1971 Lamborghini Miura SV

1971 Lamborghini Miura SV
Sold for $2,090,000 Including Commission
RM Auction, Monterey, CA. 2014
Chassis no. 4942
385 bhp, 3,929 cc transverse mid-mounted alloy DOHC V-12 engine, Weber twin-choke carburetors, five-speed manual gearbox, independent front and rear suspension with A-arms, coil springs with tubular shocks, and anti-roll bars, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 98.42 in
A genuine Miura SV that has been beautifully restored
Best in Class winner at The Quail in 2009
Recent servicing and mechanical overhaul
An exceptional example of “the original supercar”
The first “supercar” from Lamborghini, and perhaps the first supercar the world had ever seen, was the P400 Miura, and when it was first unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Salon, its impact was nothing short of extraordinary. Simply stated, the Miura looked like nothing else on the road, and it marked a paradigm shift in the design of high-performance cars. Its sensuous lines were undoubtedly indebted to the placement of its engine, which was mounted transversely, just behind the passenger compartment. The Miura’s performance matched its looks, and the car would go on to be the poster child for a petrol-fueled generation. As such, Miuras could often be found in the garages of many of the most fashionable celebrities of the day, including Miles Davis, Rod Stewart, and Frank Sinatra.
Marcello Gandini penned the gorgeous design at the age of 27, and it beautifully encapsulated the youthful spirit of the age. The car was beautifully styled throughout, with intricate details that would always bring a smile to the driver’s face when interacting with the car, such as the shape of the doors, which were supposedly modeled off of the horns of a raging bull. To many, it boasted the perfect automotive silhouette, as it was just as muscular as it was sensual.
The final iteration of the Miura, the SV, featured numerous changes over the already spectacular P400S that came before it. The SV featured improved handling, thanks to a slightly revised suspension, which helped to remove the “front-end lightness” so characteristic of the earlier cars; in turn, the rear bodywork was made slightly wider. Perhaps the most notable changes were to the engine, which featured lager carburetors and slightly different cam-timing, as they made the SV much more user-friendly at lower rpms. With its engine producing 385 brake horsepower, the SV boasted incredible performance. A sprint to 60 mph from a standstill took just 5.8 seconds, and its top speed was quoted at 180 mph.
This particular Miura SV was built on September 22, 1971, during the first year of SV production, which saw a total production of 70 models. A few weeks later, on October 8, it was delivered new, wearing Giallo Miura and a black interior, to German Lamborghini importer H. Hahn. Following its delivery to H. Hahn, it is believed that the car travelled directly to Japan, where it remained for over 30 years and was later featured in a 2004 issue of Japanese magazine Supercars for a track test.
Following the publication of the article, chassis number 4942 found its way to a new owner, who commissioned a full restoration. Partially through the restoration process, after the engine and transmission had been removed and the paint stripped from the body, the car was painted orange, but unfortunately, the paint was improperly cured and the finished was ruined as a result. At that point, the restoration was halted, and in 2007, the car was sold “as is” to a Rancho Santa Fe collector, who decided to continue with the restoration. The interior was found to be mostly intact, with black leather seats with blue inserts and a black vinyl dash. The paint was stripped once more, and the original color, a deep yellow that shines almost orange, was found in the door jams; thus, the car was repainted in that color.
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Robert Myrick Photography