Autoblog

Enthusiasts of exotic Italian automobiles everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to Adam Gordon. The New York real estate developer has just completed what is sure to have been an extremely costly restoration of the Lamborghini Bertone Miura Spyder. We say "the" Miura Spyder because it is the only one ever made. In fact its serial number doesn't even show in the company's register.

As we reported when Gordon first acquired the car a year and a half ago, the Miura Spyder was made by Nuccio Bertone and Marcello Gandini as a one-off show car in 1968, when it was unveiled at the Brussels auto salon, much to the amazement of even Ferruccio Lamborghini. The car was then brought back to Sant'Agata where Lamborghini's own people, in consultation with Bertone, deemed it impossible to put into production. The factory then refinished the only existing example in green with all manner of extra chrome bits and sold it to the International lead and Zinc Research Organization, which used it as a showcase piece and brought it to car shows in such locations as Detroit, Montreal, Anaheim, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Paris, before finally donating in 1981 it to the Boston Museum of Transportation in exchange for a $200,000 tax receipt. The car then disappeared largely into obscurity for 25 years as collectors failed – incredibly – to comprehend the value of the only factory-original Miura targa in the world.

Although the Boston museum invested what must have been considerable time and energy into refurbishing the Miura Spyder, it wasn't until Gordon got his hands on it that the car was returned to its original Bertone condition by the Bobileff Motorcar Company. The car's history has been chronicled in a new book, "The Lamborghini Miura Bible" by Joe Sackey. Follow the jump to read the full press release, and click the thumbnails below for a small gallery of images of the Miura Spyder.

[Source: Veloce Publishing]

Click above for a high resolution image

Every year in August the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance gives car enthusiasts a chance to see exceptional automobiles together at the same place at the same time. With Lamborghini as a featured marque this year, it was inevitable that some of the best of the breed will be on the 18th fairway in just a few days. The earliest known 350GT (Lamborghini's first model), the earliest known Miura, and several one-off examples will be on display. As a bonus, Valentino Balboni, Lamborghini's legendary test driver, will be serving as a class judge. More information can be found in the press release after the jump, and look for our coverage of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as we report live from Monterey next week.

Most car enthusiasts know about the Lamborghini Miura, one of the most beautiful and desirable cars from the '60s and '70s, but few know about the one-off Miura Jota and subsequent SV/J models. The Jota was built in 1970 as an experimental car to test new ideas for the upcoming Miura SV. It featured a lightweight body with extra vents, a split sump engine (implemented on later SV models), "Megaphono" exhaust pipes, and a bevy of bespoke features. After the car was finished, it was sold to a loyal customer. Unfortunately, the Jota was involved in an accident and was completely destroyed when it burned to the ground. However, when several of Lamborghini's customers heard about the car, they asked if they could buy one of their own. Lamborghini decided not to officially build a production Jota, but they did offer conversions based on the SV model. The Lamborghini Registry lists only six "works" SV/J models, all featuring the Jota bodywork. The one seen here is chassis number 4892, and it will be auctioned off at the upcoming Russo and Steele classic car auction in Monterey. It's tough to tell what the car will go for since the SV/J models rarely ever change hands, but you can bet it won't be a paltry sum.

[Source: Russo and Steele]

Lamborghini's pushing to ring up 3,000 sales per year, about 500 more than they currently move. Were they to drop a new Miura, revived LM002, or some other new model, they'd likely reach that target without any problem. Lambo Capo Rupert Stadler isn't in favor of spending the considerable development dollars it would take to bring a new model to market. Before coming out with a new car, it's more prudent for Lamborghini to sell its capacity of Murcielagos and Gallardos first.

So, if you're not coming out with a new car, but you want to move more units, what's an automaker to do? We somehow doubt that LP640s and Reventons will be showing up in rental fleets, and there's no such thing as incentives when it comes to supercars, so that strategy's out, too. Extra-special editions of the already special Italian cars, like the Murcielago SV and Superleggera versions of both vehicles should entice more buyers to pony up. If that doesn't work, they could always have a "push, pull or tow" event.

Follow the read link for a Google-translated version of the original story.

[Source: Caradisiac]

If we needed any more convincing that you can find more delicious things on eBay than old movies and great deals on ecco golf spikes, this auction would have done the trick. AutoHaus in Los Gatos, Calif. is auctioning off this flippin' fanTAStic restored 1968 Ferrari Miura P400 (for Posteriore 4 litre) with apparent SV upgrades done by a retired pilot who owned the vehicle. The eBay summary says the vehicle has a mere 44,000 miles on the odometer, but a magazine article included in the listing pegs it at 66K.

The Miura is powered by Lamborghini's 3.9L V12, which was also used in the 400GT. Unlike the latter, the engine is mounted transversely in the Miura and produces 350 HP. Frank Sinatra, who owned a 1970 Miura P400SV, remarked, "If you want to be famous, drive a Ferrari! If you are famous, drive a Miura."

