Lamborghini Miura reached 300 kilometers per hour. Really?

Great works don’t have to be perfect. Sometimes their flaws highlight their qualities to turn them into masterpieces. As evidenced by the Lamborghini Miura, for which everything has already been said and written. The one who invented everything. First a big car, the first production car with a central (and transverse) rear engine, was also the first that tried to compete with the unsinkable Ferrari. It was also the fastest in the world, advertised at 300 kilometers per hour. But is it true that one day has reached this speed?

Three fairies build it

At his birth, three fairies leaned over his cradle. Marcello Gandini, a young 27-year-old designer employed by Bertone, Gianpaolo Dallara, an engineer who only dreams of racing and Paolo Stanzani who tries to coordinate the ideas of the first two. Not to mention Bob Wallace, a New Zealand tester and developer. They all work under the curious eye of Ferrucio Lamborghini who wants to forget the failure of half of the first car.Lamborghini cars released in 1965: 350 GT.

Two years later, at the Geneva Motor Show, the Miura was unveiled. Gandini’s lines are amazing. The brilliant Italian, who neglected aerodynamics, only remembering the pieces of cotton placed on the model and taking pictures to confirm, simply, the validity of his choice, drew visual water lines that had never been seen before.

Improvement? The car was created in just four months, and technically, if it is revolutionary, it is not completely perfect. The 350 hp V12 is there, but the car is uncomfortable, poorly ventilated, and visibility on board is almost nil except to the front. Like the TP 400 chassis, it is weak. However, it is offered to reach 280 km / h in its first version. And who? By what permission? No one knows anything about it and is just relying on Ferrucio’s word. French magazine Competition car however it will test and time it in this year 1967. But it only reaches 268 kilometers per hour. This is huge at the moment, but not to the extent of Italy’s claims.

No problem, at Sant’Agata we are developing the evolution of the machine: the Miura S with more power, 370 hp, with reinforced brakes and a modified and revised chassis. So improved, the Italian jewel should reach 300 km / h, that’s for sure. It’s 1968 and it’s about time: Competition car prepares his number 100 and displays it internally A a good car measured at this speed beats. Take to the Italian highway for one last test.

José Rozinski, the magazine’s star tester, drives the wheel. The weather is good, but the annoying wind is increasing. Rozinski will write “After reaching 288.6 km/h at 7,800 rpm, I left it there cautiously, as the Miura S was difficult to handle. » And while the driver and journalist, who also commented on the F1 Grands Prix for TF1, explains that the Miura is “showed hold”we take his word for it, because it means that it is absolutely impossible “having” for the average driver.

don’t worry, Competition car will headline the cover of his number 100: Miura 288 km/h. And no one will blame the beautiful Italian for cheating a little. We forgive stars everything, even when they play divas.