Miura, the original supercar

RHD Miura SV #4812 will be featured on UK BBC1 program Top Gear at 8 pm 20.00 this evening.

 

Yet again a poorly researched piece by Top Gear

 

Joe, what other cars around at the time that were quicker?
R

 

Miura was quicker than a 275 GTB/4. I'd say the Daytona was its only competitor.

 

In period, Autocar tested the 400S at 172mph and the Daytona at 174mph. Daytona quite a bit faster in acceleration. These are proper 5th wheel verified tests, but likely with red 400S test car that had small front spoiler so it could do maximum speed runs safely.

 

Funny enough, I read last week both articles December 1967 and January 1968 of the Miura test by Setright...

I never found his mention in the articles of "Miura, the 1st supercar"... any lead is welcome to another article for his reference being the first journalist to define the Miura as the 1st SuperCar ?

 

Same here, Olivier,
The way I understood it is that Setright was supposedly the first journalist to use the word "Supercar" in reference to the Miura, but I haven't found such a quote in any Setright articles yet. The earliest use of the word I could find in CAR magazine was on the cover of the April 1969 issue -

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The search continues...

 

Indeed...

 

any lead ???

 

Gentlemen, thank you for bringing up this question again. I have an intense interest in the L.J.K. Setright connection, as I am fairly certain that my Miura #3102/car 54 is the very car that Setright drove to London in his 1000 miles article. As many of you know, I have reached out to many of you forum historians and enthusiasts (Olivier, Martyn/MD68, Jonathan Elstein, Joe Sackey, etc) regarding these very questions, some time ago. Indeed, I have also been in contact with Emanuele Collo and Steve Wakefield with Kidston Group, and I have chased down many leads, all to no avail. I have been in discussion with Francesco Stevanin (from Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.), Mel Nichols (author and former editor of CAR magazine), Colin Overland (current editor of CAR magazine), Roger Phillips (of Lamborghini Concessionaires), Del Hopkins (Roger's ace mechanic), and others, trying to turn up any possible clues. Mel Nichols did say he feels it is most likely that #3102 was the Setright car, and we now have confirmation that #3102 was used extensively by Lamborghini Concessionaires for promotional purposes during the fall of 1967, and was the car from the Sandie Shaw photoshoot, and from the movie "Some Like it Sexy/Come Back Peter", and also for their promotional brochures, as the European Export plate of EE2452 was on all of these. The dates from the LJKS/ CAR article and the arrival of #3102 in London very strongly point to #3102. I am trying to work with Italian Customs personnel to see if we can find the final proof needed. It should be mentioned that after his trip, Setright later used a different Miura for the photoshoot for the covershot of that CAR article (which is obvious if you read in the article that the car he was driving from Italy to England was "a particularly virulent lime green", and the cover car appears to be rosso/arancio).

Although we are getting closer to determining if it is my #3102 (vs #3096) that is the LJKS car, nobody has been able to find the source of the supposed quote by LJKS that deemed the Miura the first supercar. The legend of this happening is so longstanding and oft-repeated that it appears to just be accepted as gospel, with nobody ever quoting the original source. Everybody just assumes it was mentioned in the "1000 miles" CAR article, but it was NOT. With so many people looking and not finding anything, I am wondering if he ever really did say this? Of course, I would love it if he did, because if so, I think it is SUPER cool to think that the little P400 in my garage is the very car that inspired him!

Clint Brunner


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff 2 by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff 2 by William Brunner, on Flickr


Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff 2 by William Brunner, on Flickr



...and, from the movie Some Like it Sexy, is #3102 again, with it's EE2452 plates and again, seemingly wearing black-painted rockers like in the above photos (hard to tell for sure):

Image Unavailable, Please Login Miura stuff by William Brunner, on Flickr

 

Great period pictures, the black / white shots of the car are in Greenwich park, royal observatory. I recognised from the first picture as the statue of General Wolfe is in the background. Still there today.

 

For whatever it is worth -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ASupercar#LJK_Setright_DID_NOT_'coin'_the_term_%22Supercar%22_when_he_test_drove_the_Lamborghini_Miura

 

Indeed, anything is possible. Perhaps while enjoying a few pints at the pub, they all decided to borrow a term coined by Gerry Anderson back in '61..!

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