MIURA: THE MAKING OF A LEGEND
Graham Scott delves into the history of the car that made Lamborghini’s name
Like many of the best Italian outcomes, this one started with a full-blown row. Feruccio Lamborghini was a successful and wealthy maker of tractors, and he owned a Ferrari 250GT. And he wanted to speak to Enzo Ferrari himself about a problem with the clutch, but he was snubbed. Incensed, he decided to make his own supercar instead.
Once the arm-waving died down, the new Lamborghini company got right down to it and, amazingly, came up with a corker straight out of the box. The 350 GTV looked fabulous but the 350 GT that followed the initial launch of 1963 added some more reliability to the mix.
The 400 GT that followed was a gorgeous coach-built low-volume supercar, but it must be said at that point Italy was spoilt for choice with such cars.
The problem of not standing out came to an end in 1965, when the Turin motor show debuted a Lamborghini featuring a steel spaceframe chassis with independent suspension all round and a V12 mounted transversely. This was race car technology for the road.
By the Geneva motor show the next year the public were left with their jaws on the floor when Lamborghini unveiled the bodywork that would go on that racer chassis. The Gandini design for the Miura was perfect, aesthetically beyond desirable.
Sadly, the actual realy it was a bit less than the d ream. The M iura was hard work to drive, and in a car that was designed to make you look cool, getting out after a drive looking like you’d just endured a spin class was not a good look. Stability on back roads was questionable, the seats were uncomfortable and the controls were heavy – perhaps not surprising given how young the company was compared to say Ferrari. To pick another company entirely at random.
There was another small little detail hardly worth mentioning really. That flowing front end had a tendency to lift as the mighty V12 forced you towards 160mph. Still, it looked great, and what’s the front end coming off the road well into three figures compared to that?
The Miura looked so right that people soon voted with their wallets anyway. That income helped the company move forward into slightly better financial shape, as entrepreneurs and stars all lined up to be seen in the yellow Lamborghini. It helped the company stay afloat to launch cars like the Countach, right up until Audi bought the company in 1998.
If it wasn’t for the Miura it’s entirely possible that Lamborghini would have gone the way of so many Italian brands that burned brightly and then burned out, companies like OSCA, Iso or Cizetta. We have much to thank the Miura for, and much to thank the temperament of some Italians.