In November 1965, at the Turin Motor Show, the crowds flocked as usual to the gleaming car bodies. But that year, one object intrigued more than all the others: it wasn't a car. It's a bare chassis, brutal, almost shocking in its simplicity. A satin-finish black structure, sharpened like a racing prototype, with a V12 transversely mounted at the rear. None of the usual ornamentation of the grand salons. Just the bare mechanics.
On the LamborghiniThis steel skeleton attracts journalists, engineers and rivals, cooling their awkward silences. The Sant'Agata Bolognese brand is not presenting a new car. It's presenting an intention. And what it announces will redefine an entire automotive category. At this precise moment, nobody knows it yet. But the Miura had just experienced its first moment of glory, a year before it even existed.
Three young men against the certainties of Ferruccio Lamborghini
There's no board of directors or marketing plan behind this thunderbolt. There are three enthusiasts barely out of their teens: Giampaolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani and Bob Wallace. Engineers and test drivers, they dream of competition, of radical innovation, of a mid-engined Lamborghini like the race cars.vThe problem? Pragmatic founder Ferruccio Lamborghini doesn't want to hear about racing. His brand should embody luxury, not the racetrack. But the three men make an almost insolent decision: if Lamborghini doesn't go racing, then the competition will go to production cars.
So, in secret, they came up with the L105 project. A compact architecture, conceived around a crazy idea for a road car: install a 4-liter V12 in a central rear position, mounted transversely, like in Formula 1. When they finally presented their project to Ferruccio, he hesitated... then agreed. A historic decision.
A prototype that wasn't even a car
The chassis presented in Turin in 1965 is not rolling. It has no bodywork. It looks more like a Brutalist work of art than an automobile. Manufactured by Marchesi in Modena, it adopts a steel structure just 0.8 mm thick, cut and lightened to the extreme, weighing in at just 120 kilos.
The technical architecture is completely new: double wishbone suspension, Girling disc brakes, Borrani spoked wheels, engine and gearbox integrated into a single compact unit. And above them, the twelve horns of the Weber carburetors erect their vertical silhouettes. Journalists speak of a "racing car skeleton". The public is fascinated. No engine. Without bodywork. But the Miura became the star of the show.
Bertone, the meeting that transformed her into an icon
Most ironic of all? The Miura doesn't even have a face yet. The chassis arrives in Turin without bodywork, due to a lack of agreement with the Touring coachbuilder, who finally declined for financial reasons. Pininfarina was already booked. And then, almost at the last minute, Nuccio Bertone appears. Ferruccio Lamborghini greeted him humorously: "You're the last coachbuilder to arrive." Bertone examines the chassis and utters a phrase that has become legendary: he promises "a perfect shoe for that wonderful foot".
While the factory closed for Christmas, his teams worked in the shadows. In just a few weeks, the first sketches are produced. They are so bold, so sensual, so fluid, that the project is approved without modification.
Geneva 1966: the Miura is born
In March 1966, at the Geneva Motor Show, the transformation was complete. The satin-black skeleton had become a masterpiece, with wide hips, eyelash-beating headlights and a feline profile ready to pounce. The Lamborghini Miura P400 is unveiled to the world. It's not just fast. It's ultimate. Mechanical exoticism, stylistic audacity, racing architecture... no other manufacturer had dared to do this for a road car. And very quickly, a word appeared in the British press to describe it. A new word: "Supercar".
In 2026, Lamborghini will celebrate the Miura for an entire year with events, exhibitions and an official tour orchestrated by Polo Storico. A mechanical pilgrimage to honor the car that not only made history. Will the brand dare to create a concept or limited edition for the occasion? We hope so!
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