The Lamborghini Miura P400 SV Is the Marque’s First Million-Dollar Classic—and Its Value Keeps Climbing

With only about 150 built, it was the automaker’s first blue-chip collectible

Astonished onlookers first laid eyes on the Miura P400 at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, and with its unveiling, Lamborghini’s future classic was born. The Miura broke all the rules. It was the invention of three twenty-something visionaries—Gianpaolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani, and Bob Wallace, who worked under Ferruccio Lamborghini in the formative years of the then-new marque, founded in late 1963. Now an icon of 1960s automotive design, the Miura P400 brought fame to the then-fledgling brand.

The trio’s after-hours project conceived a mid-engine two-seater with its V-12 power plant turned sideways, situated behind the driver in a box-section chassis perforated like Swiss cheese to enhance lightness. The perfectly proportioned chassis was clothed with a body unlike any other of its day. That task was left to Bertone designer Marcello Gandini—also in his twenties—who went on to create other style-defining supercars like Lamborghini’s famed Countach and Diablo.

Those curious will want to know that the “P” in the car’s official model name stands for posterior, and refers to the placement of the engine, while “400” refers to the engine’s 4.0-liter displacement (more accurately, 3,929 cc). About 763 examples of the Miura were built from 1966 through 1973.

The Miura progressed through three model variants that began with the P400, about 275 of which were built through 1969. The P400 S was introduced toward the end of 1968, with 338 examples made through 1971. The most coveted, though, is the P400 SV, with about 150 examples constructed from 1971 through 1973. The “SV” in the Miura’s name stands for Superveloce, which translates to “high-speed” or “super-fast,” and with a velocity exceeding 170 mph, the SV was the hypercar of its era.

I present the Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Kyosho: