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Ad No. 56268
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| price: |
POA |
| location: |
Greater London, United Kingdom |
| class: |
classic cars |
| year: |
1968 |
| gearbox: |
manual |
| color: |
giallo miura |
| condition: |
good |
features:
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We are delighted to advise that our Miura P400 was a winner at the prestigious Concours d'Elégance held at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire on Saturday 5th July.
350 bhp at 7,000 rpm, 3,929 cc, double overhead camshaft V12 engine, six Weber carburettors, five-speed manual gearbox, A-arms with coil springs front and rear suspension, four-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,504 mm.
Ferruccio Lamborghini ran a small machine shop after the Second World War and soon began to manufacture tractors. By the sixties, from these humble beginnings, Lamborghini was head of an industrial empire and a wealthy man. As a Ferrari owner, legend has it that Lamborghini was not happy with the clutch of his 250 GT and complained about it to Enzo Ferrari. Ferrari supposedly told him to stick to his tractors and an infuriated Lamborghini vowed to beat Ferrari at his own game.
Giotto Bizzarrini who had been responsible for Ferrari's immortal Testa Rossa and 250 GTO had been involved in Ferrari's infamous Purge' or Palace Revolt' and had been sacked by the Scuderia. Lamborghini hired him to design a V12 engine for his car venture and, born under the sign of Taurus, Lamborghini took the bull as the emblem for his new automobiles.
The Lamborghini prototype, called the 350 GTV was launched at the 1963 Turin Motor Show and was followed by the Carrozzeria Touring designed 350 GT of which 130 were produced. The 350 GT's successor was the 400 GT of which 23 were initially produced between 1966-1967. The 400 GT 2+2 was built between 1966 and 1968 with 224 produced.
The Lamborghini Miura was displayed in rolling chassis form at the 1965 Turin Motor Show and the completed car was launched in 1966 to a stunned press at the Geneva Salon. Named after Don Eduardo Miura who bred and trained particularly ferocious fighting bulls, the Miura arguably the very first mid-engined supercar was designed by Giampaolo Dallara with quite staggering bodywork credited to Bertone's Marcello Gandini. The fastest road car of the day, the Miura could reach nearly 180 mph and reach 62 mph in 6.7 seconds.
In May 1966 Lamborghini's test driver, a New Zealander called Bob Wallace, was given the mission to prove the worth of the then new Miura. He was to drive from the Lamborghini factory in Sant'Agata to Monaco. ‘The idea of the trip came from Ferruccio Lamborghini himself, along with the designer, Giampaolo Dallara,’ said Wallace. ‘They wanted to demonstrate to all that what we were doing was not B.S. We did the drive with absolutely no paperwork and the car was on Prova plates but at the border crossings we were waved through like royalty. In Monte Carlo, Lamborghini had greased the palm of the doorman at the Hôtel de Paris, so the Miura had pride of place on Casino Square.’At around midnight, Ferruccio Lamborghini came out of the Casino, got into the car and revved the shit out of it. You could not move for the crowds. Bandini and Scarfiotti were persuaded to do a few hot laps of the circuit and the noise echoing off the buildings was fantastic!’
Lamborghini Miura, chassis number 3276 was completed in January 1968 and exported to the United States. The car had several owners while in America, including the St. Louis Car Museum. In the mid nineties the car returned to Europe and a partial restoration was carried out by its Belgium based owner. During this period the car was painted red. The car was sold to the last owner in 2005 were Chassis 3276 has had a complete mechanical overhaul by Bill McGrath Ltd. and has been repainted back to it's original colour of Giallo Miura.
All the numbers of 3276 match as per the definitive Marchet/Coltrin book and the restoration of the car has been documented in Auto Italia' magazine. The car is in fabulous condition and is ready to participate in important events across the globe or enjoyed on the road as one of the finest supercars ever made.
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