An icon! The Miura was the first supercar produced by the Italian bull, and arguably the first supercar the world had ever seen. When it launched, it was met with astonishment and wonder, as it resembled no other car in automotive history. Its iconic lines are partly down to the placement of the engine, mounted transversely behind the passenger cell. The 3,929cc V12 engine with twin Weber carburettors produced 385bhp, was driven through a five-speed manual gearbox, and featured independent suspension front and rear.
Perhaps the most incredible thing about the Lamborghini Miura - and there are many incredible things about the Miura - is that it should never have been built. The car, named after Spain's wildest and most feared breed of fighting bull, began as an after-hours project by Ferruccio Lamborghini's young technical director and his deputy, Giampaolo Dallara and Giampaolo Stanzuni.
Lamborghini had already transformed itself from a successful tractor manufacturer into a sports car maker, and was renowned for its brilliant mechanical mind and obsession with top performance. This man once told Enzo Ferrari that his 250 GTO wasn't good enough. Enzo told him to go shovel sand and stick to tractors. Instead, Lamborghini built the 350 GTV, a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive two-seater that quickly rose to fame in Italy, much to Enzo Ferrari's displeasure.
The GTV's success set Dallara and Stanzani dreaming. Inspired by racing icons such as the Ford GT and the Ferrari 250 Le Mans, they set out to develop their own mid-engined machine. The only problem was that Lamborghini was interested in perfecting GT cars, not racing adventures. They didn't dare go beyond drawings and plans. Finally, one evening in spring 1965, they plucked up the courage to show their idea to their boss. To their surprise, Ferruccio was impressed and gave their dream project the green light.
The resulting prototype chassis was named the P400 and was fitted with a transversely mounted 4-litre V12 engine. The engine, gearbox and differential were built as a single unit, sharing the same lubrication for all three main parts. This design was absurdly complex, but it was the only way to achieve the packaging and keep a low profile.
The P400 was unveiled as a bare chassis at the 1963 Turin Motor Show. The next step was the bodywork. Ferruccio commissioned the legendary coachbuilder Nuccio Bertone and his young visionary, twenty-five-year-old Marcello Gandini, to make the P400 look beautiful. Gandini worked feverishly throughout the winter of 1965/1966 shaping its lines. Timing was tight; the first Miura was finished just one day before the show and loaded onto a transporter bound for Geneva.
The car became a must-have in the garage of every wealthy enthusiast almost overnight. Originally planned as a small production run, the sheer number of orders pouring into Sant'Agata forced Lamborghini to build 108 Miuras in the first year alone. In total, only 474 original Miuras were built (some say it was 475). The Miura S, introduced in 1968, offered more power (370bhp instead of 350bhp), improved brakes and a slightly higher top speed of 280km/h. Between its 1968 launch and 1971, only 140 examples were sold in total.
The final production Miura, the Miura SV, was introduced in 1971. The SV's most notable change was that the engine and gearbox were now separated. Suspension changes fixed the notorious oversteer problems, and power rose to 385bhp at 7,850rpm. It debuted alongside the Countach concept, which would become the Miura's successor just a year later.
While the Miura wasn't Lamborghini's first car, it was the first in the form that would become typical of Lamborghini - big, loud engines mounted behind the driver, powering breathtakingly styled coupés. Ferruccio himself perhaps put it best: "The Miura was, for me, like a magnificent mistress. Uncomfortable, very expensive, but unforgettable."
This perfect 1:8 scale model of the Lamborghini Miura P400 SV was handcrafted and finished in the AMALGAM workshops in collaboration with, and with the support of, Lamborghini, drawing on original surfaces, materials, archive images and drawings. The use of extremely precise digital scans of the original vehicle has allowed AMALGAM to recreate every detail to scale.
The Lamborghini Miura P400SV is limited to just 199 pieces.
Price on request
