MIURA P 400

The Lamborghini Miura was a milestone in car history, it first appeared on the 1965 Turin Motor Show, it was not a car, but a bare chassis. But what a revolutionary chassis it was: it was a real race-design monocoque chassis with lots of holes in it to save weight, the V 12 engine was mounted transversely in front of the rear wheels. At the Geneva Motor Show of 1966 the first car was introduced, it had a body designed by Bertone, and it was spectacular. This car was years ahead of everything else ( it would take Ferrari 7 years to come with an equivalent road-car: the Boxer). There were a lot of troubles to solve, and it took nearly a year before the first production cars left the factory, they were delivered in 1967, but it was worth the waiting, the top speed of the car was 273 Km/h. and acceleration from 0 to 100 Km/h. took 5,7 seconds, it was the fastest road legal production car of the world.

MIURA P 400 S

The Miura P 400 was improved on many fronts during production, in 1970 however the S version was introduced, the rear-wheel mounting was changed, the chassis was stiffened (thickness of steel plate was changed from 0,9 to 1,0 mm. on all cars from no.125), suspension was modified, vented discs were mounted, air conditioning was optional, and the engine was up rated to 370 Hp. A lot of the original P 400's were modified to S-spec, some only optical, others complete. There was one special, the JOTA that was built by Bob Wallace, it had a completely different chassis and a 440 Hp. engine, sadly it never raced and was later was destroyed.

MIURA P 400 SV

The Miura SV was the second official update from the Miura, the car got a more powerful engine, fatter tires (and flaired wheel arches to support them), leather trim and the headlights louvres disappeared (not on all, Ferruccio's one still had them). Some of the problems of the earlier cars were solved: the oil pan was enlarged (the engine could get oil-problems in fast corners), the gear change was somewhat smoother, and a limited slip differential was mounted. Although the engine was more powerful, the car was not faster than the S model due to its heavier weight. One convertible Miura was built by Bertone as a design model, it was later sold to the International Lead Zink Research Organization, who had it rebuilt and named it ZN 75, All other convertible's are modified by their owners ! There were 4 factory specials (SVJ) who had ducts in the panel work for brake venting, fixed headlamps and up rated engines with straight-through exhausts.


What the press said:

Mark Hughes, Classic and Sportscar july '94 (Miura SV):
"After five houres with this car, I'm not sure a raging bull is appropriate. Few cars in my experience have exceeded expectations but the Miura, with its blend of sensational dynamic abilities and a sufficiently peaceable disposition, undiniably did. And that's the view of someone who placed the Miura on a pedestal 25 years ago....."

Tony Dron, Thoroughbred & Classic Cars April '97 (Miura SVJ):
(About the ex Sjah of Irans Miura SVJ) "It is good to be reminded of the simply perfect shape that Bertone created for the Miura. I study the style. It looks better than ever, one of those wonderful things that came out absolutely right - and there was no seeking to imitate anything else; it could only be a Lamborghini Miura. The shape is perfect from any angle or height. And it's quite uncanny the way it looks so obviously unused, so nearly new, despite being a quarter of a century old."