Miura P400 (Italy, 1966)

Lamborghini’s high performance sports car Miura was launched in 1966 at the Geneva Motor Show and produced until 1972. As a mid-engined 2-seater model, the Miura set a trend amongst similar models from other brands.

Ferruccio Lamborghini, a Taurus man extremely fascinated by bulls, named the Miura after the legendary Spanish bull breeder Don Antonio Miura and its ranch, where the bulls are said to have a memorable attack instinct.

Lamborghini unveiled its Miura model at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show and started producing the car that year. Lamborghini had earlier shown to the public the roots of what would later be the Miura, at the 1965 Turin Motor Show, where only the chassis was exposed. Not until the following year did the Miura come out as a ready-to-drive car.

Until this model’s production ceased in 1972, 764 Lamborghini Miuras were manufactured and several upgrades and improvements were made to the car, generating a few versions of the Miura. The first Miura cars were the P400 variants.

The Lamborghini Miura is powered by a 3.9-liter Lamborghini V12 rear mid-engine.
The earliest variant of this rear-wheel drive car produced 345 hp and achieved a top speed of 171 mi/h (276 km/h), while the latest upgrade made the car produce up to 380 hp and achieve up to 179 mi/h (288 km/h).
The Miura is driven by a 5-speed manual transmission.

Miura’s buyers can choose between a coupe and a roadster car when they acquire this 2-door, 2-seat car.
Lamborghini Miura’s peculiar doors actually look more like a bull's horns when they are opened wide.
Car designer Marcello Gandini, from Bertone, was the man chosen to create the Miura. He would keep on conceiving cars for Lamborghini after the Miura.

Technically, the Lamborghini Miura is the world’s first “Supercar”, as renowned automobile journalist L.J.K. Setright used this word for the first time when he was writing his review about this car.
On their 2004 “Top Sports Cars of All Time” list, automotive magazine Sports Car International ranked the Miura in fourth.