Miura, the original supercar

You have a few silver/tan SVs near you:
5078, Ex-Ferdosian, now in Germany
4960, Bruno Di Cillia, now in Austria, first split sump car

I saw 4948, Ex Bobnar in Bobileff's shop yesterday, also same livery, flown from Japan (owned by Yokohama himself) for total resto.

You are right, its a rather sublime color combination, but looks best when its a nice car.

Do you know Ben Heiderich (ex-Porsche racing driver) in Madrid? He has a silver car, picked it up at Santa Agata in October of 1971, hopped in, drove out of the factory's gates, and he told me last year that he drove straight home to Madrid, stopping only for gas!! Now THAT was the way to take delivery of a Miura SV. That must have been a wild ride. The "EE" plates are still on it and he still has that car...

Joe

PS - Walter, e-mail me about the one-and-only Miura Spyder. I sold it.

 

Nothing like driving a P400S with minimal grip and chassis flex on the track in the rain - one for the brave...
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Ive followed a P400S around Goodwood at full tilt as a passenger in a Miura SV and let me just say that the S driver had his hands full (read: incessantly smoking tires), until the driver of the SV had seen enough and decided to blow past - on the outside!!

Joe

 

21 cars were built to appease Ralph Nader and the Feds. There will be a dedicated chapter in the upcoming book on this limited series of 8 single sump examples and 13 split sump cars which featured over a dozen spec changes unique to this version relative to the European/rest-of-the-world version.
They all featured:
- Air pump specification engine (the most expensive option specified by the factory for a production SV)
- Factory-fitted Borletti air-conditioning (the second most expensive option an SV could be ordered with)
- Octagonal center-bolt wheel nuts
- MPH speedo/odos (200MPH on the 8 single sump cars was VERY impressive to the girls in 1971!)
- Blaupunkt state-of-the-art radio or 8-track
- Kangol safety belts
- Mandatory sidemarkers (the beautifully crafted items on the single-sump cars with their flush bezels are quite nice)
- Dash-mounted hazard flasher switch and brake warning light
- Dash-mounted chassis ID plate (always mounted upside-down so it could be read externally by pesky authorities!)
- USA lenses (fronts in all-amber, rears in all-red, this unique to the USA cars only)
- Fuel nozzle safety-threaded with twist-on cap
- Fuel vapor seperator with triple fuel return lines

As rare as hen's teeth, they speak of a bygone era in American automotive history.

Below clockwise are 4884, 5018, 5032 & 5024 all still USA-resident and in their original specification. At least 3 of the 21 cars are now in resident in Europe, 2 of them having been converted to European body spec.
Joe
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My notes say Ex-Sheikh Hamdan Al Khalifa Bin Al Thani, Sultan of Qatar. He owned a few Miura SVs (5).
Originally Argento/nero, reconditioned at Sant Agata circa 1982 (I have a picture of it there next to a blue Miura SVJ) and the interior re-trimmed in red.
In a 30-car Lamborghini collection in Geneva (Al Thani) till circa 1989. Brokered by Phillipe Fournier to Portugal.

Joe

 

Jon,

Thanks for posting Richard L's car. Say hi to him for me.... I think he is recovering well from his F-Car accident according to what he told me last month. I first met this car 7 years ago and somehow I knew after meeting Richard that this car would always remain perfectly preserved. I was right.

This orange Miura SV is indeed a USA-specification P400SV, chassis number 4986, one of 13 split sump cars. 100% original and unrestored. In my book, it is THE best original USA-spec SV remaining. A benchmark example, and for anyone restoring a USA-spec SV, this car must be the template.
Perhaps the reason it is so nice is that it has been owned by Richard L and his family almost all of its pampered life. It is a stunner in its "Arancio" livery with brown interior and will be prominently featured in the upcoming book as an original example of the much-vaunted limited series.
In looking at the images OMGJON posted you may notice the following original USA-spec items:
- Original wood shift knob (it appears the USA cars were thus supplied)
- Kangol seat belts that have the across-the-shoulder roof mounting eyelet
- Original Blaupunkt radio-cassette
- All-amber front turnsignal lenses
- Octagonal wheel center bolts
- Original-spec Pirelli CN12 tires & original wheel-weights still in place :-0 !!!
The fact of the matter is that 4986 stops the clocks at April the 12th 1972, its build completion date. I openly apologise for taking poetic license to wax lyrical about this truly original car. 4986 is truly fortunate for the kind of owner it has.... now Richard, turn that passenger grab-handle back the right way!

