 'before' and 'after' effects of a night of severe substance abuse, and the pristne 'before' example is now being offered for sale. The damaged car, reportedly another genuine Countach, remains in its filmed-state for posterity.

The Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition features a 5.2-litre V12 with up to 335kW/700Nm output, depending on market.

Offered for auction by RM Sothbey's is a 1989 example, one of just 12 ever built in white-on-white (Bianco Polo) for the North American market. This specification features a fuel-injected 309kW version of the V12, as well as the unfortunate 'energy absorbing' bumpers required by the US Department of Transport.

The auction release notes the celebrity Countach has an expected price range of $US1,500,000 to $2,000,000 ($AU2.3m to $3,000,000), essentially double the most recent record of $US775,000 or $AU1,1800,000 of a black example with just 248km on the clock sold by RM Sotheby's in January this year.

However, on screen use, particularly in an iconic scene, has historically bolstered vehicle sales prices, with both the Porsche 928 from Risky Business and the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 from Bad Boys achieving record prices in recent times.

The Wolf of Wall Street Lamborghini Countach is set to be auctioned at RM Sotheby's Luxury event in New York in December this year.