Lamborghini Miura

Photos and text by AdPix.Biz

Model: Stephanie

Location: Stonehaven Manor, Alpharetta, Georgia

Wardrobe: ForPlayOnline.com

The supercar party was dying. Oh, we’d get something like a Bugatti EB110 every so often, but the effort never felt serious. The DJ’s songs were getting worn, and drinks watered down. People were going home.

Then some supermodels arrived: sleek and exotic, almost prancing with a bounce of excitement and almost wearing silky designer dresses that carved their every shape and defied gravity. Ferrari sent their Enzo. Porsche’s intense engineers produced a Carrera GT, and Ford really outdid itself with a GT “pace car for the whole company.” And if unobtainable was too common, Ferrari upped everyone with the super Enzo, the FXX. All are sexy beyond belief. This party’s getting good, maybe you should stay and see who else appears. How could it get any better?

As the big names stand around the table of hors d'oeuvre s, comparing the delicate little caviars and crackers and discussing polite topics as powerhouse automakers would, they haughtily fend off the riff-raff of suitors, rolling their eyes as the various clumsy blokes try to make a pass. Suddenly, an uninvited Lamborghini appears at the door, in a leather biker’s jacket, dark sunglasses, and sporting a nasty tattoo, just visible past the bra strap. The party goes quiet. Guests gasp – the very audacity! Quietly they’re thinking – is this for real, or is it just splash? A party spoiler.

Lamborghini was built to spoil the party. Rumor has it that the very existence of Lamborghini sprang from Ferruccio Lamborghini’s spat with Enzo Ferrari about the durability of Ferrari’s clutches. Ferrari responded to Lamborghini, a Ferrari customer at the time, with something like “Go back to building tractors” and Lamborghini stormed off determined he could build a better Ferrari than Ferrari.

And he’s been spoiling Ferrari’s party ever since.

Not everyone likes a party spoiler, especially the lucky ones “in” the clique. Party spoilers can be just immature drunks, unable to hold their alcohol in polite company. They end up being mere flashes in the pan – a momentary distraction. And the car world has seen plenty of those, without naming names.

Since introducing the Miura (named after a breed of fighting bull) at the Turin Auto Show in 1965, Lamborghini has been known as a party crasher. But the revolutionary Miura was more than a mere distraction. The Miura is considered the world’s first true supercar.

It was the first mid-engined street car. At the time, mid-engined cars were just taking over the word of racing from the front-engine stalwarts that had been a staple for decades. Some even wondered if the potential of a mid-engined performance car was too irresponsible to sell for street use.

The Miura's V-12 motor is cast in the same piece as its 5-speed transmission, inseparably, to save weight, and that entire drive unit is then mounted transversely in a steel monocoque chassis. It boasted independent front and rear double transverse wishbones with coil spring, and four-wheel disk brakes. It is all hand-formed, sculpted, and welded. Inner pieces that never see daylight are works of art. Even the “lightening holes” drilled in strategic places are artfully placed. Dry weight was only 2840 lbs. The mechanical package alone stole the show; literally - the car was introduced as a naked chassis only – no body!

It really had no competitors. The only thing close was Ferrari’s 365 GTB/4, a front-engined V-12 touring car. Although it was, at the time, the only other car in the world available with a V-12, and with all due respect to that fantastic car, the 365 was no supercar.

Serious car historians debate whether the Miura’s body or its engine is more significant. Lamborghini had hired away from Ferrari a brilliant engineer named Giotto Bizzarrini. The engine he designed for the Miura was actually intended to be an F1 motor.

Lamborghini had planned to make only 30 Miura’s, just toying with Ferrari. They even priced it about the same as the Ferrari, at $19,500. But by the time Bertone had worked up a Miura body, for the Geneva Auto Show the next year, orders were piling up.

Bertone’s sleek body, considered to be one of the most perfect car shapes ever, uses aluminum hoods, with clamshell opening to maximum access. It in fact technically has two trunks, one on each end.

The V-12 motor itself was also special. Officially the DOHC produced 350 hp, with four triple-throat Webber carburetors, essentially one per cylinder. Top speed was “in excess” of 170 mph, and 0-60 was about 6 seconds. Remember, this was in 1966. Such performance figures were amazing.

Lamborghini constantly improved the Miura, not waiting for model year changes. The biggest change was in 1971 with the Miura SV (“Tuned Fast”) model. They eliminated the controversial headlight eyelashes, flared the rear fenders, and added some lighting and chassis reinforcements.

One welcome improvement was separating the transmission and engine oil. The combined oiling in the first cars turned out to be a bad idea due to trash in the system. They also quickly fixed a fuel fire-hazard that a few early cars had, caused by the racing carburetors which were not suited to much idling. But overall, despite such cutting-edge technology and innovation, the Miura was even more reliable than most pedestrian transportation of the day.

The Miura also developed the enviable status of cult classic. Kings of state, rock stars, and cultural icons the world over had to have one. They were also heavily tweaked and tuned, taking advantage of the only car with F1 technology for the road.

Miura did not just steal thunder from Ferrari. It was a fantastic, ground-breaking, innovative, supercar, years before anyone else had dared build any such thing. Lamborghini not only crashed the party, they did so with a world-beating motor in a fantastically-engineered high-tech chassis with innovative construction. They brought Gisele Bundchen to an Hawaiian Tropic party. Or, depending on your taste, it was Pamela Anderson to a Paris fashion gala.

By the end of production in 1973, about 750 were made. Demand had not dropped off; Lamborghini simply had to start production on the Countach.

This one was the 102^nd Miura produced. It is in the original Lamborghini red, but the interior may have been changed. The owner drives it weekly. He says it’s behaved pretty much flawlessly in the six years he has had it, so he doesn’t know how many thousands it is going to cost to tune those Webbers, or to fix a crack in the genuine magnesium Campagnolo wheels, and he doesn’t want to know. He’s still floating in bliss with the most beautiful girl ever to crash a party.

STONEHAVEN MANOR

ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA

This elegant, custom built Stone English Manor Estate, winner of 7 National Awards, is situated in total privacy in Country Club of the South. It's many fine appointments include Honduras mahogany paneling, leaded beveled glass, limestone floors and mantels, 7 custom designed masonry fireplaces, motor court with fountain, 4-car garage, gorgeous pebble tec pool and spa accented by a gentle flowing fountain with poolhouse. The state-of-art- kitchen compliments this home which is perfect for entertaining. You will find only the finest millwork and finishes with attention to design and quality throughout. Enjoy the grandeur of Stonehaven Manor nestled in the exquisite, English gardens.

For detailed information, contact:

Alex McGraw or Annemarie Russo of Jenny Pruitt Realtors