The trajectory of the automobile was permanently transformed by Lamborghini’s introduction of the Miura. This was not the intent at the time, however. Ferruccio Lamborghini allowed his engineers to develop it merely as an exercise. But when the Miura debuted, initially as a naked chassis, and just four months later at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966 with spectacular Marcello Gandini-designed Bertone bodywork, the car created so much impact that it could not simply circulate a few motor shows and pass into a museum. Thus, Lamborghini put it in production, effectively creating a genre of car which still exists today at the top of the automotive desirability hierarchy: the supercar.

Nearly everything about the Miura is super: its styling, its packaging, its technical specifications, and its performance. It is powered by a transversely mounted, quad-cam V-12 paired with a five-speed transaxle, which sits in a monocoque chassis from which double-wishbone suspension and disc brakes hang at all four corners. With chops like these, the Miura instantly transformed Automobili Lamborghini, then just three years old, into the makers of the world’s most covetable car.

Although the car was not designed with production in mind, barely a year later, Lamborghini was building a few Miuras per month. A year after that, this Miura, originally finished in white and bearing production number 172, was dispatched to the dealer Giardiello in Naples, making it the first of 18 Miuras they would eventually supply. While there, it was photographed during an event at the showroom, as depicted in Simon Kidston’s Miura register. Chassis 3459’s first owner, a 29-year-old Italian, retained it for four years before it was passed to two subsequent Italian owners. In 1975, exotic car dealer and collector Joe Nastasi bought and exported the car, selling it to a New Yorker who would keep it for over 40 years.

The car’s current owner purchased it in 2018, at which time it was an unrestored example retaining its original numbered body panels and mechanical components. This made it an ideal restoration candidate. The current owner, a serial Miura owner who has had several exceptional examples, commissioned a show-quality restoration by Cairati Milan/Monterey. In addition to previously restoring another Miura for the consignor, Cairati also participated in the restoration of Gian Paolo Dallara’s personal P400 and the one-off SVR. Cairati maintains relationships with both the Lamborghini factory and the original suppliers who built Miura components new, including Marchesi & C., builders of the Miura chassis in period.

The restoration of 3459 began at Marchesi & C., where the chassis was inspected and repaired using the original Miura frame jigs and tools. The monocoque was treated to prevent corrosion, while the bodywork was restored and mocked up to ensure proper fit and then painted in the rare original Miura shade of *Azzurro Cielo *(Sky Blue). The interior was restored with consummate attention to detail using Cairati’s proprietary materials, designed specifically to reproduce the original factory characteristics, including color, weight, texture, and sheen.

In parallel, the mechanical components were overhauled using original “new old stock” parts. The engine was rebuilt using Mahle Motorsport pistons, balanced, blueprinted, and extensively broken-in and tested on a dynamometer prior to installation. The remainder of the driveline was also rebuilt, and a new wiring harness fabricated. The suspension and brakes were also correctly restored, including the distinctive blue and green painted coil springs and metallic orange painted Armstrong telescoping dampers.

Once complete, the car received extensive road testing and post-restoration sorting and the result is truly exceptional, not only in terms of cosmetic presentation, but also in correctness and performance. The car is accompanied by copies of factory build sheets and Automobile Club d’Italia documents corroborating its early life in Italy, books, tools, and extensive invoices and photographs from its restoration.

Comprehensively and correctly restored by one of the world’s most respected marque experts, 3459 is doubtless among the finest restored Miuras in existence. Its presentation is further enhanced by its striking color scheme and completeness.

Rarely seen in public during the last 50 years, 3459 has not been displayed in any concours, show, or driving event since its restoration, offering its new owner the exciting opportunity to debut this stunning Miura.

*Please note that this vehicle is titled 1969.