The Lamborghini Miura Celebrates 50 Years of Supercar Greatness
Back in May 1966, the Lamborghini Miura upstaged the Monaco Grand Prix itself when, on the night before the race, Ferruccio Lamborghini parked his prototype show car in front of the Casino de Monte-Carlo, drawing throngs as he revved the V-12 engine that would come to define the Marque of the Raging Bull. First unveiled two months earlier at the 36th Salon Automobile de Geneve, the Miura’s svelte bodywork cloaked a unique adaptation of Lamborghini’s original V-12 power plant commissioned from former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini. Now mounted sideways behind driver and passenger and topped by four fuel- and air-gulping Weber carburetors, the 4-liter, four-cam engine made sublime music, with mechanical noises and an exhaust note—stentorian and mellifluous, unlike Ferrari’s edgy wail—announcing that Lamborghini was a marque destined for greatness.
The chassis, first exhibited at the Salon d’Automobili in Turin early in 1965, was the creation of factory engineers Giampaolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, and decreed the sporting supremacy of a mid-engine layout. The sensuous body, made in Turin by coachbuilder Nuccio Bertone, was the styling masterpiece of a young Marcello Gandini, who went on to design Lamborghini’s fabled Countach. Even Ing. Lamborghini could not have predicted at the time of its launch that the Miura would remain as significant and seductive an automobile as when it first stunned jaded casino gamblers 50 years ago.
Named after Don Eduardo Miura, the Spanish breeder of fighting bulls and a friend of Ferruccio Lamborghini, three generations of Miura were built between 1966 and 1973. Miuraphiles can recite the evolution of countless incremental changes, allowing for a near-infinite variation of attributes and sometimes making clear separation of the three generations less than straightforward.
Generally accepted is that about 763 Miuras were built from 1966 (two built) until 1973 (just one). Two hundred seventy-five examples of the original P400 Miura (“P” for Posteriore and 400 for four liters) were built from 1966 until 1969, followed by about 338 examples of the P400S, built from December 1968 until March 1971. The “S” version, most readily distinguished by chrome window trim, developed about 10 more hp (up from about 350 made by a perfectly-tuned P400) and featured numerous detail changes inside and out. The final and most valuable iteration is the P400SV, of which about 150 were manufactured between 1971 and 1973. In addition to a more powerful, 380 hp engine, the final 96 SVs featured a split-sump engine case. By separating the crankcase from the transmission, oil contaminated with metal shavings caused by errant gear shifts could not affect engine internals. Outwardly, the SV had a wider stance, with fender flares covering 9-inch wide rear tires. Importantly, a redesigned rear suspension markedly improved handling, and aesthetically, new, larger taillights and the loss of headlight “eyelashes” on the pop-up headlamp surrounds set the SV apart.
Just as young Dallara, Stanzani, and Bob Wallace (a test driver and development engineer for Lamborghini) were perfecting the Miura SV to become a world-class sports car with the handling, manners, and refinement to match its brutal performance and unequalled looks, Bertone unleashed the LP500 Countach prototype—another brilliant Gandini creation—and the Miura was all of a sudden relegated to history. In hindsight, all three have remarked that the Miura had years of life and customer orders left in the SV, but progress demanded that Lamborghini, maker of trendsetting supercars, once again define the future with an even more radical design.
In the intervening years since the last one rolled off the line, Miuras have gone from being cantankerous period curiosities to prized collector showpieces. Purists prefer the aesthetics of the SV’s predecessors; investors will prefer the higher value of an original or well-restored SV. Today, plan to spend more than $700,000 for a beaten P400 to as much as $2.5 million for a perfect SV. (lamborghini.com)
A Perfect Silhouette
Recognizing the inherent superiority of the mid-engine platform for competition GT cars, and extrapolating the potential of Lola and Ford’s GT40, Dallara, Stanzani, and Wallace embarked on a skunk works project during their off hours. But progress from paper to prototyping ultimately required they present their concept to the boss. An enthusiastic Ferruccio Lamborghini, while adamant that a racecar was not in his company’s future, saw the potential in the design as a way to add some sizzle to the brand and gain market share for his front-engine GT cars with understated bodies by Touring. Bertone got the job of clothing the new supermodel, and stylist Gandini did a job unequaled for its futuristic—yet timeless—elegance.
The ingenious designer created a steel monocoque, where passenger cabin and chassis become a discreet, lightweight unit, in which to shoehorn the engine/transmission and upon which to hang suspension, brakes, and wheels. Pivoting at either end are aluminum clamshells that lift to reveal the most mesmerizing automotive architecture of the era.
