As barn finds go, any Lamborghini gets your heart pounding, even a rough one. This 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S thrilled its lucky owners for nearly a decade before a traffic crash in 1978 silenced the symphony of its high-powered V12. Originally delivered and sold in Italy, chassis 4070 left the assembly line wearing Giallo Fly yellow before the factory-applied Bleu seen here, believed original. The mid-engine exotic accumulated about 52,700 km (32,750 miles) in Italy and California before a rude and abrupt introduction to another vehicle stopped its clock during the Carter administration. Mothballed in “The Junkyard” of Rudi Klein’s “Porche Foreign Auto Dismantling,” the Miura now seeks a new owner, presumably with restoration ambitions. Check out Michelle Rand’s multi-part coverage of the Klein legacy for more details on its fascinating and mythical history.
The Miura pioneered the mid-engine road-going supercar. Topped by a quartet of three-barrel carburetors, the transverse 4.0 L V12 made 370 HP, enough to push the slippery Miura to about 170 MPH, according to RMSothebys. That’s triple the American national speed limit at the time of its crash.
Not even a wreck and decades of dust can quell the beauty of the Bertone-designed P400 S. The “S” model gained nicer interior trim and 20 HP, according to the listing. Despite its lengthy slumber in a place called The Junkyard, the ill-fated chassis 4070 avoided having its parts scattered across southern California’s high school parking lots.
Less-than-museum curation took a toll on the Miura, adding insult to injury for this macabre time capsule. Sotheby’s has left most of the discovery for the new owner, only removing enough debris to tease potential bidders with details of the car’s long-idled state.
With lightening in mind, the Miura’s structural members exhibit more holes than a wheel of Swiss cheese. Maybe *your* local junkyard has one tucked away too, but more than likely, someone will trade suitcases of cash for bespoke parts that mimic the crushed and twisted bits. Check out a host of fabulous pictures and a well-crafted listing here at RMSothebys. Catch the excitement and bid to win as this amazing find seeks a new owner in a no-reserve auction in Los Angeles, California on 26 October 2024. Do you have a dust-covered exotic in your barn?
Very interesting write-up Todd. I know nothing about the car, but the existence of “The Junkyard” is fascinating. Millions of dollars of cars and parts; I guess there are always surprises as to “what’s out there.” The Sotheby’s marketing info is, of course, just a hair better than the typical Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace ads we see. Will be interesting to see how many big bucks this, and other cars from this collection, will fetch.
Nice barn.
Ridiculous at first glance, then it sinks in… low mile original. This will reappear in showroom condition.
As hot-rodders used to say, “There is no substitute for cubic money.” This is going to be a spendy proposition, out of reach for most of us even if it was gifted, not sold.
That said, this is one occasion where I’m grateful that there are high-dollar types in the world who can (and probably will) bundle this off to a top-tier restoration shop for a thorough clean-up and replacement of a lot of parts that probably wouldn’t exist today without machine shops, panel-beaters and 3D printers.
The total cost is so far above my resources that I can’t comprehend it, but I have driven a Miura, and so believe it’s money well spent.
In the late ’90s I saw a Miura two doors down. My neighbor’s friend had taken the Lamborghini instead of cash from a guy who couldn’t pay for the house he was building. I wonder who got the last laugh on that transaction. He was impressed that I identified it immediately, but not enough to offer me a ride. (Sad face.)
The best thing about the Miua S over its predecessor is that the transmission and the engine do not share the same oil.
And the best thing about handmade cars is that you can make replacement pieces for them by hand.
So, this looks like a pretty good restoration candidate.
Will not be surprised to see this in England at Iain Tyrell’s shop.
Come on, POWERBALL. Daddy wants a new project.
Sometimes, you just can’t be mad at the idea of a zillion dollars for a wreck of a car…
Even if I had the money, no way I would undertake this project.
As a kid I watched a guy on the evening news destroy his live on TV.
He was an extremely unhappy customer, having parked his trouble prone beauty in front of the Ferrari dealership where it was purchased in Los Gatos Ca. for the cameras.
He proceeded to beat the livin’ snot out of it with a sledgehammer. I am thinking about 1978 or so. I cannot remember any follow up as to what the dealer did but I am sure that owner regrets it now!!!!!!
At least the Fiat 850 tail lights will be easy to source. The rest? Not so much.
Also the locking mechanism for the two trunks is the same in the Fiat Bertone X1/9
this car needs to go to Bobileff Motorcars, he could fix it.
I’m thinking Mike Finnigan’s garage. Maybe Gas Monkey….
When I first read about this, my first thought was ” another “car hoarder” stashing away thousands of cars and parts, never to be seen again”, but, as I dug a little deeper and then read the book Junkyard:Behind the Gates at California’s Secretive European-Car Salvage Yard (It’s on Amazon and a dozen other places, if you look hard enough – about 5 minutes – you can find it for under $10) what I discovered was actually, at least initially, the opposite was true. Rudi Klein was taking in these crashed beauties and exotics to SAVE them from the crusher.
I won’t jump down the rabbit hole of all the details, if you want that, spend a couple bucks and get the book. After several bad experiences and getting the legal dept at Porsche after him, he went a little hermit and would only sell parts to certain people and at high prices.. but if you don’t have it, he does and you know you ain’t findin another any time soon, you pay it.
So, I can’t really be angry – these cars, in almost every situation, were already wrecked. They weren’t put away in a leaky old barn 2 weeks after a full restoration and left to rot.
I’ve been covering this in my weekly blog, lots of interest in it.
I’m following it closely.
Thanks for posting the continuing saga!
Thank you for your input.
Steve R