events. A five-month renovation process saw the
engine being rebuilt by Zakira’s Garage of Cincinnati,
Ohio, known for its vintage Indy car work, and some
$140,000 was spent on mechanical overhauls alone.
The freshly restored car then made an appearance
at the Miami Beach Concours, among other events,
where it was welcomed as a beautifully-preserved,
mostly original car with matching numbers and a mere
25,000 miles on the clock.
Following the car’s 2016 sale at auction, we fast-
forward to 2018 and the Miura’s arrival at Polo
Storico. This is Lamborghini’s in-house heritage
department, whose main business is the restoration
and certification of classic Lamborghinis (i.e. those
made up to 2001), as well as remaking spares for
classics. It was at Polo Storico that chassis #3673
received a restoration that took fully 13 months, the
car being completely dismantled so that every
single item could be checked. According to
Lamborghini, when the car arrived in Sant’Agata
Bolognese, it was complete but showing “clear signs
of wear and tear”. In keeping with the car’s superbly
original state, Polo Storico took the very sensible
view that conservation was better than restoration,
and repaired rather than replaced any worn or
damaged items.
Having been completed, the car was duly delivered
to Jean Todt in February 2019. According to Vogue
Italiamagazine, Todt measures a bijou 5ft tall,
meaning he might actually stand a chance of being
comfortable in the Miura, whose cruelly awkward
seating position is notorious. Most drivers need to
recline the seat’s backrest to an uncomfortable
degree to avoid hitting their head on the low-slung
roof; probably not Todt. And the Miura’s pedals sit too
close together for many people; again Monsieur Todt’s
feet are likely to fit in just fine.
Let’s hope Jean does enjoy it, for this is surely one of
the great Miura survivors – one that’s been revived by
Lamborghini itself not once, but twice. IIIJean Todt received his
restored pride and joy at
the recent Retromobile
show in Paris