THE BIRTH OF the supercar can be traced to the moment sixty years ago when high-performance cars evolved from fast grand tourers into extreme, purpose-built machines focused on speed, design, and exclusivity. Most historians trace this “birth” to the mid-1960s — and especially to one iconic car.
The Lamborghini Miura P400 (Posteriore 4 litri), which first turned a wheel in 1966, is widely considered the first true supercar. Other possible claims for this title that were available at the same time include the Ford GT40 Mark II, the road-going version of the famous GT40 that finished 1-2-3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the Ferrari Dino 206 GT, the Shelby Cobra 427, and the Porsche 906 Carrera 6; however, all these were really just developments of current racing cars. The Miura was only ever built for the road.
With its smooth, gorgeous sounding V12 engine placed behind the driver for better balance and the exotic styling by Marcello Gandini at Bertone, the Miura was designed purely for speed and spectacle — not practicality. The Miura set the blueprint for nearly every supercar that followed.
Before the Miura, cars like the front engined Ferrari 250 GTO were incredibly fast, but they were more about racing pedigree than radical design. After the Miura, the supercar category exploded with cars like the Ferrari Daytona in 1968 and of course the Lamborghini Countach which took futuristic design to extremes. And then the Porsche 911 Turbo brought turbocharging into the spotlight. Nothing though comes close to Miura’s unique style.
Supercars have always been about extreme speed with bold, eye-catching designs and limited production and exclusivity. If you acquired your credentials for membership of the supercar owners club, you wanted a car with cutting-edge engineering and luxurious interiors that boasted fine leather and an array of multiple gauges on the dashboard. You were not expecting to carry much luggage and there was little room for shopping. These cars were all about making the statement: I’ve arrived, and I don’t care who knows it!
The supercar genre isn’t just about speed though — it’s about a shift in philosophy. When Lamborghini unveiled the Miura at the Geneva Motor Show on 10th March 1966, it completely changed what a high-performance car could be. It created the idea of the “exotic dream car” and ultimately every modern supercar — from Ferraris to McLarens to Paganis and Koenigseggs, every one of them follows the Miura’s blueprint.
Just 763 Miura P400s were built between 1966 and 1973 including the 400 S, the 400 SV, and the six 400 SVJs. The P400 Miura was conceived by the Lamborghini engineers Gian Paolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, and the project was given the go-ahead by company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini as a radical departure from front-engined V12 Lamborghini 350 and 400. The first, rather hurriedly built, bare chassis debuted at the 1965 Turin Auto Show. Then the finished car, with its body designed by Marcello Gandini at Carrozzeria Bertone, was unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, and it shocked the industry and public alike with its compact, mid-engine layout and sculptural aerodynamic lines.
The Miura’s 3.9-liter V12 engine, designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, was mounted transversely behind the seats, sharing its lubrication system with the gearbox as in the previous Lamborghini 400 GT. Power ranged from 350 hp in the first P400 to 385 hp in the final SV, which also adopted separate engine and gearbox lubrication, wider rear tires, and reinforced suspension. With a 0–60 mph time of about 6.7 seconds, and a top speed of over 170 mph, it was the fastest production car of its era.
The Miura caught everyone’s attention with its distinctive ultra-low silhouette (just 1.5 inches taller than the famously low Ford GT40), pop-up headlights with distinctive “eyelashes,” and its signature louvered engine cover. The eyelashes themselves have an interesting story as they were initially added to disguise the Miura’s Fiat 850 Spider-sourced headlights that were used on the first prototype, thus creating a uniquely artistic look. They were only removed on the final SV model in 1971 to simplify the rather time-consuming manufacturing process, but that deletion resulted in a less fussy, cleaner front end. The unique exception was just one SV model which was the personal car of Ferruccio Lamborghini himself. The eyelashes contributed hugely to the Miura’s reputation as a 1960s stylistic masterpiece, giving the car a “happy smiling” face, much like every one of the Miura’s proud owners.
The Miura matched the swinging 60s atmosphere of the time, especially in Europe where they were owned by musical celebrities such as Rod Stewart and Miles Davis, as well as motoring royalty like Briggs Cunningham and “real” royalty like the Shah of Iran. The car was of course immortalized in the 1969 film The Italian Job, driven on the St. Bernard Pass by actor Rossano Brazzi along with the iconic soundtrack of On Days Like These, sung by Matt Monro. Is there a better piece of music to go driving with? And no, the production team didn’t hurl the driving-car off the mountain! The actual car that was destroyed was a made-up chassis with a previously damaged body that was found at the Sant’Agata factory.
The Miura’s huge success brought Lamborghini to the forefront of the motoring world and finally established Ferruccio Lamborghini’s dream of competing head-to-head with his great Italian rival, Enzo Ferrari. What is now widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever made defined the visual and mechanical DNA of every V12 Lamborghini that followed in its wake.
Every Lamborghini driving on the road today owes its very existence to the legendary Lamborghini Miura which celebrates its 60th birthday this year. Happy birthday to the Miura and many, many happy returns!
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