A supercar is a car that is based on extremes. They feature styling, performance, power and technology that make you say ‘Wow’ and shake your head in amazement. The Lamborghini Miura (1966) was the first supercar with a rear mid-engined two-seat layout, although the concept was first seen in a production road car with René Bonnet’s Matra Djet, introduced in 1964. This layout has since become the standard for high-performance sports and supercars. When released, the Miura was the fastest production road car.
The Miura was originally conceived by Lamborghini’s engineering team, which designed the car in its spare time against the wishes of company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, who preferred powerful yet sedate grand-touring cars over the race car-derived machines produced by local rival Ferrari.
The Miura’s rolling chassis was presented at the 1965 Turin Auto Show, and the prototype P400 debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show. It received stellar receptions from showgoers and the motoring press alike, each impressed by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini’s sleek styling and the car’s revolutionary mid-engine design. Lamborghini’s fagship, the Miura received periodic updates and remained in production until 1973.
The Miura series of Lamborghinis are outstandingly designed automobiles from a visual standpoint. Now Italy’s raging bull, has mined one of its most endearing supercar designs, to create a modern counterpart to Ferrari Enzo, Carrera GT. Different in every way, yet instantly recognizable as a Miura, the concept was met with a warm reaction.
The Lamborghini Miura Concept is a retro styled Lamborghini presented at the Paley Center for Media, formerly The Museum of Television & Radio, on 5 January 2006. The unveiling coincided with the Los Angeles Auto Show though it was not present at the show itself.
The Miura Concept commemorated the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the original Miura Bertone at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966. The car made its official début at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit two weeks later. It was the first design to be penned by Lamborghinis design chief, Walter de’Silva. The show car greatly resembles the original Miura by Bertone while its underpinnings are that of the more modern Murciélago.
The Miura Concept will likely make use of the same architecture as the Audi R8 supercar and find its power from a modified version of the monstrous 6.2L V12 currently planted in the Murcielago. The limited-production Miura has a definite lower-key appearance than its Gallardo and Murci counterparts, but it will surely be just as swift and agile.
Lamborghini president and CEO Stefan Winkelmann stated that the concept would not mark the Miura’s return to production, saying that “The Miura was a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. Retro design is not what we are here for. So we won’t do the Miura”. Such a pitty.
Come into the beautiful world of Lamborghini.
Yakymour 