1971 LAMBORGHINI Miura SV/J 3.9L V12 5MT (415 HP)

Vehicle Overview

The Miura is considered the first modern supercar of all times, and Lamborghini dared to make it as a series product, even though it was imagined only as a concept-car.

Marcello Ghandini was only 22 years old, and he was working for the Bertone Studios when he designed the Miura. Four years later, the carmaker modified the car to fit into the FIA’s Appendix J racing regulations. That led to several modifications, which made the Miura even faster, and the project was named Jota.

The Miura’s shape looks like the wind sculptured it from a block of ice. Its waved shapes over the front wheel-arches were repeated over the rear ones. Its only design flaw was that it tended to take-off at higher speeds from the aerodynamic point of view. To fix that, the team that worked on the SV/J changed the front of the car. They installed fixed headlights under clear lenses and an integrated spoiler profiled to increase the front axle’s downforce. After presenting the prototype and receiving the FIA approval, Lamborghini used some modifications to build the SV/J version in 1971 based on the Miura SV.

Inside, it was cramped, and two people could barely sit inside due to the limited headroom. The low seating position and the tall center console made things even more difficult. There was no radio in it. The transversely mounted V12 engine behind the cabin was loud enough to cover anything else. It was a screaming, 3.9-liter unit that could rev up to 8,000 rpm. The five-speed manual gearbox on the SV version was enhanced and allowed quicker and more precise gear shifts. As for performances, a 4.2 second for 0 to 62 mph (0-100 kph) was astonishing for those times. Even four decades later, it was still a respectable time.