The Miura was originally conceived by Lamborghini's engineering team, which designed the car in its spare time against the wishes of company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini. He preferred powerful yet sedate grand touring cars over the race car-derived machines produced by local rival Ferrari. However, when the development mule was revealed to Ferruccio, he gave approval for its development to continue.
During 1965, Lamborghini's three top engineers, Giampaolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani and Bob Wallace put their own time into developing a prototype car known as the P400. The engineers envisioned a road car with racing pedigree, one which could win on the track and be driven on the road by enthusiasts. The car featured a transversely-mounted mid-engine layout, a departure from previous Lamborghini cars. The V12 was also unusual in that it was effectively merged with the transmission and differential, reflecting a lack of space in the tightly wrapped design. The rolling chassis was displayed at the Turin Salon in 1965.
Bertone was placed in charge of styling the prototype, which was finished just days before its debut at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show. The prototype P400 debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show and received stellar receptions from showgoers and the motoring press alike. They were impressed by Marcello Gandini's sleek styling and the car's revolutionary mid-engine design. The name "Miura", after the famous Spanish fighting bull breeder, was chosen and featured in the company's newly created badge.
The earliest model of the Miura was known as the P400 (for Posteriore 4 litri). It was powered by a version of the 3,929 cc Lamborghini V12 engine used in the 400GT at the time. The engine was mounted transversely and produced 350 PS. Exactly 275 P400s were produced between 1966 and 1969. Taking a cue from the Morris Mini, Lamborghini formed the engine and gearbox in one casting. Its shared lubrication continued until the last 96 SVs, when the case was split to allow the correct oils to be used for each element.
The P400S Miura, also known as the Miura S, made its introduction at the Turin Motor Show in November 1968. It was slightly revised from the P400, with the addition of power windows, bright chrome trim, new overhead inline console with new rocker switches, engine intake manifolds made 2 mm larger, different camshaft profiles, and notched trunk end panels. The engine changes were reportedly good for an additional 20 PS. About 338 P400S Miura were produced between December 1968 and March 1971.
The last and most famous Miura, the P400SV or Miura SV, was presented in 1971. It featured different cam timing and altered 4X3-barrel Weber carburetors. These gave the engine an additional 15 PS, to 385 PS at 7,850 rpm and a maximum torque of 400 N⋅m at 5,750 rpm. The last 96 SV engines had a split sump. The gearbox now had its lubrication system separate from the engine. A total of 150 SVs were produced.
In 1970, Lamborghini development driver Bob Wallace created a test mule that would conform to the FIA's Appendix J racing regulations. The car was appropriately named the Miura Jota. Wallace made extensive modifications to the standard Miura chassis and engine. This single example was eventually sold to a private buyer after extensive testing. In April 1971, the car crashed and burned to the ground.
There are six examples of the Miura SV/J known to be built by the factory while the Miura was still in production. One was built new and five were converted from existing SVs. One of these cars, chassis #4934, was built for the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. This car was sold in a Brooks auction to Nicolas Cage in 1997 for US$490,000, becoming the model's highest ever price at auction at that time.
Another one-off, the Miura Roadster was built by Bertone as a show car. Based on a P400, it was first shown at the 1968 Brussels Auto Show. The car was later sold to the International Lead Zinc Research Organization who turned it into a display-vehicle showcasing the possibilities of using zinc alloys in cars. The car was named the ZN75. In 2006, the ZN75 was purchased by New York City real estate developer Adam Gordon. The restored car was first shown in August 2008 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
This one-off example of the Miura, the P400 SVJ Spider, was displayed at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show. It was the formerly yellow Miura S presented at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, and uses chassis #4808. It was constructed on behalf of the Swiss Lamborghini importer Lambo-Motor AG.
An orange Miura is seen driving through the Alps in the opening sequence of The Italian Job (1969). Although the film's events see the car destroyed by a bulldozer, the actual vehicle used in most of the shots still exists and was restored by Lamborghini's Polo Storico division in 2019.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