Bertone P400 Roadster
More than a styling exercise created for the 1968 Brussels Auto Show, the topless Miura demonstrated the coachbuilder’s engineering solution of making a monocoque design sufficiently rigid without the integral roof structure. Chassis side members and a much-strengthened roll-over bar allowed the top to be removed, while preserving the fluid shape of Gandini’s original coupe design.
Numerous design details to the rear clamshell and interior ensured the unique Roadster could not be replicated, although a number of customers had their own Miuras defiled by independent chop-shops during the “Targa-top” craze of the 1980s and ’90s.
Zn 75
The one-and-only Bertone Roadster has had a checkered past, being sold shortly after its debut in Brussels to the International Zinc and Lead Development Association. Used by the organization as a traveling icon to showcase the uses of these less-than-precious metals, the car drew attention at trade shows, with every conceivable piece of the car having been restyled and made from zinc or lead, including wheel covers, grilles, and carburetor bodies. Transformed into a ponderous atrocity, it was painted a rancid metallic dark green and named Zn 75. Fortunately, it was subsequently sold and retired to a museum in 1982, where it rested in its zinc-clad torpor until being sold once more and finally (and properly) restored to its original Bertone Roadster configuration by Gary Bobileff in 2008.
Miura Jota
The meanest Miura of all was the one-and-only Jota, built by factory test driver and development engineer Bob Wallace during his off hours in late 1970 as a rolling test bed for engine, suspension, and aerodynamic improvements to be incorporated in the upcoming Miura SV.
In reality, the Jota was a thinly veiled racecar. Jota (Iota in Italian) referred to the FIA’s Appendix J rules to which the modifications conformed. Its development was sanctioned by Stanzani, the factory’s plant manager who became chief engineer following the departure of Dallara. Logging nearly 20,000 miles, the Jota was reluctantly sold in 1971 to a dealer. It soon crashed and was declared a total loss.
Miura P400SV
The P400SV is the Holy Grail of Miuras, with more power, much-improved handling with improved rear suspension and wider rear wheels, and a new generation of Pirelli tires (impossible to find today). The SV also had a slightly better level of fit and finish than that of earlier cars. Customers could even specify leather interiors (as opposed to vinyl and corduroy), as well as near-useless air conditioning. In Miura days, the factory was willing to oblige customer requests; Frank Sinatra ordered his P400S with orange shag carpeting.
Miura P400SVJ
An aberrant and contentious iteration of the Miura SV is the SVJ, about six of which were built by the factory during the production life of the Miura. Five were made from converted SVs and one new. Each incorporated mainly just the styling cues of Wallace’s one-off test mule, the Jota, and while desirable as rarities, their design, with scoops, spoilers, and faired-in headlamps, in no way equals the perfection of Gandini’s original creation.
The Godfather’s Cars
During a visit to the Lamborghini Museum in Dosso, Italy, the author (younger by nearly a decade) sits in the P400SV personally driven by Ferruccio Lamborghini. The museum, not affiliated with the factory and run by the founder’s son Tonino, is a required visit for the Lamborghini faithful.
The Factory Museum
Lamborghini’s small factory museum showcases an original SV aside the 2006 Miura Concept one-off by factory design chief Walter de’Silva, created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Miura in 2006.
Fire Down Below
If the Miura had a high school yearbook, it would be nominated “The car most likely to set itself on fire.” For a variety of reasons, and exacerbated by today’s inferior low-octane fuel that percolates at lower engine temperatures, a Miura must never be run without air cleaners, despite the temptation to show off that quartet of big, beautiful Weber 40 IDL carburetors. Keep fuel lines fastidiously fastened, use racing fuel, and keep a Halon fire extinguisher handy.
Ferruccio and Friends
The boss had an eye for detail. (Ferruccio Lamborghini, second from right with four unidentified visitors to the factory, 1960s. April 28, 2016, marked the centenary of his birth).
More From Robbreport.com
Hennessey Performance Plans to Make the 2017 Acura NSX Even More Amazing
Best of the Best 2016: Wheels | Convertibles: Ferrari 488 Spider
Renovated Warehouse in New York City Features 40 Luxurious Residences
Famous Early Picasso Cubist Painting Could Sell for $40 Million
Robb Report’s Motorcycle Expert Takes to the Streets on the New Ducati XDiavel
