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 PirelliCinturato 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 mulethat 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.
