Cars with History: Lamborghini Miura Roadster

Perhaps the Lamborghini Miura is one of the most coveted dreams of any car collector worth their salt, as well as one of the most sought-after vehicles of the moment, since, without a doubt, it could be one of those timeless cars that all manufacturers look to when designing their new models.

Even so, history occasionally holds juicy surprises for us: if just yesterday we discovered how the first Porsche diesel was a tractor, today we get to uncover one of those rarities that make automotive history great, such as the only Lamborghini Miura Roadster that the Sant’Agata factory has ever built in its entire history.

Before going on, it should be said that at the time, and even in the years that followed, more than one tuner had the audacity to try to build a convertible model based on the Miura, but only one of them was built by Bertone at the express request of the company itself Lamborghini, which makes it even more valuable, if that’s possible.

Specifically, the construction of this roadster supercar was commissioned by Ferruccio Lamborghini himself from Bertone as a sign of the confidence the manufacturer had in this new design team, which, at the time, was also responsible for shaping the lines of the iconic closed Miura. So much so that Ferruccio did not want to see this rolling work of art until the day before its presentation.

Specifically, this event took place in Brussels in 1968, where not only the general public was amazed, but Ferruccio himself was thoroughly satisfied with the work of the Bertone team. Unfortunately, this vehicle could never go into production due, as is usual with all convertible models, to problems with the structural rigidity of the vehicle, specifically in the chassis and the front windscreen.

And so the poor sky-blue Miura Roadster, which had captivated so many millionaires, was left to gather dust in a warehouse in Sant’Agata until, in 1969, ILZRO, a foundation devoted to zinc, proposed to Lamborghini the creation of a modified Miura exclusively for them, something Ferruccio Lamborghini flatly refused. However, by way of compensation, Mr. Lamborghini had the brilliant idea of selling his Miura Roadster despite its structural problems.

Precisely from late 1969 throughout 1970, once the entire redesign by the zinc company was complete, the Miura Roadster, now sporting a splendid green colour with hundreds of details made of zinc, travelled to practically every motor show in North America, as well as some of the most important in Europe and Asia, such as the London, Paris and Tokyo shows.

As you can see, a little over 30 long years have passed since this whole story, during which this magnificent example has passed through the garages of several private owners and has undergone several restorations and modifications, which were sadly necessary. Finally, its proud current owner is a real estate developer from New York.

Via | miuraroadster