First established back in 1950 the world-renowned Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is now one of the most prestigious classic car shows. To help celebrate the most iconic GT of the 1960s the show has a dedicated Lamborghini Miura class. Only have Lamborghini Miura’s have been accepted to show in the class in this year’s 59th edition of the car show.
According to the Lamborghini experts at Warren Henry Lamborghini (Davie, FL), the Miura holds the title of being the first super sports car of the modern age and was first introduced to the world at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show. The Miura hit the markets with a transversally mounted 4 liter V12 mid-engine which features 4 overhead cams. The innovative design and engineering of the Miura led the supercar to be the fastest production car of that period. Between 1966 and 1973 in Sant’Agata BologneseLamborghini built 763 Miuras that are all known considered to be the most desirable classic cars in the world.
The five Miura’s on display at the 59th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
1967 Miura P400 chassis #3087
The 1967 Miura P400 chassis #3087 which is the 22nd out of the original production series of 25 was first owned by legendary Swiss race car driver Karl Foitek in June of 1967. Foitek owned the car up until 1972 when he sold it to John Middleton who lived in Lake Forest, Illinois. The 1967 Miura P400 stayed in Middleton’s possession for the next 40 years until ownership of the P400 passed over to Tom and Gwen Price of Belvedere, California. The Price’s who are the current owners of the car had the P400 restored by a Lamborghini expert in October of 2018.
1968 Miura P400 chassis #3303
The 101st Miura P400, the 1968 Miura P400 chassis #3303, was first owned by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah specifically ordered the P400 with a special steering wheel, a chrome-plated front bumper, and several other cosmetic changes. Equipped with special stud tires the P400 was delivered in the snow to the Shah at his home in St. Moritz. The P400 was then sold in 1979, right before the Shah’s downfall during the Iranian revolution. Before the P400 was smuggled out of the county it was confiscated by Ayatollah Khomeini’s government. Once it was out of the country the P400 was owned by the Shah’s sons for the next three decades. In 2018 the P400 saw a complete restoration and then was bought by the current owners Jon and Kim Sherley of Medina, Washington.
1968 Miura P400 chassis #3586
Before the 1968 Miura P400 was owned by anyone it was first used and driven by actor Rossano Brazzi in the opening scene of Michael Cain’s infamous film The Italian Job which was released on June 2nd, 1969. Paramount production executives chose chassis #3585 to match the color of a Miura that was badly damaged in the move’s crushing scene. Once filming finished the surviving Miura was then delivered to the Italian Lamborghini dealer Zani. The P400 was then sold to its first owner in July of 1968 and went on to be apart of different collections in Italy, Japan, and the UK. The P400 is currently owned by The Kaiser Collection which has been certified as the car from The Italian Job was restored by Lamborghini Polo Storico in 2019.
1972 Miura P400 SV chassis #3673
The 1972 Miura P400 SV chassis #3673 which is one of only 150 Miura SV ever manufactured wears a 1968 chassis number of a totaled and dismantled P400, at the bequest of former RAF pilot Captian Arthur Machin who wanted to avoid the import duty of a new car being delivered to South Africa. One of the last Miura’s assembled was delivered in November of 1972 to the Captian in South Africa where it spent the next 30 years. The P400 SV then made its way over to the States in 2001 and was then sold to famous rally driver, President of the FIA, and Ferrari Formula One team boss, Mr. Jean Todt in 2016. Two years later the car was restored by Lamborghini Polo Storico.
1968/1975 Miura SVR chassis #3781
The one-off 1968/1975 Miura SVR was built by the factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese in 1975. The car started its life as a Miura S and was shown at the 1968 Turin Motor Show. Heinz Steber bought the car in 1974 and brought it back to the factory and asked them to build him a special racing Miura. After 18 months of work, the car was returned to Steber in 1975. Steber later sold it to a Japanese collector. The current owner Shinji Takei had Lamborghini Polo Storico return the car to its 1975 glory in 2016.