Joe

 

All SVs were not created equal, and as such, some had silver wheels & sills, others yet had gold wheels & sills.

Joe

 

The painting of sills black was most often done by owners frustrated with cleaning road tar off them. The Sant Agata factory also did this upon request. Most will concurr that black sills are not a redeeming Miura feature...

However, when the cars were originally produced by Bertone SpA at the Grugliasco plant, sills & wheels were either silver or gold, sometimes upon request, sometimes at the coachbuilder's discretion depending upon the rest of the car's livery.

Joe

PS - The image of 4852 I have as taken inside the factory in 1982 shows the car fresh from refurbishment for His Highness Sheikh Al Thani. It shows the car just as it is today, standing next to a Blu Tahiti Miura SVJ (presumably also Sheikh Al Thani's). Behind both Miuras are a row of brand new Countach LP400S. I have not scanned the image yet but will do so and post in future.

 

Someone asked, so just to clarify, the center console of Richard L's Miura SV 4986 is "Testa Di Moro" (dark brown) and the seats and door panels are "Senape" (light brown), all original.

Joe

 

Anyone needing a talented & creative car photographer check out the young Albert Fattal at www.albertfattal.com
His work is very special as these images show...
Joe
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Anybody know where Hubert Hahne is or how to contact him these days? Walter?

Thats his personal SV with "HH" plates circa 1971.

Joe
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After 20-odd years of collecting chassis numbers and information, then owning and restoring the cars, I have inked a book deal with www.bullpublishing.com
When I went to David Bull simply because I liked the format and the general way his books were produced and he said: "The Miura is one of my all-time favorite cars", I knew then and there that this project might fly.
Bull publishing would like to release the book circa August 2007 at Concorso, so it looks like Ill be paying more attention to the Miura book than the reuniting Countachs.
The book cannot possibly feature every single scrap of information I have on Miuras (an impossibility with any commercial publication) but it will still yet be a detailed analog of the creation, production and heritage of Sant Agata's original supercar. It is entitled: "Lamborghini Miura - The Original Supercar", just like this thread I suppose. there will be a limited luxury version, and the standard voluminous publication will be available in large 11 x 11 format.
You guys of course had to be the first to know. It will include nuggets of information unearthed over the years: for example, the coolest cat bar none to ever own a Miura was musical genius Miles Davis. Miles had not one, but two Miuras, and he raced them around New York in the dead of the night to avoid the law who were hot on his heels. The Davis Miura was a permanent late-night fixture outside NY hot spots, and was often seen cruising in NY with his supermodel girlfreind-of-the-moment in the passenger seat. Until it met its untimely demise in October of 1972 when he crashed it at speed into a traffic island breaking both his ankles. What did Davis do? He purchased another right away. Lore has it that he half scared his pal Jimmy Hendrix to death with an inner-city high speed run in his first Miura which purchased in 1969.

I hope the book is enjoyed by all who get it, and I thank everyone who has helped me along the way (literally a hundred people) most especially my ever-patient family.
Joe
www.lamborghiniregistry.com
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Miles also owned a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, Ferrari 275 GTB and a Ferrari Daytona. He said he used those cars for running errands, going to the studio etc, but pulled the Miura out for something special and late night rendevouz. Maybe thats why he kept a 357 Magnum stashed under the driver's seat of the Miura at all times.....

Joe

 

Im sure you know what Im going to say...in the book.

Joe