Miura

This has to be one of the greatest opening scenes ever. The beautiful 1967 Lamborghini Miura flying through the Alps, the song composed by Quincy Jones with vocals by Matt Munro, the cigarette dangling and sunglasses, the way the credits ease in from the right. Unmistakably Italian and original. Of course my favorite part is hearing the engine noise from the powerful V12 Miura engine shift change.

The Miura you see at the very beginning is actually a new one that was later sold. The production team couldn't afford the hefty price tag to crash the new Miura so the one shown crashed is a new shell placed on a damaged chassis which was refurbished after a fatal car crash that killed the owner, an Arab prince.


Miles Davis, 1969 with red, Lamborghini Miura

The Miura, (pronounced me-you-rra) was named after a Spanish ranch famed for its ferocious bulls. After the vehicles unveiling at the Turin Motor Show in 1965 it quickly became the "rock star of sports cars" with heart thumping performance, acrobatic suspension and exotic good-looks.

Jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis was known to stash his .357 Magnum handgun under the seat of his Miura and terrorize the streets at high-speeds often outrunning police cars and scarring his passengers. He later crashed his Miura in 1972 "breaking both of his ankles and immediately ordering another". Frank Sinatra had his upholstered in tanned wild boar skin with orange metallic paint and matching shag orange carpet interior.


Frank Sinatra's Lamborghini Miura 400s


1968 Lamborghini Miura p400