Lamborghini Fully Restores The Legendary One-Off Miura SVR

With only 763 examples produced between 1966 and 1972, the Lamborghini Miura is one of the rarest and most sought-after classic supercars. This one, however, is even more special, because it's the only Miura of its kind in the world. After painstakingly restoring a Miura P400 to its former glory, Lamborghini has revealed a fully restored Miura SVR. Presented during a special event hosted at Japan's Nakayama Circuit, the one-off Miura SVR has been painstakingly rebuilt by specialists at Polo Storico, Lamborghini's restoration department.

Originally, the car left Lamborghini's factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, as a Miura S finished in green with a black interior. It was displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1968 before being delivered to a Lamborghini dealer in Turin later the same year. After changing owners six times, the car was bought by German Heinz Straber in 1974, who took it back to Sant'Agata to have it transformed into a one-off SVR inspired by the fabled Jota developed by Lamborghini test driver Bob Wallace. After Wallace's Jota was destroyed in an accident, strong customer demand led to Lamborghini building a few Miura SVJ models and the one-off Miura SVR.

The conversion took 18 months of additional work. Once completed, the car was sold to Hiromitsu Ito from Japan, where it "caused quite a sensation" and inspired the Circuit Wolf manga comic book series. As a result of the Miura SVR's popularity in Japan, Tokyo-based model car company Kyosho also launched a series of scaled Miura SVRs. "The full restoration took 19 months and required a different approach to the way we normally work," Paolo Gabrielli, Lamborghini Head of After Sales and Director of the Polo Storico, explained. "The original production sheet wasn't of much help, as we relied mostly on the specifications from the 1974 modifications.

"The challenge for the Polo Storico team was even more daunting as the car arrived in Sant'Agata in pieces, although the parts were all there, and with considerable modifications. The only variations on the original specifications were the addition of 4-point safety belts, more supportive seats and a removable roll bar. These were expressly requested by the customer and are intended to improve safety during the car's racetrack exhibitions."