Next up in our ‘you gotta check this out at Rétromobile this weekend’ series of news items, we present one of only four original factory-built Lamborghini Miura SVJs in existence.
Recently restored by the Raging Bull’s in-house Polo Storico, a department founded in 2015 dedicated to preserving the company’s heritage, this particular model – chassis 4860 – was originally built in 1973 for German racing driver and Lamborghini importer Hubert Hahne. Repainted silver from its original black in 1977 by Hahne, a former Spa 24 Hours winners with Jacky Ickx and the first driver to break the 10m mark around the Nordschleife, chassis 4860 was eventually moved on to a Japanese collector in the early 2000s, meaning it’s been two decades since the GT’s last public appearance.
Strangely Lamborghini doesn’t go into much detail regarding the restoration process, stating only that the original black and white interior has received some much needed TLC, and that documents and photos of the time were scoured to ensure the Miura was “peerlessly preserved and restored.”
Built in 1973, the SVJ was inspired by the one-off Miura Jota, a test bed built in 1970 at the behest of Lamborghini’s chief test driver Bob Wallace with the ultimately fruitless hope of being homologated for competition under the FIA’s Appendix J regulations. At the heart of the Jota was a new-for-1971-spec 3.9-litre V12, also at the heart of the more extreme Miura SV, which kicked out an impressive 440hp. Throw in a heavily stiffened chassis, a lowered body now predominantly made of aluminium (note the distinctive rivets), a heavily stripped out cabin and the lightness that came with it (all 1,784.5lb / 809kg of it), and Wallace assured the Italian powers-that-be that the Jota had the competitive measure of anything Porsche or Ferrari could offer. Wallace’s enthusiasm was not enough to sway Ferruccio Lamborghini though, who, now bored of the project and with no interest in a motorsport campaign, scrapped the whole thing.
Still, the ‘Jota’ project had clearly gripped the imagination of certain owners, and soon, Lamborghini agreed to modify the SVs of a limited number of clients to ‘Jota’ specification. Though the increased engine compression was off the table – the modified SVs retained their 385hp power output from the 3,929cc units – and the interior stayed as standard, the SVJs did receive modifications to the bodywork, upgrades to the exhaust, suspension, and brake cooling, and the lightest of engine tunes.
Rounding out Lambo’s stand at Rétromobile is a Miura P400 S, another Polo Storico project dubbed ‘Certified Lines’ and one, interestingly, built entirely from spare parts, including bodywork, engine and suspension. Again, “peerless” detail has been incorporated, meaning the P400 S on display boasts exactly the same dimensions as its period contemporaries.
*Images of the Rétromobile 2020 SVJ courtesy of Lamborghini. All other images courtesy of Sean Smith and RM Auctions.
