Thought lost to time, this Miura has finally been identified 50 years after its big screen debut in cult classic The Italian Job.
For car enthusiasts, the opening credits of the 1969 cult movie The Italian Job will forever remain iconic. A beautiful orange Lamborghini Miura flows through the Italian Alps, trumpeting its V12 tone while carving up some incredible roads. Set to Matt Monro’s ‘On Days Like These’, it’s an idyllic scene — until it meets a bulldozer hidden within a tunnel.
Thankfully, the pristine Miura wasn’t crashed for the movie, however, its whereabouts had been lost to time. Now, 50 years on, Lamborghini’s Polo Storico restoration division has rediscovered the timeless movie car.
After filming its sequence in The Italian Job, this Miura was sold just like any other. With no real records kept of its big screen past, for decades this car has passed through ownerships without the custodians truly knowing of the car's famed history. Currently part of The Kaiser Collection of Vaduz in Liechtenstein, the car was sent to Polo Storico to confirm its past once and for all.
Using its extensive historical records and testimonials from employees of the time, it was confirmed that chassis #3586 was indeed the original on-screen car. Producers from Paramount Pictures had selected an already crashed Miura for the bulldozer scene, and Lamborghini then provided a near identical new cars for the preceding sequence.
'
One of the most crucial pieces of evidence came from Enzo Moruzzi who actually delivered the car to the movie set. He recalled: ‘There was a Miura P400 almost ready on the production line, in the right color, left-hand drive and with white leather interior. It was aesthetically identical to the damaged one and we decided to use it for the film.
'The only thing worrying us was the elegant white leather seats, given that the car had to get back to Sant’Agata in perfect condition. So, I asked for them to be taken out, replacing them with a set of black leather seats that we used for testing. The giveaway was the headrests, which on the Miura are attached to the dividing glass between the driver compartment and the engine compartment, which couldn’t be replaced in time. In the film, you can see the original white headrests.’
After filming, the orange Miura P400 was sold to its first owner in the Italian capital of Rome. Its new custodian had no idea that it was the car that actor Rossano Brazzi had driven in the movie.
An incredible and well-timed discovery on the 50th anniversary of the Lamborghini Muira’s memorable movie role.
Continue the conversation on Lamborghini Chat.