At the time this was written, the current bid was $135,100.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

The Italian Post Office is honoring one of the country's most well-known brands, Lamborghini, by offering a commemorative stamp in its honor.

The 85-euro-cent stamp will hit post offices first in Lamborghini's hometown, Sant'Agata Bolognese, before it is offered at offices throughout the country. The campaign is part of Italy's recent efforts to pay homage to the country's greatest moments and products.

The stamp features Lamborghini's golden bull against a black shield background, which looks very similar to the badge affixed to the much-celebrated Lamborghini Miura, built between 1966 and 1973. Any tribute to that masterpiece would surely find a spot in our stamp collection -- if we had one.

[Source: Italy magazine via German Car Blog]

For the 1968 Brussels Motor Show, legendary design house Bertone took the wraps off of the Lamborghini Miura Roadster. The Miura, one of the earliest exotic supercars, was first unveiled at Turin in 1965 with a body designed by Nuccio Bertone, so who better than him to chop off the roof? Like other Lambo roadsters since, the Bertone Miura was really more of a targa, only while the modern-day Murcielago Roadster's roof might be a pain and a half to put up, at least it has a roof. Bertone's Miura Roadster never had one at all.

While the design was copied by many, only one authentic example was ever produced. The roadster version of the Miura never saw production, and the prototype was sold to a metal consortium as a publicity showcase. It changed hands several times since then, at one time joining the collection at the Boston Museum of Transportation. Now it's fallen into the hands of one lucky collector by the name of Adam Gordon, who recently purchased the prototype raging bull for an undisclosed sum. The New York real estate developer is undertaking a two-year restoration project to bring it back up to original spec.

You can bet Gordon paid big for this car, hailed as the rarest Lamborghini of all time, and will have spent even more by the time the restoration is complete.

[Source: Lamborghini Cars via German Car Blog]

Before there were the Lamborghinis of today, who's styling is an acquired taste, there were cars that were universally acknowledged as strikingly handsome. Now, you can own a piece of Lambo history and get one of the last not-so-hideous Lambos before they put all their chips behind the Countach and it's successors. For those of you who love the Miura, we know that the Urraco, Silhouette and Jalpa aren't quite the pinnacle, but they're still a darn sight better than the scissor doors, ridiculous scoops and space capsule styling of the Countach, which was sold alongside these cars. We're not sure how a development mule from an Italian manufacturer would end up in the frozen reaches of Alberta, but this is one very special Lamborghini. The Silhouette itself is rare, but this is a one-of-a-kind. The price right now is up to 55K, get your bids in now for Christmas!

Thanks to tipster Robert!

[Source: eBay]

Pistonheads claims that they've been hearing rumors from sources they trust that Lamborghini is planning to greenlight the Miura as a limited-production halo car, a la the Enzo, Carrera GT, SLR, etc.

If the rumor becomes reality, the thought is that Lambo would use the architecture from the forthcoming Audi R8 supercar and power it with a juiced-up version of the 6.2L V12 used in the Murcielago. Speculation sure is fun, isn't it?

It'd be nice to see. The Miura Concept, while not as jaw-droppingly beautiful as the car it pays homage to (very few cars are), is a stunner and an excellent modern interpretation of the classic. It's also probably not unreasonable to think that certain people at Lamborghini are irked knowing that the Audi Brand Group's next biggest attention-grabber is going to be the R8, and not a car wearing the raging bull on its hood.

A limited-run of few hundred world-class Miuras would fix that in a hurry.

[Source: Pistonheads]

The updates on who's bringing what to this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed continue to come in, the latest being from Automobili Lamborghini.

In the Cartier Style et Luxe paddock, examples of the utterly breathtaking classic Lamborghini Miura (above) will be on display. They'll be joined by the magnificently retro 2006 Miura Concept that was unveiled at this year's Detroit Auto Show. The concept is a wonderful homage  that puts a modern spin on the near-perfect design of the original cars. Sadly, there are no plans to build it.

Speaking of modern Lamboirghinis, the first spanky-new Murcielago LP640 in the UK will be on hand to make the hill climb with -- this is the fun part -- Lambo test driver Valentino Balboni behind the wheel. At Lamborghini gatherings where Mr. Balboni is present, he is treated like a rock star, and rightly so. When Balboni drives a Lamborghini, it is like watching a magician. He can wring performance out of the cars that will leave onlookers slack-jawed. The Top Gear clip of Balboni working over a Diablo VT with Jeremy Clarkson riding shotgun is a personal favorite (I've embedded it after the jump).

To see the video is to love Valentino Balboni. Watch it and you'll understand. As far as Goodwood is concerned, the fans will be in for a treat when that man rolls the Murcielago up to the starting line.

(Video, Photos, press release after the jump)

[Source: Lamborghini