Miura, the original supercar | Page 627 | FerrariChat

Miura, the original supercar

Discussion in 'LamborghiniChat.com' started by joe sackey, Dec 5, 2006.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Bertocchi

    Bertocchi Formula 3
    Consultant

    Jan 28, 2004
    2,176
    Austin, Texas
    Full Name:
    David Castelhano
    I finally tracked down a copy of the Miura Bible and spent the three day weekend reading it. Important work and most informative.
     
  2. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    May 23, 2006
    57,288
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Joe Sackey
    Good to hear David.
     
  3. SupercarGuru

    SupercarGuru F1 Rookie
    Sponsor

    Dec 14, 2003
    3,743
    Fl
    Full Name:
    John Temerian
    LAMBORGHINI MIURA BIBLE BOOK SACKEY | eBay

    They are getting expensive!!

    I gave my first copy to the buyer of our former Miura S and had the hardest time finding another copy for less than $200...
     
  4. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    May 23, 2006
    57,288
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Joe Sackey
  5. Candide

    Candide Formula 3

    Apr 6, 2017
    1,472
    Monaco
    Joe, It's your fault !

    You only have to make a new batch to calm down speculation on your fantastic book !!

    but there will always be the 1st prints, and, the reprints !!!
     
  6. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    May 23, 2006
    57,288
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Joe Sackey
    Thank you and I wish it was that easy.
     
  7. miurasv

    miurasv F1 World Champ

    Nov 19, 2008
    10,013
    Cardiff, UK
    Full Name:
    Steven Robertson
    I loaned my copy to a former boss of mine. When I got it back the wraparound cover was ripped and the corners of the hardback cover were knawed and looked like they've been chewed by a mouse. I'm gutted to say the least.
     
  8. GaetanVDK

    GaetanVDK Karting

    Oct 20, 2015
    99
    BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
    Full Name:
    GAETAN VDK
    #15658 GaetanVDK, May 31, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  9. GaetanVDK

    GaetanVDK Karting

    Oct 20, 2015
    99
    BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
    Full Name:
    GAETAN VDK
  10. wsaraceni

    wsaraceni F1 Rookie

    Aug 9, 2010
    3,579
    I'm just glad you made it available on Apple store
     
  11. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    May 23, 2006
    57,288
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Joe Sackey
    He should keep it and buy you a new one off EBay!
     
  12. Candide

    Candide Formula 3

    Apr 6, 2017
    1,472
    Monaco
    Would you lend your Wife ?!
     
  13. Candide

    Candide Formula 3

    Apr 6, 2017
    1,472
    Monaco
    There's 1 for 1,800 dollars !!!

    Maybe I could sell mine for 1,500 and buy the one at 600 !!!

    LOL !!!
     
  14. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    May 23, 2006
    57,288
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Joe Sackey
    #15664 joe sackey, Jun 1, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  15. GaetanVDK

    GaetanVDK Karting

    Oct 20, 2015
    99
    BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
    Full Name:
    GAETAN VDK
  16. kc023515

    kc023515 Formula Junior

    Dec 5, 2007
    600
    Belgium
    Full Name:
    Kevin Crauwels
    I believe it's #3357, it looks like an early P400 :
    - no S badge on the rear
    - early grab handle, window handle and door skin
    - early Bertone badge
    - black trim around the windows and eye lashes
     
  17. Olivier NAMECHE

    Olivier NAMECHE F1 Veteran

    Aug 18, 2007
    5,079
    CANADA
    Full Name:
    Olivier
    #15667 Olivier NAMECHE, Jun 5, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  18. Lel

    Lel Formula Junior

    Oct 11, 2007
    295
    #15668 Lel, Jun 5, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I have through the years experienced a few Miuras but never felt fully comfortable with the cars. One of them felt too fragile and another one had too many issues and wasn’t sorted at all. I’ve even tested a Miura with a Chevy 350 small block and ZF-transaxle, but none of these cars convinced me.

    The guy I mentioned in the headline, Leif Nilsson, used to import Italian and German sports cars to Sweden in the seventies and eighties. He had his heart by Lamborghini and lots of the Swedish Miuras and Countaches have gone through his hands, for instance the very well known black Innocenti SV, now owned by Simon Kidston. And as Leif was acquainted to Valentino Balboni he even invited him to Knutstorp Raceway for Lamborghini meetings and demonstrations. First time I got to know Leif, I was driving along in a friend’s Islero . As Leif had his Lamborghini t-shirt on I began to talk to him about cars. Being an inexperienced youngster I asked him to compare the Miura and the Countach and these were his words :

    - The Countach is like driving a Ford Granada but the Miura you know – and his face lit up – it is wild.

