The Lamborghini Miura was a sports car produced by
Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1972. The car is widely
considered to have begun the trend of high performance, two-seater, mid-engined
sports cars. At launch, it was the fastest production road car available.
The Miura was originally conceived by Lamborghini's engineering team, who
designed the car in their spare time against the wishes of company founder
Ferruccio Lamborghini, who showed a preference towards producing powerful yet
sedate grand touring cars, rather than the racecar-derived machines produced by
local rival Ferrari. When its rolling chassis was presented at the 1965 Turin
auto show, and the prototype P400 debuted at the 1966 Geneva show, the car
received a stellar reception from showgoers and motoring press alike, who were
impressed by Marcello Gandini's sleek styling as well as the car's
revolutionary design.
As Lamborghini's flagship car, the Miura received periodic updates and remained
in production until 1972, and was not replaced in the automaker's lineup until
the Countach entered production in 1974, amid tumultuous financial times for
the company.
LAMBORGHINI MIURA P400
The Lamborghini Miura was built in Italy by
Lamborghini between 1966 and 1973. A mid-engined layout had been used
successfully in competition. The Miura was a trendsetter, the one that made the
mid-engined layout de rigueur among two-seater high performance supercars. It
is named after the Spanish ranch Miura, whose bulls have a proverbial attack
instinct.
LAMBORGHINI
MIURA P400S
The P400S Miura, also known as the Miura
S, made its introduction at the Turin Motorshow in November 1968, where the
original chassis had been introduced 3 years earlier. It was slightly revised
from the P400, including newly added power windows, bright chrome trim around
external windows and headlights, new overhead inline console with new rocker
switches, engine intake manifolds made 2mm larger, different camshaft profiles,
and notched trunk end panels (allowing for slightly more luggage space). Engine
changes were reportedly good for an additional 20 PS (15 kW;
20 hp).
The
last and most famous Miura, the P400SV or Miura SV featured different cam
timing and altered carburetors. These gave the engine an additional 15 PS
(11 kW; 15 hp), to 385 PS (283 kW; 380 hp). The last
96 SV engines included a limited slip differential which required a split sump.
The gearbox now had its lubrication system separate from the engine, which
allowed the use of the appropriate types of oil for the gearbox and the engine.
This also alleviated concerns that metal shavings from the gearbox could travel
into the engine with disastrous and expensive results.
The
SV can be distinguished from its predecessors from its lack of
"eyelashes" around the headlamps, wider rear fenders to accommodate
the new 9-inch-wide (230 mm) rear wheels and Pirelli
Cinturato tires, and different taillights. 150 SVs were produced.
There
was a misprint in the SV owners manual indicating bigger intake valves in
English size (but correct size in metric). The intake and exhaust valves in all
4 liter V12 Lamborghini remained the same throughout all models. This intake
size misprint carried forward into Espada 400GT and Countach LP 400/LP 400S
owners manuals as well.
LAMBORGHINI
MIURA P400 Jota
n 1970, Lamborghini development driver
Bob Wallace used chassis #5084 to create a test mule
that would conform to the FIA's Appendix J racing
regulations. The car was appropriately named the Miura Jota (the pronunciation
of the letter 'J'
in Spanish). Only one was ever built, which was
eventually sold to a private buyer after extensive testing. In April 1971, the
car crashed on the yet-unopened ring road around the city of Brescia,
and burned
LAMBORGHINI
MIURA Roadster
Another one-off, the Miura Roadster
(actually more of a targa-model, but without any removable roof) was built as a
publicity stunt. After having been exhibited at several auto salons the car was
sold to a group of companies in the metal business who turned it into a
display-vehicle showcasing the possibilities of using their various metal
alloys in cars. The car still exists today and has been frequently replicated.
LAMBORGHINI
MIURA P400 SVJ
Spider
Another one-off, the Miura Roadster
(actually more of a targa-model, but without any removable roof) was built as a
publicity stunt. After having been exhibited at several auto salons the car was
sold to a group of companies in the metal business who turned it into a
display-vehicle showcasing the possibilities of using their various metal
alloys in cars. The car still exists today and has been frequently replicated.
LAMBORGHINI
MIURA concept
The
Lamborghini Miura concept from the 2006 Detroit Auto Show revived the legendary
Lamborghini Miura name of the 60's and 70's.
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