"The Lamborghini Miura" by Simon Kidston

£1???!!!! I know it was black Friday, but REALLY??!
The cynic (realist) in me is thinking that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is…
But if not, then that’s bargain of the decade. Please let us all know which it turns out to be.
I’ve got fingers and toes crossed for you!!


M

 

Heck yeah! Now, get your attorney ready to enforce eBay's "binding contract". Wishing you the best of luck. You'll need it... What could possibly go wrong with a "0" feedback seller on eBay?

 

Actually, it turns out that this book is lot 34 in the auction linked below. Very strange...

https://auctions.doreandrees.com/catalogue/3ae88704246ff7ce372a77c9571e79c9/ad74375b82a358e6eef0ce537def266d/automobilia/

 

That is very strange... In the auction at the above ^ link they have a number of other books listed, including....Lot 29. THE SIMON KIDSTON LAMBORGHINI MIURA BOOK...with an Estimate of £2500 - £3500 Also a lot of other tempting automobilia.

 

Bu

But you should keep in mind that you have to pay up to 28.6 per cent buyers premium!

The Jota Edition is offered with an estimate up to 9,000 GBP + 28.6 per cent premium.

I think, they just used eBay for guerilla marketing to get more attention for their auction - which worked perfectly as it seems

 

I know about the extra buyers premium which exists for all auctions. I've been buying & selling through auctions since the 1980s.

I agree with you about the "guerilla marketing" technique via eBay. Others do it too. I was thinking that was probably what they were up to.

 

For those interested in how the auction for the Miura Jota Edition went, it got bid up to £6500 but didn't meet the reserve. So I guess the current market price is in the £8-8.5k range once you factor in the premium on top.

 

I don't see a hammer price on the regular Miura edition either- guess it didn't meet reserve? Anyone know what the high bid was?

 

I was watching and taking screen shots, last bid was 2500 pounds and shot confirms sold to room, however results showing passed in. Bidders were obviously educated on current prices, 2 on eBay currently for 3500 and one for 3250 pounds. I am watching the 3250 pound one and buyer recently sent me a 5% off offer. So with buyers premium of 25% on top of 2500 brings just below the eBay price. I was successful in buying Ten days in Sicily book Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

So Jota value maybe $12000 or so and regular edition maybe $3500-4000?

I can't locate any Kidston Miura books on eBay currently, maybe they are on eBay for another non-US market?

 

I’ve just checked on eBay and see two. A yellow cover at £3250 from timbyard who look like a private seller and an orange one from Abbatbooks which says they use the global shipping programme so USA should be ok.

 

Well, if Jota was 4500+ GBP, a 100% markup is OK.

Horton's has the 'normal Miura' red cover for 5500 GBP.
Now that is a markup!

Regards, Alberto

 

The Kidston books on the Miura, and the Register are full of errors. Almost everything in the books are common knowledge and the information in the book can be found on the internet. I was very disappointed when I saw the books. I restored the Lamborghini Chassis and the Lamborghini Roadster, and 144 other Lamborghini Miura's to date. I personally know these cars better than almost any one on the planet, and to read Kidston's articles in the books makes me laugh!
Gary Bobileff

 

Well, if your name is Kidston and it's on the label....Voila'

If memory serves me right, Gary, you had a Jota (real?) at the San Diego Concours,
many many years ago, about 2009/10...when I came for a visit at your shop

Regards, Alberto

 

Hi Alberto,
Yes, I restored # 4892. This car was some what controversial, because some of the Jota lists supported the car to be a real Jota from inception, other lists said it was produced after the fact. The truth be told is that the aluminum used in the body was lightweight, almost half the thickness of a normal street Miura, and that when measuring the body shape with templates, the body shape was completely different. Minor changes in shape, but still very different than a production Miura. Claudio Zampolli stated on a video that was made said that he worked on this car personally when it was new at the Lamborghini Factory , and it was a genuine Jota from inception. The car was then brought back to me several years ago, and was stripped from it's Rosso Cordoba color, and brought back to original colors, Bianco Polo Park white, with a navy interior. The car now resides in New York.
Gary Bobileff

 

Thank you for the most accurate info Gary.

Makes for great history

Regards, Alberto

 

Hi Gary,
Did you share your knowledge with Kidston when they were collating the data ? Thanks.

 

Appreciate you sharing some background it’s history. Do you have any photos of it painted white?

 

Knowledge is not shared when not asked.
Gary Bobileff

 

#4892 has been marketed and sold a number of times with the late Ing. Claudio Zampolli having been consulted previously, so may I ask how and why this new information is only coming out now?

 

There is nothing new about this information. When I sold this car in 2008, the purchaser was given the video about Claudio Zampolli discussing Jota 3 4892. Then the car went to auction a number of years later. The debate as to if this was a real Jota or not has been discussed on the web for quite some time. Then you have the Kidston book which says there is no evidence that this car # 4892 is not a real Jota. So, lots of mis- information by amateurs who have never personally restored a Miura, but only write their opinions about cars that they try to convince the world that their knowledge is factual and truthful. Journalism at it's worst.
Gary Bobileff

 

[QUOTE="swift53, post: 148262008, member: 56772"....If memory serves me right, Gary, you had a Jota (real?) at the San Diego Concours,
many many years ago, about 2009/10...when I came for a visit at your shop

Regards, Alberto[/QUOTE]

You have to ask questions and you get answers, right Cliff?

As Gary rightly said, I saw #4892, alongside a small herd of Miura, 13 years ago, Other times, I suppose.

There was only J. Sackey's book, and no Kidston (in print)...

Regards, Alberto

 

No disrespect, Gary but you don't have to have restored a car to write its history. Just found the Claudio Zampolli paperwork on LamborghiniChat in link here.

 

True, you don't have to restore a Miura to know it's history, but you have to be immersed in the model to understand all the nuances and differences, that one who hasn't restored many cars will not have this knowledge. As an example, with out disrespecting the Factory, there is hardly any body at Polo Storico who has true Miura knowledge, as almost all the employees there weren't even born when the Miura was produced. And ex Factory workers of the era, many have died or are incapable of remembering what they had for breakfast . So, how do they get this knowledge, by reading build sheets that are not complete in every detail? Polo is highly regarded as an expert in knowledge and history of the Miura.

I am not trying to be adversarial here, I was only asked a question regarding the showing of a Jota ( real) at the San Diego Concours, and I have responded accordingly, and then some.
Gary Bobileff

 

I hadn't seen before that Claudio Zampolli had stated that he'd worked on this car personally when it was new,..... which if correct, he would have had firsthand knowledge of the car being an SVJ from new, which was the new information to me. The 2015 RM Sotheby's auction description in the link here stated that it was not known precisely when the conversion to SVJ was done, but it implies that it was done some time after initial delivery and within 3 years of its production.