The Lamborghini Miura is, in my humble opinion, the prettiest car ever built. The SVJ is the holy grail of course, but with only 11 Jotas ever being built, they are among the rarest cars in the world. However, the SV, with its production of 147 units, is perhaps something you might actually get to lay eyes on one day. The most notable feature of the SV is the missing ‘lash’ design on the headlight buckets, so when I stumbled upon chassis #5028 which is an SV but had the eyelashes, I was a bit confused. Why? So, I went digging. I had to know: why would someone take the most notable part of a special edition car and make it look like the mass-produced cars, which are still rare since less than 800 Miuras were ever made?
The story of Lamborghini Miura P400 SV, chassis #5028, begins with its first owner, Vincenzo Cappelluto, who made an unusual request: to add ‘eyelash’ headlight buckets to his Miura. This design feature harkened back to earlier versions of the Miura, making #5028 distinct from other SV models, which typically featured a more streamlined headlight design without the eyelashes.
The Miura, celebrated for revolutionizing the supercar genre with its mid-engine design and sleek aesthetics, became an icon of automotive innovation. Chassis #5028 not only represented this groundbreaking engineering but also bore a unique stamp of individuality from its first owner.
The mystery around this particular Miura intensifies when considering whether it might be the only SV model outfitted with the eyelash headlights—a feature not standard on SV models. This anomaly raises intriguing questions about its uniqueness among the 147 SVs produced.
When Ferruccio Lamborghini, the visionary founder behind the brand, later acquired this car, it became part of his personal collection, cherished until his passing. Now housed in the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum, chassis #5028 not only serves as a testament to the Miura’s legacy but also as a curiosity among Lamborghini enthusiasts. The question remains: Is this Miura SV the sole example equipped with such a distinctive feature due to Cappelluto’s specific aesthetic preference?
This layer of individuality adds to the car’s lore, highlighting the personal connections and custom requests that often accompany high-end vehicles like the Lamborghini Miura.
Final Thoughts: It’s fascinating to consider whether Ferruccio Lamborghini, Marcello Gandini, and Giorgetto Giugiaro knew they were creating what many would hail as the world’s prettiest car. I also can’t help but wonder what their thought process was for adding ‘eyelashes’ to an SV, or was it just another choice during the buying process? Today, that feature might make chassis #5028 a one-of-a-kind Miura, and that paired with its ownership heritage might just make it the most special Miura ever built