1968 Lamborghini Miura P400

Lamborghini’s long and successful adventure in the world of cars began in the early 1960s when Ferruccio Lamborghini, an Emilian entrepreneur who had made a fortune building tractors and boilers, noticed that his Ferrari 250 GT kept running into frequent technical malfunctions with its clutch, which resulted in exorbitant repair expenses. He complained in person to Enzo Ferrari and when the Drake reportedly replied that “The clutch is not the problem. The problem is you don’t know how to drive a Ferrari and you break the clutch.”, Ferruccio saw an opportunity and decided right there and then to make his own cars, so he could be sure work the way he wanted them to.

Lamborghini Automobili was officially founded in 1963 and immediately hired some extraordinary talent: Giotto Bizzarrini was entrusted with the creation of a 3,500cc V12 engine and Giampaolo Dallara with the development of the chassis. The first car produced was the 350 GTV, a prototype designed by Franco Scaglione and presented in 1963, followed by the 350 GT and 400 GT production versions with Touring bodywork over the next few years.

Then, in a market dominated by front-engine models that focused mainly on engine power, Giampaolo Dallara designed a revolutionary road sports car, the Miura presented in 1966, for Ferruccio Lamborghini: a boxed steel plate chassis, V-12 engine mounted transversely in the rear, a gearbox housing cast in the engine block itself, perfect weight distribution that kept everything inboard, and an impressive power output of 350hp that was particularly high for 1966. In addition to these technical details, the truly unique design by the hand of Marcello Gandini, Bertone's chief designer.

Ferruccio Lamborghini, who was born under the sign of the bull, decided to name this finished automobile Miura, paying homage to the famed breeder of fighting bulls, Don Eduardo Miura Fernandez. The Miura served as the pioneer in an extensive line of vehicles produced built by Lamborghini, each one given names inspired by bullfighting.

The Miura was the first Lamborghini model to introduce the concept of innovation that would subsequently become a distinctive characteristic of the brand. After launching with the 350 GT, a harmonious front-engine coupe designed by Touring, Lamborghini inaugurated a series of future-oriented V12 models that included the Miura and then Countach and Diablo.

A huge success at its launch at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, 474 examples of the model were produced with two major evolutions: the P400S and the P400SV. The version built for competitions, the Jota, was actually never produced as Ferruccio Lamborghini, then enjoying considerable success with his road-going creations, opposed the idea of racing as it meant competing against the Maranello manufacturer in a sport he had no experience in.

The Miura P400 immediately became an object of desire. Shortly after being presented at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini was contacted by Paramount Pictures who asked if they could feature a Miura P400 in the movie “The Italian Job”. A big opportunity for free global publicity that Sant’Agata couldn’t miss, so they supplied chassis #3586 for the motion shots and an empty shell in the same colour but with no engine to simulate the crash at the exit of the Great St Bernard Tunnel. Cinema audiences were so shocked by this scene that many feared that the real car had been destroyed as well.

The success of the film, especially the opening sequence, made the whole world dream and gave the Miura iconic status, so much so that it was chosen by many stars from show business including Johnny Hallyday, Peter Sellers, Miles Davies just to name a few.

After extensive research, evidence and documentation, historical specialists proved unequivocally that chassis #3586 was the exact same one used in the filming of the movie “The Italian Job”, in particular in the driving sequence with Rossano Brazzi at the wheel. After being certified by Polo Storico Lamborghini, the car participated in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2019, taking the podium in the "Miura" class, and in the same year received a special prize at the “Lamborghini e Design” Concours d'Elegance organized in Italy, in Porto Piccolo, by the Brand from Sant'Agata Bolognese.

In 2021 it was exhibited at the Musée National de l'Automobile in Mulhouse, France, for the “Pop Lamborghini” exhibition, and in 2022 it won the “Stars on Wheels” class award at The ICE Concours d'Elegance, showing itself in all its beauty on the frozen surface of Lake St. Moritz.