8 photos
Lamborghini Polo Storico, the carmaker’s in-house heritage division, certified and restored the original orange (or Arancio to be exact) Lamborghini Miura P400 used in the opening scene of the 1969 film The Italian Job. Sought after for decades, this Miura was found as part of The Kaiser Collection in Liechtenstein, owned by businessman Fritz Kaiser.
Actor Rossano Brazzi and stunt driver Enzo Moruzzi drove the Miura fresh off the production line through the Great Saint Bernard Pass. The Miura was explicitly chosen because the color matched a different and already damaged Miura used for the crash scene at the end of the scenic drive.
“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 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 intact Miura was returned to the factory, later sold to a buyer in Rome, then changed hands multiple times over the years. The wrecked Miura literally disappeared after filming according to Octane Magazine.
The P400 was the first edition of the Lamborghini Miura, and even non-famous Miura P400s are rare finds and can get quite pricey. Per Hagerty, only 474 examples with a 350 horsepower V12 were built between 1966 and 1969 and the average price for one without such a notable film history are known to reach $815,000.
