German Car Zone

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 finished car, the Bertone Miura Roadster, was revealed to an astonished crowd at the January, 1968, Salon de L'Automobile Bruxelles. Included among the astonished was Ferruccio Lamborghini, who had first seen the car just one day beforehand. Unfortunately, stress issues surrounding the unsupported windshield frame meant the Miura roadster would never see production.

The Miura would go on to become a showpiece car for the International Lead and Zinc Research Organization, which would zinc-plate most of the Lamborghini's parts (you can see it above) and put the car, now repainted deep green, on display.

Its show duty completed, the Miura would be passed around by collectors for decades until it was purchased by a New York property developer, who had the car restored to the condition it was in during its original showing, with the color and trim that Bertone envisioned it in.

The full story behind the Miura roadster:motivemag

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