1968 Lamborghini Miura Roadster (Bertone)

Built in 1968 by Bertone in 1968 this is how the one off show car looked with its beautiful metallic blue paint and magnolia leather interior, the same combination used on the very first 350 GTV. The car never had any form of top or side windows. It did have many detail alterations to the cockpit (note the Espada prototype steering wheel) and rear body work that gave it an interesting appearance. However, the factory had little money to pursue the development of this car and so it never went into production.

The car was sold to the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) of New York, and in 1969 was rebuilt with Bertone’s help replacing many parts with Zinc where possible: carburator velocity stacks, inlet manifolds, exhaust system, radiator, oil sump, water pump housing, all water lines, bumpers, grill, steering wheel (note difference from original), switches, door handles, shift lever, hand brake and taillights. Lead was also used as insulation under the floor and in the doors. The interior retrimed in one color, the car was repainted the car this dark metallic green color and used for publicity.

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Created by Nuccio Bertone in 1967, the one of a kind Lamborghini Miura Spyder was intended as a design exercise, aimed at keeping demand for Lamborghini’s Miura riding high. The ‘Lamborghini Bertone Miura Roadster,’ as it was officially christened made appearances at European and North American motor shows between 1968 and 1978. After being refinished and re-trimmed in 1968 the Miura Spyder was eventually passed on to the Boston Museum of Transportation in 1981, who had it refurbished and reupholstered in the mid 80"s. From there it passed on to more than a handful of different owners, a few of which did not know the historical significance of the vehicle. Ultimately, the Miura Spyder ended up in the hands of New York property developer in 2006, who at great cost, returned the Miura Spyder to its original 1968 Salon de L’Automobile Bruxelles specification. The conversion, by the Bobileff Motorcar Company, was completed late August 2008.

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Purely as a design exercise, aimed at keeping demand for Lamborghini’s Miura on the crest of a wave, Nuccio Bertone assigned Marcello Gandini a styling project to create a Spyder version of the Miura, commencing in the second half of 1967.

The ‘Lamborghini Bertone Miura Roadster,’ as it was officially christened, was finished in a light metallic blue with an off-white leather interior with red carpeting. The dashboard and steering remained black, and the steering wheel itself was the original avant-garde unit that was also used on the Marzal. This Miura carried chassis number 3498 (which, in accordance with its one-off prototype status, is not even listed in the factory’s original production chassis number register), and P400 engine number 1642 was fitted.

For the January 1968 Salon de L’Automobile Bruxelles, Bertone pulled off another masterstroke when he unveiled this Miura Spyder to a gob-smacked Ferruccio Lamborghini, who, we are told, only saw the show car for the first time at the preview the day before. However, Bertone told Lamborghini to put any ideas of production right out of his mind: “We couldn’t make this car for production because there were untold problems with stress-tolerance issues involving the chassis and the windscreen. It’s purpose was simply that of a showcar,” Bertone confided to a GM stylist years later.

With its Bertone publicity duties completed, the Spyder was sent to Sant’Agata (where it was famously photographed by both Zagari and Coltrin, and it was fettled by the service department with the idea of making it roadworthy to sell as an expensive one-off.

In 1968, International Lead and Zinc Research Organisation (ILZRO) CEO, the late Shrade Radtke, was looking for something radical to showcase the zinc alloys, coating and plating systems the company promoted for the major manufacturers in the Detroit area. It was decided to purchase a standard production Lamborghini Miura Berlinetta and have it specially built using zinc-based components and trim wherever possible.

Onwards then to Sant’Agata, and a meeting with Paolo Stanzani. However, Stanzani was against the idea of modifying a production Miura, and came up with the convenient solution of offering the one-off Miura Roadster, at the time at Sant’Agata for fettling. The offer was accepted on the spot.

In May of 1969, the "ZN75" was completed, now adorned with much extra brightwork and painted metalic green, and Bertone arranged for a private showing at a villa in Turin, attended by the hierachy of the Italian automotive industry. It was a special day, and Bertone, was proudly pictured with the car on that occasion.

There followed a globe-trotting schedule of International Motor Shows -
August 1969 – Shown in Detroit, Michigan
October 1969 – Shown in Montreal, Canada
November 1969 – Shown in Anaheim, California
January 1970 – Shown in Detroit, Michigan
January 1970 – Shown in Montreal, Canada
February 1970 – Shown in London, England and featured on BBC TV
April 1970 – Shown in Palmerton, Pennsylvania
July 1970 – Shown in Tokyo, Japan
August 1970 – Shown in Sydney, Australia
November 1970 – Shown in Paris, France

After a final showing at the 1978 Detroit Motor Show, in February of 1981, Radtke donated the car to the Boston Museum of Transportation for an estimated $200,000 tax deduction. In the mid-1980s, it was refurbished and its interior upholstery replaced.

In 1989, it was purchased by the Portman group, and has spent its life since then shuttling from auction house to temporary owner, likely because its full history and significance is unknown by most. Auctioned off soon thereafter, it spent a number of years in Japanese collection. In 2002 it returned to the USA for a brief sojourn, before finding another home with a Ferrari collector in France.

In December 2006, the priceless Miura Roadster was finally purchased by a New York property developer who, at huge cost, has had the car returned to its original 1968 Salon de L’Automobile Bruxelles specification. The conversion, by the Bobileff Motorcar Company, was completed in late August 2008.

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Внешность Miura была настолько совершенной, что улучшать ее во второй половине ХХ века оказалось нереальным. Все же в порядке эксперимента Bertone построил единственный экземпляр спайдера в стиле Targa. Автомобиль использовался главным образом в рекламных целях и сохранился до наших дней.

Знак Тельца (Владимир Князьков) - Журнал «МОТОР», Декабрь 2007 года.

В 1968 году инженерами компании была разработана открытая версия Miura. Автомобиль был представлен в качестве прототипа и не получил официального названия (поэтому в настоящее время эта разработка известна под разными именами — Roadster, Spider, Spyder. В 1969 году прототип был продан международной корпорации ILZRO, поставляющей металл многим автопроизводителям.

В ILZRO автомобилю отводилась роль демонстрационного стенда, который можно было бы выставлять на автомобильных выставках для привлечения внимания к собственной продукции. Для этого машину серьезно переделали, причем теперь в кузове максимально широко использовались металлические и хромированные детали производства ILZRO. Miura Spider выставлялся на всех значимых автосалонах, превратившись в настоящий шоу-кар. Где находится этот единственный Lamborghini Miura Spider сегодня, сохранился ли он до наших дней или уже давно отдыхает на свалке — неизвестно.

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