The Miura SV is now the most sought-after Lamborghini of the past
It benefitted from the experience gained during the first five years of Miura production and it’s considered the best of all the versions
The Miura SV is the last evolution of the highly successful P400 project and was conceived to accompany the Miura S but, as a result of its huge success on the market, it actually ended up replacing its ancestor. The SV’s engine delivered more power, 385 HP at 7850 rpm, and above all it was more drivable thanks to its improved and differently distributed torque (40.7 kgm at 5750 rpm), while the four Weber triple barrel carburetors, type 40IDL3C, received a new setting. A separate lubrication system between the engine and gearbox was introduced when the SV was already in production a modification that, albeit not externally visible, was a hugely important technical improvement.
Setting new performance standards. The Miura SV, where “V” stands for “veloce” (super fast), was actually quite different from the previous Miuras P 400 and P400 S. While maintaining the same generai layout, with a 4-liter 12-cylinder transversely mounted rear-mid engine, the SV had a stiffer chassis, with certain strategie reinforcements, a revised rear suspension system with different anchor points and arms, and an almost 130 mm wider track. It was also fitted with different size tires between the front and rear, with the rear wheels increased from 7 to 9 inches and equipped with 255-section tires. The design of the rims was revised too, to make them sportier, and most SV customers ordered them with the striking gold finish. The Miura SV’s official top speed was aver 290 km/h, and from a standing start it covered one kilometer in just under 24 seconds – record performance results back then.
No more eyelashes. These technical modifications demanded a revision of the Miura SV’s exterior, too, and this work was performed by the same Marcello Gandini who had overseen the originai project. The SV was characterized by wider rear fenders, differently designed tail-lights, and a front bonnet characterized by a new air intake for the radiator. One of the most important visual changes to the Miura SV was in fact the absence of the famous “eyelashes” around the headlights. There was no real technical reason for this esthetic modification; it was simply that Ferruccio Lamborghini, who knew very well that the assembly and perfect finishing of the eyelashes was a highly complex and time-consuming step, wanted to reduce the Miura’s production time. However, for his own personal Miura SV – the only one to officially adopt this specification – he asked for the eyelashes around the headlights to remain.
One of the more sexy cars ever. The SV’s interior is better finished and more modern looking than that of the previous versions, thanks mainly to greater use of leather for the upholstery and the presence of various chromed details. In early 1973, after 150 units had been produced, the Miura SV was taken out of production, although two years later a final specimen (now at Mudetec, Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese) was expressly manufactured. The withdrawal of the Miura SV from production marked the end of an era in which speed and sinuous lines predominated, and in which a small group of young men, driven by an innate passion and blessed with great technical skills, were able to create what for many was, and still remains, one of the most beautiful and seductive car ever produced in series.
