In 1966, Lamborghini’s V12 engine officially had a special status when it was first placed in the same horizontal structure on the Miura P400 supercar. At the same time, this car is also the first car model to be called a “supercar.”
When talking about the development of the Miura car line, it is impossible not to talk about the importance of the V12 engine block. the engine that has powered iconic cars for nearly 60 years and helped shape Lamborghini’s DNA. 2022 is the final year of Lamborghini’s last pure V12 combustion engine. The pure V12 engine block used on the last car line is the Aventador Ultimae, from here ending a glorious era before launching the first Hybrid model produced in 2023.
Less than two years after Lamborghini was founded in 1963, this supercar brand was still a small company at the time but had managed to establish a solid position at the forefront of the GT car market. fraught with difficulties and the 350 GT was produced steadily. Ferruccio Lamborghini at that time had a desire to create a more beautiful car that could make everyone “admired”.
In this project, the tasks were undertaken by very young engineers at that time, Giampaolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, who were responsible for developing and producing Automobili Lamborghini cars at the time. there. A big part of Miura’s success is the 4.0-liter V12 engine block with 4 Weber 40 IDL 3L carburetors creating a maximum capacity of 350 horsepower. This is what helped Miura become the fastest commercial car in the world at that time. The outstanding design of Carrozzeria Bertone has given the car a more impressive appearance, thereby helping Miura achieve unprecedented sales levels for a Lamborghini car. Initial forecasts were that the brand would sell around 50 cars in three years, but this eventually reached 763 cars in seven years in the period from 1966 to 1973.
Engineer Paolo Stanzani (1936-2017) was one of the first people hired by Ferruccio Lamborghini to work for the brand, he was appointed immediately after graduating from the University of Modena. Stanzani was the one who took the V12 engine designed by engineer Giotto Bizzarrini and tweaked it so that this engine block could be used legally on the road. In addition, Stanzani was part of the group of young talents who developed and created the Miura. He held many different roles at Lamborghini from Technical Director to Production Director and General Director. He made important contributions to the production of models such as the Countach, Espada and Urraco.
As soon as it was introduced, Miura became a favorite car for film directors to use for their films. The car has appeared in no less than 43 movies. One of the most famous films is certainly “The Italian Job” of 1969. The Miura has appeared on the covers of dozens of car magazines and other publications for a long time. The first time this car model appeared in an international newspaper article was in November 1966.
This model has also been used by many celebrities and influential figures such as Little Tony and Rod Stewart both own it, Eddie Van Halen has used a Miura for more than 30 years and Jay Kay of Jamiroquai still owns Miura at the present time along with many other influential figures.
