Broken Dreams: Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster and Ferruccio’s Refusal

Just two years after being launched, a Roadster version of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s masterpiece, the Miura, appeared at the 1968 Brussels Motor Show. Presented in a bright metallic blue, an absolute first for the time, with white leather seats and interior and a completely visible transversely-mounted V12 mid-engine to show off the underlying mechanics of the cars of Sant’Agata, it was one of the stars of the show and the public clamored to purchase it, but, once again, Ferruccio Lamborghini refused to produce open-top models and this jewel remains a unique example.

The large rear roll-over bar and the visible engine are the hallmarks of the Miura Roadster. For the rest, the original beauty is further enhanced.

The entire basis of the project is the Miura P400, with its box-section platform chassis designed by Giampaolo Dallara and “clothed” by Marcello Gandini for Carrozzeria Bertone. The transformation into a roadster included the installation of a solid roll-over bar behind the seats for increased rigidity and a complete redesign of the rear end of the car.

Even in roadster form, the Miura has a harmonious silhouette thanks to the transversely mounted large V12 engine. A fundamental feature of Dallara’s project.

In the same year as its debut, the Miura Roadster also made an appearance at the Geneva Motor Show, its final public appearance before returning to Sant’Agata Bolognese for road tests conducted by Lamborghini test driver Bob Wallace.

The new design of the rear, the elegance of the side profile, and the redesigned grille, which conceals, among other things, the exhausts which, on the coupe version, are external.

Sold in 1969 to the International Lead Zinc Research Organization, known as ILZRO, in New York, it was used in a demonstration project to showcase the numerous applications of lead and zinc in automobiles. Later, it was restored to its original condition as displayed at the 1968 Brussels Show and showcased at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where the Miura Roadster secured second place in the Lamborghini class, behind the first production 350GT, which was famously driven onto the ramp by Lamborghini's historic test driver Valentino Balboni.

The large bull in the center of the steering wheel, the H-shift selector (5 gears + reverse), the beautiful contrast between the black of the dashboard and the bright white of the seats and interior make the Roadster an authentic Lamborghini.