Lamborghini Miura ‘Millechiodi’ Battles Ferrari on 50th Anniversary
Named after the car’s riveted construction, fully restored Miura P400S one-off was built in tribute to one owner’s crashed Jota.
There’s nothing like a Lamborghini Miura. The first supercar with the engine behind the cabin, the transverse-mounted 3.9-liter V12 guaranteed its status at the time as the world’s fastest production road car. Italian design house Bertone gave the chassis a body to die for, flooring everyone who saw it roll by their eyes.
There have been a few special Miuras to come down the line over the brief time it could be had new, but there’s only one which became special years after leaving Sant’Agata: the Miura P400S “Millechiodi.” Geneva, Switzerland-based Kidston recently sold this special Lamborghini, but not before filming one hell of a short film with it and a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona.
This Miura first left Sant’Agata on November 17, 1969, per Kidston, originally finished in blue over black. For the next few years, it would change hands all over Italy before landing in the ownership of Milan businessman Walter Ronchi. Ronchi had once owned a special Lamborghini Jota, built and driven by engineer Bob Wallace, but in the middle of changing hands, the car was totaled.
‘The acceleration, the responsiveness, the intense sensations…it’s crazy, an extreme Miura.’
Thus, with the Miura in his possession, he had it built in tribute to both the lost Jota, and the rare Miura SVJ cars. The result was the Millechiodi, named for the riveted construction used in the special Jota and the SVJs. It was painted in British Racing Green with gold trim, and the interior was done in black leather.
“I remember this car from when it was built, but never had the chance to drive it until recently,” said retired Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni “Dio bon! The acceleration, the responsiveness, the intense sensations…it’s crazy, an extreme Miura. The restoration has been very well executed. If it needs testing again, I am available.â€
Kidston believed the Miura needed testing again, and thus called upon Balboni to go one on one with retired Ferrari factory driver Arturo Merzario in his 365 GTB/4 Daytona, mixing Italian exotics with the spaghetti western motifs pioneered by Italian film legend Sergio Leone.
Instead of pistols at dawn in the town square, Balboni and Merzario brought their respective cars to a runway outside of town. With a drop of a handkerchief, the Miura and Daytona roar off the line, passing each other all the way through the run amid the roar of V12s.
As for who won, it would be all of us who got to see two of the coolest cars duke it out on their 50th anniversary of life. Long may both of these machines run.
Photos: Kidston
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