    Since a few months being in the possession of a late Miura S, I now, almost forty years later, got the feeling of what he talked about. With a body that almost makes a man blush, and being dressed in innocent white, you carefully approach the car. You slowly warm it up and don’t try any tricks before it’s really hot. I struggled along on high gear and was amazed how sweet she felt, not coughing, not hesitating at all when the pedal was pressed at 1500 rpms in fifth gear. All gauges where right on tip with a very healthy oil pressure so I dared to give it a go.
    I changed down three steps and bottomed the pedal. It sucked air through the carbs, it whined from the transfer gears and made the most powerful sound from the exhaust. I let the rev counter all the way to where either courage or hanging valves will stop you. Third gear and the same almost unbelievable power forced the car forward and then changing from third to fourth and still this awesome acceleration. And this in an almost fifty years old car.

    I do understand what Leif meant forty years ago. It is the contrast of the pure lines of the car, the smoothness of the engine, the easiness of driving along and the raw power and speed that makes it so wild. I began to press it and approached the curves with more and more speed. Hard braking while blipping the gas pedal to spare the synchromesh in the gearbox when double clutching on the downshifts and then full power out of the curves.
    Filled with confidence I took it to Sturup Raceway for a track day last weekend and it behaved as good there as on the road. Full throttle or hard braking, it went straight as an arrow and in long sweeping curves it was much more neutral than I had expected. New firm bushings in the suspension are probably more important to the car’s behaviour than wide wheels and the Espada’s lower rear suspension arm that the SV was fitted with. But it is no racing car as it is. In the sharp hairpins it lost its oil pressure due to the construction with the oil pick up in the middle of the transverse engine. But hadn’t it been for my gliding through the two hairpins on the track I would have given the 911:s and Lotuses a tougher match.

    Having said this about the Miura I have to give some credit to the Countach as well. It is as fast, it sounds as good, it turns and brakes even greater but you don’t expect anything less. It’s look says everything so you don’t get so surprised as with the Miura. OK, it is real hardcore, but not at all as wild as the Miura.

    Maybe more like a Ford Granada?

    Lars-Erik
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  19. Candide

    Candide Formula 3

    Apr 6, 2017
    1,472
    Monaco
    Nice text, nice pics.
     
  20. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    May 23, 2006
    57,288
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Joe Sackey
    Correct, easy to see that's a P400.

    Hilarious.

    I too have experience a few Miuras over the years - I hate to keep bringing this up but it seems necessary to underscore the subsequent point - 5 different Miura SVs over the years. To balance this out, I've also owned over 10 different Countach, multiples of everything from LP400 to 25th.

    By the way I felt very comfortable with all the Miuras I owned, but, not as comfortable as the Countach in terms of both safety & reliability.

    Whilst I realize that Leif was simply trying to convey the point that he really loved the Miura, as do I, the notion that the Countach can in any meaningful way be compared with a Ford Granada is, well, just silly, and makes the analogy rather redundant. Neither the Miura nor the Countach can remotely be compared to any type of pedestrian saloon or estate car in any way, shape, or form. They are both automotive individuals, icons of their time.

    A more appropriate, helpful & relevant comparo would be that driving the Miura gives one the sense of occasion of driving a 60s mid-engined sports car racer, with the dominant feeling being the impressive sight of the voluptuous front fenders, and the unbelievable sound of that V12 engine just inches behind your neck. In fact, you can see the throttle-linkages moving and the Weber carburettors and for sheer emotion, the Miura is an unforgettable drive.

    The Countach on the other hand, is like driving nothing else on planet earth, not the F40, nothing. The mere act of opening those 'Carabo' doors and settling into that sleek body punctuated by that steeply raked windshield will strike fear into the heart of most drivers. You know its about to go down and you better get ready. Its way more avantegarde than the Miura which seems a bit normal compared to the Countach.

    Of course, if you compare the ultimate variant Miura (SV) to the ultimate variant Countach (Downdraft) in terms of power, the Countach accelerates better, is faster, handles better, and brakes better, so its really the 'drivers' choice car. And that comes from me who loves them both.
     
  21. Andrew R.

    Andrew R. Formula Junior

    Jun 27, 2005
    593
    Michigan
    Full Name:
    Andrew
  22. Lel

    Lel Formula Junior

    Oct 11, 2007
    295
    Joe!

    If you never had the fortune to drive any of these cars you can almost believe you do when reading your expressive description!

    Well written!

    Lars-Erik
     
  23. joe sackey

    joe sackey Five Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    May 23, 2006
    57,288
    Southern California
    Full Name:
    Joe Sackey
    Many thanks.

    I've come across a number of colorful characters over the years, who have said many things about the Miura & Countach, most of which my hands-on experience over the same period found to be a figment of their healthy imagination.
     
  24. sbpwjm

    sbpwjm Formula Junior

    Nov 16, 2007
    399
    Red Bank, NJ
    Full Name:
    Scott
    What exactly is in those binders? I see the chassis #s, so assume some information on the build... is it detailed?
     
  25. P300V8

    P300V8 Formula 3

    Mar 8, 2010
    1,645
    London U.K.
    These are the original production records filed by model by chassis number. The vast majority still exist. Each record is kept in a separate plastic folder with a summary sheet on top. The contents are in varying degrees of detail/completeness.
     

Share This Page