Lamborghini Miura concept

The Lamborghini Miura concept is a 2-door coupé from Lamborghini, built from 2006, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Under the bonnet: 6498 cc LP640 V12. Walter de'Silva drew it.

Where it came from

The Lamborghini Miura Concept is a retro styled concept car introduced by Lamborghini in 2006 and built to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the original Miura concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966. Codenamed "Concept M" internally, the project began in October 2003 and was the first design to be led by Lamborghini's then new design chief, Walter de'Silva. The show car emulates the design of the original Miura, while its underpinnings are that of the more modern Murciélago. The car was first presented at the Paley Center for Media, formerly The Museum of Television & Radio, on 5 January 2006. The unveiling coincided with the Los Angeles Auto Show though it was not present at the show itself. It made its official début at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit two weeks later. Lamborghini president and CEO Stefan Winkelmann stated that the concept would not mark the Miura's return to production, saying that "the Miura was a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. Retro design is not what we are here for. So we won't do the Miura."

The Miura concept is now on display at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy.

Under the skin

Power comes from 6498 cc LP640 V12. It weighs 1490 kg. It shifts through a 6-speed e-gear automated manual. The layout matters: the engine sits behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle, which puts the mass in the middle of the car and is why mid-engined cars change direction the way they do. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

In context

Its family tree is legible: assembly was at Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Audi R8, the Nissan Qashqai, the Hyundai i30 — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Lamborghini catalogue sit the Lamborghini Calà and the Lamborghini Marco Polo.