2006 Lamborghini P400 Miura Concept
Amongst Lamborghini enthusiasts, the Miura is considered one of the most beautiful Lambos ever made, let alone, one of the most beautiful cars ever made. It was Lamborghini’s first mid-engined car, the world’s first mid-engine production car and, conceivably, was the birth of what’s now known as the supercar.
The original Miura came to being in the 1960s just prior to the outrageous wedges, bulging flares, outlandish wings and vertical scissor doors of cars like the Countach and slightly more understated Diablo. Though it’s difficult to believe, 2006 marks the 40th anniversary of the timeless Miura, which was launched at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show by its creators, Ferruccio Lamborghini and Nuccio Bertone, and in celebration Lamborghini built a one-off concept called the P400 Miura.
Would it surprise you that the man in charge of styling Lambo’s most recent cars, the Murciélago and the Gallardo, owns a Miura? No? Well, that’s irrelevant, as the man behind the look and shape of the Miura Concept is Walter de’Silva, not Luc Donckerwolke who de-Silva replaced as head of Centro Stile Lamborghini, Lamborghini’s in-house design department. If the name de-Silva sounds familiar to you, that’s because de’Silva has also led design projects within other Volkswagen Auto Group brands, including Seat (Volkswagen’s Spanish division) and most recently, Audi. In fact, de’Silva was responsible for such dramatic changes in design as the ’single-frame’ trapezoidal grille on all new Audis. However, where de’Silva looked to forge new designs and create distinction on Audis and Seats, he’s paid homage to the Lamborghini’s storied past in modernizing the Miura.
(Photo gallery on Page 5)