Epoch-making supercar turns 60 years old. The Lamborghini Miura changed everything when it arrived on March 10, 1966. World stars lined up to buy the sensational car.
When the Lamborghini Miura was unveiled for the first time, the world dropped its jaw. It was low, aggressive and beautiful in a way no one had seen before. But it wasn’t just the look that was radical. Beneath the sleek bodywork hid technology taken directly from the world of racing.
Lamborghini was at this time a young and fledgling car brand, only three years old. Founder Ferruccio Lamborghini was proud of his first model, the 350 GT, but he dreamed of something even more powerful. He gave his young team of engineers led by Gian Paolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani free rein.
The result was the Lamborghini Miura. The engineers often worked overtime to realize their vision of a car with the engine positioned in the middle, behind the driver. It was a layout that was then only available in purely racing cars. When they showed the chassis to Ferruccio, he immediately saw the potential and gave the go-ahead for the project.
Before the car had even received a body, it was a success. At the Turin Motor Show in 1965, Lamborghini showed off the chassis. A bare steel structure with a transverse V12 engine. The visitors flocked around the technical sculpture. It is said that design legend Nuccio Bertone approached Ferruccio and said: “I will create the perfect shoe for this wonderful foot.” He kept that promise. Marcello Gandini, then a young designer at Bertone, designed the body which today is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. The car was only 105 centimeters high. The characteristic headlights with “eyelashes” were a touch that could easily have become pekoral, but it was a hit.
The heart of the Miura was a 3.9-liter V12. In its last version, the SV model, it delivered a whopping 385 horsepower. It made the Miura the world’s fastest mass-produced car of its time, with a top speed of over 290 km/h. The sound of the transverse engine is legendary and has been immortalized in films such as The Italian Job. Driving a Miura is described as an uncompromising experience – with no power steering or electronic aids, it requires full concentration, but rewards the driver with a raw and emotional feeling that few modern cars can match.
It was with the Miura that Lamborghini started the tradition of naming their cars after famous Spanish bulls. Miura is named after Don Eduardo Miura Fernández bulls, known for their strength and speed. Between 1966 and 1973, a total of 763 examples of the Miura were built at the factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese. Today, they are highly sought after collectors’ items, winning prizes at the world’s most exclusive exhibitions such as Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este. But the Miura’s greatest achievement was that it established the DNA that Lamborghini still follows today. Without the Miura, we would never have seen icons like the Countach, Diablo or today’s hybrid supercar Revuelto.
In 2026, Lamborghini will celebrate the 60-year-old in a big way all over the world. One of the highlights is Lamborghini Polo Storico Tour in northern Italy in May, where Miura owners get the chance to drive their rarities on the roads where it all once began.
– Miura changed automotive history, says Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann. It defined the very concept of a supercar and showed that true innovation is born from the courage to challenge convention.
When talking about the Lamborghini Miura, it’s easy to get caught up in numbers and technology. But the soul of the car was created by a 27-year-old doldis in just a few weeks. – The result was so magnetic that the biggest world stars of the time queued up to buy a copy. At the end of 1965, star designer Giorgetto Giugiaro left the Bertone company. In stepped the then completely unknown Marcello Gandini, only 27 years old.
Time was extremely short. The chassis was already ready and successful in Turin, but the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966 was fast approaching. Gandini worked day and night during the winter of 1965. It is said that he completed the final details of the drawings precisely at midnight on Christmas Eve 1965. In just three months, he took the Miura from an idea on paper to a finished car. He succeeded in the feat of making the car both predatory and incredibly elegant – a balance that few have managed since then. It was Gandini who gave the Miura its famous “eyelashes” at the headlights and gills on the doors that hid the air intakes. After Miura, Gandini continued to design iconic models such as Countach and Lancia Stratosbut the Miura remained his most sensual creation.
The celebrities who were seduced by the Lamborghini Miura
During the late 60s, there was no stronger status symbol than a Lamborghini Miura. Here are some of the most famous owners and their stories:
Frank Sinatra – Boar and Orange Plush
“The Chairman of the Board” was a big fan. His Miura P400S was painted in his favorite color, Arancio Metallico (orange). But the most spectacular thing was the inside: Sinatra showed up at the factory in Italy with a roll of wild boar skin under his arm and insisted that the interior be dressed in it. The car also had thick, orange plush carpets on the floor. Sinatra is said to have said: “You buy a Ferrari if you want to be someone, you buy a Lamborghini if you already ARE someone.”
Miles Davis – The Magnum Revolver and the Crash
Jazz legend Miles Davis loved his Miura but drove it with a certain risk factor. He used to drive around with a .357 Magnum revolver hidden under the seat just in case. In 1972, he crashed his Miura SV in New York after trying to make a sharp right turn at 100 km/h from the left lane. He broke both legs, and legend has it that rescuers found several bags of cocaine in the car, which his friends had to discreetly flush down the drain before the police arrived.
Rod Stewart – Three wasn’t enough
Rock star Rod Stewart was so fond of the model that he owned no less than three different Miuros during his career. His blue Miura SV is one of the most famous and has sold for record sums at auction over the years. It is said that marks on the roof of his cars revealed that there was often a lot of partying during the tours.
Dean Martin – Rat Pack-rivalitet
Sinatra’s colleague in the Rat Pack, Dean Martin, did not want to be worse. He ordered a green Miura, which created a friendly rivalry between the two icons as to who had the best-looking wagon on the streets of Hollywood.
- Jay Leno owns a Miura P400 from 1967, which today is valued at close to SEK 40 million.
- Nicolas Cage once bought a Miura that formerly belonged to the Iranian Shah of Persia.
- Elton John was also one of the early owners who fell for the car’s dramatic lines.
The different models of the Lamborghini Miura
| Model | Year | Motor | Effect | Top speed | Special characteristics |
| P400 | 1966–69 | 3.9L V12 | 350 hk | 280 km/h | The original with the classic “eyelashes”. |
| P400 S | 1968–71 | 3.9L V12 | 370 hk | 280 km/h | More luxury, electric lifts and better interior design. |
| P400 SV | 1971–73 | 3.9L V12 | 385 hk | 290+ km/h | The ultimate version. No eyelashes, wider rear and more power. |
Did you know that…
- …The Miura was so sought after that Lamborghini sold almost four cars a week in 1968 – a huge figure for a supercar at the time.
- …there is a unique convertible, the Miura Roadster, which was built as a concept car in 1968.
- …a Miura cost around 7.7 million lire when it was launched in 1966. Today, fine examples are sold for tens of millions of kroner.
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