This is a stunningly beautiful 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S in Verde Metallizzato with a cream leather interior. The car has been masterfully restored by Lamborghini at some point in the past few years and it looks immaculate! Powered by the infamous Lamborghini V12 in its 3.9L guise (Lamborghini used that V12 for almost 50 years and it ranged from 3.5L all the way to 6.5L in the Murciélago) and it produces around 370bhp. Unheard of in the 60’s.
Difficult to know where to begin with this one. Even how it came into existence is an amazing story. Much like the original Golf GTI this is the result of the companies best engineers staying late and working on the concept in their own time fearing that Ferruccio Lamborghini (who preferred powerful yet sedate grand touring cars over the race car-derived machines produced by local rival Ferrari) would shut down the project. Fortunately, they finished the prototype design and presented it to Ferruccio, he green-lit the project thinking that the car would be an effective marketing tool, if nothing more. Needless to say it was an extremely effective marketing tool for the brand and they ended up selling 764 Miura ‘s during its production run between 1966-1973. (338 P400 S models were produced) The Miura used the same 3.9L V12 engine as the 350 and the 400GT models. (You know them, think of a sleek grand tourer with “Frog-eye” headlights like an Austin-Healey Sprite) They did, however, mount that engine transversely behind the driver, one of the first production cars to make use of the mid-engined layout and the very first to adopt a transversely mounted mid-engine with an integral transmission. The three engineers behind the Miura were, Giampaolo Dallara (of Dallara Motorsports and F1 fame), Paolo Stanzani (once owned 35% of Bugatti and went on to work in F1) and Bob Wallace (Lamborghini’s chief test driver and when he retired none other than Valentino Balboni took over). The car was a pioneer with its engine placement but more importantly with its sleek design. The styling was done by Bertone where a fresh faced 27 year old called Marcello Gandini had just assumed the position of chief designer after a stint as an apprentice under Giorgetto Giugiaro (Italdesign). When open, the car’s doors resembled the bulls of a horn from the front as an homage to Lamborghini’s emblem and Ferruccio Lamborghini’s liking of bulls. (Most Lamborghini models are named after Spanish Bullfighters or the Bulls themselves) Bulls from the Miura lineage have a reputation for being large, fierce, and cunning. It is said to be especially dangerous for a matador to turn his back on a Miura. Miura bulls have been referred to as individualists, each bull seemingly possessing a strong personal character.
![Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 [5184x3456]](https://www.evshift.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/q1lke3yogyqd1-770x515.jpeg "Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 [5184×3456]")
![A buch of [Porsche Carrera GT] and [Porsche 918]s on a German Highway](https://www.evshift.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/s51xxj9idyqd1-770x515.jpg "A buch of [Porsche Carrera GT] and [Porsche 918]s on a German Highway")
1 Comment
This is a stunningly beautiful 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S in Verde Metallizzato with a cream leather interior. The car has been masterfully restored by Lamborghini at some point in the past few years and it looks immaculate!
Powered by the infamous Lamborghini V12 in its 3.9L guise (Lamborghini used that V12 for almost 50 years and it ranged from 3.5L all the way to 6.5L in the Murciélago) and it produces around 370bhp. Unheard of in the 60’s.
Difficult to know where to begin with this one. Even how it came into existence is an amazing story. Much like the original Golf GTI this is the result of the companies best engineers staying late and working on the concept in their own time fearing that Ferruccio Lamborghini (who preferred powerful yet sedate grand touring cars over the race car-derived machines produced by local rival Ferrari) would shut down the project. Fortunately, they finished the prototype design and presented it to Ferruccio, he green-lit the project thinking that the car would be an effective marketing tool, if nothing more. Needless to say it was an extremely effective marketing tool for the brand and they ended up selling 764 Miura ‘s during its production run between 1966-1973. (338 P400 S models were produced)
The Miura used the same 3.9L V12 engine as the 350 and the 400GT models. (You know them, think of a sleek grand tourer with “Frog-eye” headlights like an Austin-Healey Sprite)
They did, however, mount that engine transversely behind the driver, one of the first production cars to make use of the mid-engined layout and the very first to adopt a transversely mounted mid-engine with an integral transmission.
The three engineers behind the Miura were, Giampaolo Dallara (of Dallara Motorsports and F1 fame), Paolo Stanzani (once owned 35% of Bugatti and went on to work in F1) and Bob Wallace (Lamborghini’s chief test driver and when he retired none other than Valentino Balboni took over).
The car was a pioneer with its engine placement but more importantly with its sleek design. The styling was done by Bertone where a fresh faced 27 year old called Marcello Gandini had just assumed the position of chief designer after a stint as an apprentice under Giorgetto Giugiaro (Italdesign). When open, the car’s doors resembled the bulls of a horn from the front as an homage to Lamborghini’s emblem and Ferruccio Lamborghini’s liking of bulls. (Most Lamborghini models are named after Spanish Bullfighters or the Bulls themselves)
Bulls from the Miura lineage have a reputation for being large, fierce, and cunning. It is said to be especially dangerous for a matador to turn his back on a Miura. Miura bulls have been referred to as individualists, each bull seemingly possessing a strong personal character.