This might be the world’s most original Miura – and it’s for sale

By Marc McLaren

| 25 Jul 2019

Classic & Sports Car – This might be the world’s most original Miura – and it’s for sale

A completely unrestored Lamborghini Miura P400S will be the star of RM Sotheby’s London auction later this year – and it’ll be offered with no reserve.

The two-owner 1969 Miura is described as being a ‘time capsule’, with original paint, trim and all mechanicals.

It last changed hands in 1974 and although it was stored in a barn for four years prior to being consigned, it was in running order at that point and appears to be remarkably original.

Fancy it? Though it has no reserve, RM Sotheby’s expects it to fetch between £800,000 and £1m when it crosses the block in October.

Chassis number 4245 was sold to its first owner, one Walter Becker, in Nürnberg, Germany, in 1971. Three years later the advertising executive sold it on to Hans-Peter Weber, who retained the Miura for the rest of his life.

Weber and his brother were both amateur racing drivers who competed regularly in Porsche 911s and who set their sights on owning a Miura. Hearing of the ‘Giallo Flay’ yellow Miura P400S in Nürnberg, they visited the eccentric Becker, who sold them the car whilst wearing a silk bathrobe!

The car was Weber’s pride and joy. He used it frequently but looked after it with great care and on his death in 2015 it had clocked up some 30,000km.

His nephew recalls, “We lived at the foot of the Schauinsland mountain in a very narrow valley. Whenever my uncle, Hans-Peter, arrived with his Miura, we could hear him minutes before as the sound of the engine was travelling fast.”

When Weber passed away it was in running condition, but it was then stored in a barn for the next four years, and the listing doesn’t explicitly state how it runs now.

Either way, it goes to auction wearing its original Giallo Flay yellow paint and Skay Bleu blue interior, and with its original engine, which doesn’t appear to have ever been rebuilt. In fact, seemingly the only changes made to the Miura during its life were two front indicators and Schroth harness seat belts.

It also has the original German title from 1971, its original service book and many period documents, invoices and the original correspondence with the Lamborghini factory.

“It’s a rare honour to be able to offer a car as significant as a Miura P400S in this kind of unrestored, original condition,” says Maarten ten Holder, Executive VP & Head of RM Sotheby’s Europe.

“Any Miura S is rare and desirable in its own right, but the car we are selling in London is an opportunity that would be very hard to repeat. I think it’s fair to say that for many collectors an original Miura such as this is the ultimate prize.

“With new dates also announced for our 13th London sale, we are delighted to have this car as an early star lot and we are confident it will attract interest from around the globe.”

The sale takes place on 24 October at Olympia in London. For more info, head to the official site.

Images: Peter Singhof/RM Sotheby’s

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