This Unrestored Lamborghini Miura Could Fetch $2.5 Million at Auction

In 2016, I had the privilege of sitting next to renowned automotive designer Marcello Gandini at a dinner hosted by Lamborghini in celebration of the 50th anniversary of its iconic Miura. We talked, through an Italian interpreter, about coachbuilder Bertone’s first design for the Raging Bull marque in 1966, penned by the then-28-year-old Gandini. To my surprise, he humbly confessed to having some reservations about a few details of what is, inarguably, the most beautiful Lamborghini ever made. Imagine Leonardo saying, “Her mouth was a little crooked, actually,” in reference to his Mona Lisa masterwork.

With that, and other insights, I gained an even greater appreciation for the car that has never failed to make me swoon since first seeing one in 1967. That’s likely the same effect it has on every car enthusiast, and that’s before one even turns the key. In 1970, the Road & Track team achieved a top speed of 168 mph in a Miura, faster than any car the magazine had ever tested to that point.

Followers know that the lineage of the Lamborghini Miura takes a series of twists and turns, beginning with the P400, followed by the P400 S, and finally the P400 SV, with a few SVJs at the end thrown in for good measure. Altogether, about 764 examples of the model were built, and now each surviving one is an historic treasure among Italian classics. Half a century on, the majority of these early supercars have been fussed with and fettled within an inch of their lives, some impeccably restored, some surviving in near-original condition, and most in various states of functionality.

The dream of any collector is to discover a previously unknown example—the quintessential “barn find”—thick with dust and dents, but basically complete and ready for life to be breathed back into the silent machine. Coming to Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Auctions, on August 17 and 18, is one such Miura, a P400 S that offers a rare opportunity to acquire a fundamentally original car.

The S version, launched at the 1968 Turin Motor Show, featured improvements to the original P400, most importantly, a more rigid chassis and, later, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes, along with some cosmetic enhancements. A total of 338 examples were built between 1968 and 1971, when it was replaced by the P400 SV. This Miura, chassis No. 4614, was completed in July of 1970, assigned Bertone production No. 520 and body No. 620. The color is Luci del Bosco Metallizzato (Light of the Woods) with Gobi (beige) vinyl upholstery and cloth seat inserts. It’s hard to envision a more appropriate—and appealing—color combination in the era of gold shag carpet and Harvest Gold appliances.

Sold new in Italy, it was exported to the United States in the early 1980s. By the middle part of that decade, it was placed in static storage—not in the garage, but in the living room of the owner’s modest home in East Rockaway, N.Y. (Who of us in love with an automobile hasn’t imagined doing just that?) Remaining there until 2024, it was carefully extracted—requiring the demolition of interior walls—and sold to the current consignor. 

Never restored, exhibited, or offered for public sale, chassis No. 4614 is effectively a lost Miura, now discovered. (Think of archaeologist Howard Carter unearthing the treasures of King Tut’s tomb.) The car’s whereabouts unknown until its recent discovery, this is a true barn-find Miura, one that will doubtless receive “recommissioning” to a greater or lesser degree, ranging from “sympathetic” to a full concours-level restoration. The V-12 engine, No. 30531, is the matching-numbers unit per factory records, and the car’s odometer shows just over 42,000 kilometers (approximately 26,100 miles).

Despite some in-period repaint, much is original, along with glass, trim, lights, and badging. The Gold Campagnolo cast alloy wheels still wear period Pirelli Cinturato CN12 tires, rare (though unusable) relics of the past. The well-preserved interior offers an opportunity to retain original finishes and fabrics. Other Italian delicacies include Automobile Club d’Italia registration records, the original Italian registration plate, a factory-original parts book, and reproductions of the owner’s manual and service manual. 

The time-capsule Miura on offer has an estimated value ranging between $2 million and $2.5 million. The buyer, though, should anticipate that restoring the vehicle could add another $500,000-plus to the privilege of owning a Lamborghini whose history and provenance simply cannot be made up.

Click here for more photos of this unrestored 1970 Lamborghini Miura.