The Lamborghini Miura turns 60 this year, and beyond the recent headline grabbing record-setting sales at the recent Amelia Island auctions, this milestone carries weight for several reasons. When it first broke cover back in 1966 at the Geneva Motor Show, it did more than introduce a new model. Founder, Ferrucio Lamborghini went from building tractors to effectively reshaping and creating an entirely new category for performance cars. The Miura is widely considered the world’s first supercar, and that reputation continues to define its place in automotive history.
The great Marcello Gandini, still a young designer at Carrozzeria Bertone at the time, under Nuccio Bertone, gave the Miura its unmistakable form. The low, flowing body featured a sharp aerodynamic line and an unusually low front profile that stood apart from anything else on the road. Beneath that sculptural surface sat a transverse mid-mounted V12 paired with fully independent suspension and tightly packaged mechanicals. The result was a new take on the performance car, both visually and mechanically, and it forced the rest of the industry, especially Ferrari, to respond.
The name itself carried meaning and set a tradition. Ferruccio Lamborghini, born under the Taurus sign and a known enthusiast of bullfighting, named the car after the Miura fighting bulls bred by Edgardo Miura Fernández. That decision established the bull as Lamborghini’s defining symbol and began a lineage of models tied to that identity for decades to come. The Miura also became a cultural object, attracting high-profile owners from royalty to global celebrities, including the King Hussein of Jordan, Frank Sinatra, and Elton John.
By 1968, Lamborghini had already evolved the platform with the Miura S. Power rose to around 370 horsepower, while suspension revisions and ventilated disc brakes improved drivability and performance. It became the most commercially successful Miura variant, but it was not the most daring development. That same year, at the Brussels Motor Show, Lamborghini and Bertone revealed something far more radical. The Miura Roadster.
If the Miura coupe created the supercar, then this one-off effectively became the world’s first mid-engine convertible supercar and this car has a fascinating story. However, this was not Lamborghini’s first open-top car, that distinction belongs to the 1965 350 GTS, and it was not the first production open-top Lamborghini either, which arrived later in 1976 with the targa-style Silhouette. However, in concept and execution, the Miura Roadster stood completely alone, pushing the boundaries of what an opentop supercar could be.
Bertone and Gandini did not simply remove the roof from a standard coupe. They re-engineered the entire car, lowering the roofline, steepening the windscreen angle, and reshaping the rear bodywork. Larger air intakes fed the V12, the rollover hoop was lowered for improved airflow, and the rear deck gained a more pronounced spoiler along with revised taillights.
The structural changes ran deeper than surface design as Bertone reinforced the chassis, strengthening the box-section side members to compensate for the loss of rigidity caused by removing the roof. Even with these changes, the car remained an uncompromising machine.
The engine became a central visual element. Unlike the coupe, which hid its V12 beneath louvered panels, the Roadster left the mid-mounted engine fully exposed. It retained the performance credentials of the Miura P400, making between 350 and 370 horsepower, which placed it among the fastest cars of its era. The exposed engine transformed the car into a mechanical showcase as much as a performance machine.
Inside, the differences continued with equal intent. Secondary switchgear, typically mounted above the rearview mirror in the coupe, was relocated to the central transmission tunnel. These changes reflected a thoughtful redesign rather than a simple conversion.
The reaction at Brussels and later at Geneva that year was overwhelming. The Miura Roadster dominated press coverage and stood out as one of the most striking concepts of its time. Ferruccio Lamborghini himself reportedly approved the design only shortly before its debut. Despite the excitement, structural limitations, particularly around rigidity and the windscreen, prevented it from entering production.
But the Miura Roadster's story took an unexpected turn soon after. In 1969, the car was sold to the International Lead and Zinc Research Organization in New York. Renamed the ZN 75, it became a demonstration platform for zinc and lead applications in automotive engineering. The car was repainted in an iridescent green finish, and numerous components were recast in zinc and alloy materials, including trim, bumpers, and even engine components.
This phase in the ZN 75s life contributed to corrosion protection methods that are now standard across modern automobiles. This unusual chapter added a layer of technical relevance to what was already a historically important vehicle.
Over the next decade, the ZN 75 traveled extensively across North America, Europe, and Asia. It appeared at major motor shows, private exhibitions, and even television programs, reaching an audience far beyond that of a typical concept car. In many ways, it became one of the most widely seen Miuras in history, albeit in a form far removed from its original design.
Decades later, the car returned to its original form, where a comprehensive restoration in 2008, brought it back to its 1968 Brussels Motor Show specification, finished in light blue metallic with white leather and red carpets. The restoration received international recognition, including honors at the 2008 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, and reaffirmed the car’s significance as a design and engineering landmark.
In retrospect, open-top Lamborghinis are now part of the brand’s identity. From the Gallardo Spyder to the Aventador Roadster, and all the way to the extreme Veneno Roadster, the formula feels established, but it was the Miura Roadster that came first. It introduced the idea, even if Lamborghini never immediately acted on it. Notably, the Countach, the car that followed the Miura and defined the poster era of supercars, never received a true factory roadster in period. That absence only strengthens the Miura Roadster’s position as an early outlier that hinted at a future the brand would eventually embrace.
That context makes Lamborghini’s latest tribute especially relevant. At the Automobili Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese, a new exhibition titled “Born Incomparable” will run from March 18, 2026 through January 2027, bringing together some of the most significant Miura variants ever created. If you're in or around the Italian Motor Valley anytime soon, this is one exhibition you don't want to miss.
The display includes the original 1965 chassis that stunned audiences before the production car even debuted. The Miura Roadster too will be shown, alongside the ultra-rare Miura SVJ, a model derived from Bob Wallace’s experimental Jota prototype and produced in extremely limited numbers, widely believed to total just four examples. The exhibit also includes the 2006 Miura Concept, a modern reinterpretation of the original under Walter de Silva's design direction, as well as the Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae Roadster Miura Omaggio, a bespoke commission.
Finished in a the same blue over white spec as the Miura Roadster, this particular car not only serves as a contemporary tribute to the Roadster’s design language but also the final Aventador off the production line.
Lamborghini will extend the celebration beyond the museum through its Polo Storico heritage division. A dedicated Miura tour will run from May 6 to May 10 across Northern Italy, beginning in Piemonte and concluding at Imola during the Lamborghini Arena festival, serving as a fitting tribute to a car that continues to define the Italian marque’s identity to this day.
Images: Lamborghini
