Presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966, the Lamborghini Miura P400 introduced a production road car with a transversely mounted V12 positioned behind the passenger compartment. Designed by Marcello Gandini for Bertone, it combined an exceptionally low body with distinctive headlight “eyelashes” and engineering influenced by racing practice. Its 3.9-liter engine produced 350 CV at 7,000 rpm and drove the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. The Miura quickly became one of the defining cars of its era, helping establish the modern idea of the supercar: a road-going machine built around an exotic mid-engine layout, dramatic styling, and performance that had previously been associated mainly with competition vehicles.
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History
The Miura originated with a rolling chassis project developed in the mid-1960s by Gian Paolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani, and Bob Wallace. The P400 chassis was shown at the Turin Motor Show in 1965 before Carrozzeria Bertone clothed it in a body designed by Marcello Gandini. The complete car appeared at Geneva in March 1966 as the Miura P400; the letter “P” referred to the rear engine position, while “400” indicated an approximately four-liter displacement. Lamborghini chose a transverse layout for the V12 to keep the wheelbase compact, integrating the engine and gearbox into a tightly packaged unit. The arrangement created engineering challenges but gave the Miura its unmistakable mechanical character. Early orders exceeded the expectations of Ferruccio Lamborghini and Nuccio Bertone. Production began in 1966, and the original P400 remained the foundation of the range until the arrival of the more powerful and better-equipped P400 S.
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The Miura’s bare chassis was shown in Turin in 1965, one year before the finished car appeared at Geneva. The design also attracted the attention of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, which included the car in an automotive exhibition during the 1960s. A Miura later featured in the opening sequence of the British film “The Italian Job,” released in 1969, reinforcing its public image as one of the era’s most dramatic road cars.
Production
Lamborghini states that 265 P400 Miuras were produced between 1966 and 1968. The P400 S followed with 338 cars built from 1969 to 1971, while the SV reached 150 examples between 1971 and 1973. Historical totals can differ depending on how transitional cars and special versions are counted, but the P400’s production remained very limited by mass-production standards. Its small output, complex mechanical layout, and Bertone bodywork helped make the early Miura an especially significant collector car. The 1966 P400 is particularly important because it represents the original production specification from which the later S and SV versions evolved.
Press reception
The Miura received an exceptional response when it was shown at Geneva in 1966. Lamborghini records that orders arrived quickly, surprising both Ferruccio Lamborghini and Nuccio Bertone. The Petersen Automotive Museum describes the car as one of the earliest road-going mid-engine automobiles to achieve genuine supercar status, while Gandini’s design is widely regarded as a landmark in automotive styling. The press response was not based on speed alone. The transverse V12 layout, extremely low proportions, and Bertone bodywork gave the P400 a technical and visual unity that was unusual for a production road car at the time.
Evolution
The 1966 P400 was the first production stage of the Miura family. In 1968, the P400 S raised output to 370 CV and added improvements to comfort, trim, and selected chassis components. The Miura SV, introduced in 1971, represented a more substantial development, with wider tracks, enlarged rear wheel arches, revised suspension, and separate lubrication for the gearbox. Lamborghini lists the SV at 385 CV. The original P400 nevertheless remains the defining version of the early Miura: its compact proportions, headlight eyelashes, and relatively restrained equipment give it a particularly pure character compared with the later S and SV derivatives.
Variants
The Miura range began with the P400, introduced in 1966 with a transversely mounted 3.9-liter V12 producing 350 CV. The P400 S, launched in 1968, retained the basic architecture while adding more power, a more refined interior, and chassis-related improvements. The P400 SV arrived in 1971 with wider rear bodywork and further suspension development. Lamborghini also identifies several special cars, including four SVJ examples derived from the Jota prototype and a unique Miura Spyder created by Bertone. These cars should be distinguished from the 1966 base P400, which represents the founding version and the most straightforward form of the regular production Miura.
