1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 Coupe

The Lamborghini Miura was named after Don Eduardo Miura, the legendary breeder of fierce Spanish fighting bulls. It was a car that re-defined the concept of the supercar, with its tremendous speed, technical innovation, high-price tag, and its eye-catching design.

The Miura had been first shown to the public in March 1966 at the Geneva Salon, where its body designed by Bertone designer Marcello Gandini (who was just 22 at the time) stunned the public. By 1967, the engine had been enlarged to four liters, thanks in part to two brilliant engineers - Gian Paulo Dallara and Paolo Stanzini. With guidance from New Zealander Bob Wallace, the Miura's chassis was carefully developed and tuned to deliver the handling levels necessary to contain the potent powerplant. There were double-wishbones at all four corners, a mid-mounted engine that was fitted transversely to allow for more compact overall layout, four-wheel disc brakes, and a five-speed manual gearbox.

The original designs called for a three-seat layout with the driver in the middle and each of the two passengers on either side. This idea did not make it into the production Miura, but it did re-emerge on future supercars, most notably the McLaren F1 of the 1990s.

The rear window louvers that appeared on the production models were an industry first.

This Miura, chassis number 3069, was delivered new to Zurich-based Lamborghini dealer Foitek in July 1967. It was sent to California in 1969 and remained there until being transported to Florida in 2005 for a complete nut and bolt rotisserie restoration. The work was completed in February of 2010. The car was stripped to bare metal and every part of the car received individual attention from the restoration experts. Even Lamborghini's retired Chief Test Driver and factory historian, Valentino Balboni, was involved in the process, inspecting it on several occasions throughout its restoration, and, on the first visit, remarked to the owner, ''this must be one of the first 20 cars we ever made.' The visible clues for this observation were that certain bracing points on the chassis were changed very early in the Miura's developed. This Mirua did not have those changes.

The engine in the car was originally in chassis 4494, a P400S unit. The 'S' variant of the Miura was introduced in 1968 with the 'S' representing spinto,' or 'tuned.'

In 2010, this car was offered for sale at the 'Automobiles of Amelia Island' event presented by RM Auctions. The car was estimated to sell for $300,000 - $350,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $374,000, inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2011