1968 Lamborghini Miura P400

A legend was born with the launch of the Gandini designed Lamborghini Miura at the Geneva Salon in 1966. The new supercar sent jaws dropping and no car looked even remotely similar.

Although not finished in time to make the Geneva debut, the mid-mounted 3.9-litre V12 would later be revealed to be transversely positioned. In an era where Ferrari and Aston Martin were, to a large extent, recycling the same old parts in their latest offerings the Miura was to set the standard for future supercars.

The Sant'Agata factory order book quickly began to fill, marketed with a cleverly orchestrated inaugural public appearance at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix and a starring role in the opening sequence of The Italian Job to the soundtrack of "On Days Like These' by Matt Monro resulting in a generations' desire to be behind the wheel of a Miura in the Italian Alps...

Although the company was still in its infancy, it didn't create the supercar genre with modesty and the car hit the showrooms with a price of around $20,000. Bought by Hollywood legends like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra many of the worlds' top-flight racing drivers also found the 170mph Miura enticing.

Just 474 P400 Miuras were built between 1966 and 1970, with successive "S' and "SV' models continuing production through until 1973. This example was supplied new to France, and showed a mileage of just 26,350kms (16,337 miles) on the sales invoice to the last owner in 2001. Since this time, a further 27,806kms (17,240 miles) have been added.Upon its arrival in the UK, the decision was made to carefully preserve as much as possible, yet the original matching-numbers engine was stripped, inspected and subjected to a full rebuild as required. The opportunity was also taken at this time to convert to the late SV split sump specification. Similarly, the interior was treated to a complete retrim in Italy, with the beautiful black leather perfectly complementing the yellow exterior. The resulting car is irresistible.

A set of new, wider, SV wheels were added ahead of successfully taking part in the Miura's 45th anniversary tour, surprising the SV models by matching their speed during the spirited alpine driving. An uprated aluminium radiator ensured all stayed cool, however, for you purists, the original radiator and wheels remain with the car.This is a rare opportunity to acquire an exceptionally original and well preserved Miura. With many of the first cars leading a hard early life it's unusual to find one in such superb condition, that's assuming you can source one at all.

Achingly beautiful from every angle the Lamborghini Miura is amongst the top collectors' pieces in the automotive arena and a must for any serious collection.