With considerable wealth accumulated from early success manufacturing low-cost tractors, Ferruccio Lamborghini assembled an enviable design team and opened his factory doors in 1963. Very soon afterwards surely every young self-respecting petrol-head would be adorning their bedroom wall with the recently launched Lamborghini Miura – such graceful lines, so tremendously fast, and really ridiculously expensive! Each of the 763 Miuras manufactured from 1966 to 1973 deserve a place in automotive history.

Among them, all now collectors’ items, there is one special car indeed because it made history when it appeared in the opening scene of the 1969 movie The Italian Job, considered one of the most iconic British movies of all time.

Officially delivered on July 2nd, 1968 to its first private owner, the Miura with chassis number #3586 was latterly very difficult to track down, often the case with movie-star-owners. Indeed, this chassis had been the most hunted Miura for about 20 years. It was never hidden away. But nobody was able to find evidence that proved it was the car in the movie. The current owner, the Kaiser Collection in the Principality of Liechtenstein, eventually decided to send the car to Lamborghini Polo Storico in Sant’Agata Bolognese to have it inspected and received official confirmation that this was the very car used for the movie.

It was Enzo Moruzzi from Lamborghini who drove the Miura to Aosta, and on following days up and down the Great St. Bernard Pass for the crew to film it. Actor Rossano Brazzi then drove it to film the sequences where his face is visible. Matt Monro singing ‘On Days Like These’ added the final magic, propelling the ‘orange’ (formally Rosso Miura) Miura into legend.

Following the restoration performed in early 2019 by Polo Storico, which kept and just cleaned the original interior, the car won 3rd in Class at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elégance. Shortly afterwards, it was back to the Great St. Bernard Pass, 51 years later, driven by Enzo Moruzzi for a Classic & Sports Car magazine special feature (Dec. 19), just a few days ago.

Displayed courtesy of Lamborghini on behalf of Mr Fritz Kaiser from Monday 11th November to Sunday 17th November 2019.