Lambo legend hits 50

Five decades after the Lamborghini Miura was created in 1966, many would still say nothing has ever come close to challenging it as the world’s most beautiful car.

To celebrate this milestone 50th year, the Italian manufacturer brought together 25 of the most stunning survivors for a four-day golden anniversary driving tour of its home country.

Huge crowds thronged the route to see these iconic classics, which were chosen from the 400 remaining examples of fewer than 800 Miuras built at Sant’Agata during the original seven-year production run.

Willing carabinieri were just as excited to see the Bertone-styled cars; the local police cleared a path through the crowds, as well as turned a blind eye on the autostrada, where the Miura’s mid-mounted V12 propelled the convoy to (ahem!) slightly above the speed limit. This was, after all, once the fastest car in the world, and it would be churlish not give it its head on its birthday.

The Lambo’s period charm extends to distinctly old-school braking and steering, and an uncomfortable, overheated cabin whose lack of comfort is surpassed only by its dearth of ventilation. But no matter; as dealer Ian Tyrrell, from Chester, put it: “I still get as much of a buzz from the Miura today as the first time I drove it. It left everything for dead; it was so far ahead of its time.”