| |
| Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster | |
|---|---|
| Lamborghini | |
| aka | Miura Spyder ZN75 |
| Production | 1968 1 unit produced |
| Class | Concept Car / Prototype |
| Body Style | Two door, two seater with targa-style roof construction |
| Length | 3,470 mm (136.37 inches) |
| Width | 1,760 mm (69.17 inches) |
| Height | 1,050 mm (41.27 inches) |
| Wheelbase | 2,504 mm (98.41 inches) |
| Weight | 1000 kg (2,205 lbs) |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual |
| Engine | 3.9 L V12 |
| Power | 350 hp @ 7,500 rpm 262 lb-ft @ 5,500 rpm |
| Similar | |
| Designer | Nuccio Bertone, Marcello Gandini |
The Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster was (actually more of a targa-model, but without a removable roof), built by Bertone as a show car. Based on a P400, it was first shown at the 1968 Brussels Auto Show. After having been exhibited at several auto salons the car was sold to the International Lead Zinc Research Organization who turned it into a display-vehicle showcasing the possibilities of using zinc alloys in cars. The car was named the ZN75. A few other Miuras have had their tops removed, but this Bertone Miura Roadster was the only factory open-top Miura.
In 2006 the ZN75 was purchased by New York City real estate developer Adam Gordon. Gordon had Bobileff Motorcars in San Diego, California return the car to its original Bertone Roadster form. The restored car was first shown in August 2008 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
The one-of-a-kind Miura Roadster was shown at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in 2013.
Backgrund[]
The Miura P400 Roadster was designed and built by Bertone as a Concept prototype, this open version was not just a regular Lamborghini with the roof removed, unlike the 350 GTS presented by Touring a few years earlier, the Miura Roadster was almost completely redesigned, with excellent taste as always.
The complete rear section of the car was modified, the rear louvers covering the engine were removed, the tail lights changed and the exhaust pipes now went through the lower grill. Various small changes were made to the rear section of the original Miura, like lowering the roof line by 3 cm and changing the angle ‘rake’ of the windscreen. All this was necessary to eliminate undesired turbulence at 300 Km/h even without the roof, which was actually never even built in the end, the Miura Roadster didn’t have a roof panel at all.
Also note the air intakes behind the side windows were larger compared to the factory built Miura to allow more fresh air to be pulled into the engine bay, while the ‘built in’ rear spoiler was also larger than normal on the Roadster in fact Bertone even went as far as strengthening the chassis of their Miura to counteract the fact there was no roof left to keep the car from flexing, as a matter of fact there were no side windows on the Miura Roadster either because the rake of the windshield was modified the original side windows could not be used.
The interior also had to be modified, mainly because the switches from the overhead console found inside the regular Miura had to be installed elsewhere inside the car (they would end up on the central console), and the Bertone steering wheel showed a great similarity with the one found inside the Marzal and the Espada prototype both built by Bertone too.
The car was finished in a bright-metallic azure blue shade, while the interior was upholstered in a magnolia (almost white) dye leather (just like on the first 350 GTV in fact). The impact this show prototype had in Brussels and later on in Geneva was massive, but this was to remain stricktly a one-off, many owners requested a Miura Roadster from the factory, but Automobili Lamborghini SpA never officially delivered a Miura Roadster or even made a replica, while as mentioned earlier Bertone had never built a top or side windows for this prototype.
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (2).jpg (95 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (3).jpg (142 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (4).jpg (244 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (5).jpg (83 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (6).jpg (62 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (7).jpg (119 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (8).jpg (113 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (9).jpg (92 KB)")
The Miura Roadster became also known as the Miura Spider or Miura Spyder, but her official denomination was the Miura Roadster, the original car was sold to the ILZRO in 1969, the International Lead and Zinc Research Corporation, a company delivering various metals to the car industry like aluminum, zinc and different alloys.
The ILZRO decided to buy a Miura some time earlier to reconstruct using their own metals and alloys to showcase their technology on various auto shows worldwide, but Lamborghini declined their request for a production Miura however with the Miura Roadster they had an oportunity of a lifetime this wasn’t a production car, so together with Bertone and Lamborghini the ILZRO was able to do just about anything they wanted.
Chassis number 3498 was completely disassembled the moment it arrived in New York, all possible parts were changed into zinc-plated, chrome-plated, polished or re-manufactured using some metal (like lead!) made or distributed by the ILZRO, some of these items included the carburettor bodies, the carburettors stacks, engine covers, transmission covers, oil pump, filter housings, exhaust system, radiator, interior switches, the steering whee, the wheels themselves and both front and rear bumpers.These modifications were all directed by John Foster, who was actually a designer for Ford. But the result was rather special, the Miura Roadster was converted into the Zn75, an ILZRO show car a mere Miura replica almost, she looked like a Miura, but she was totally different even in her exterior shade.
Bertone usually used bright colors and contrasting black detail work like as seen on the original Miura Roadster prototype, but the Zn75 featured chrome details and was finished in a metallic green sprayed over a black metallic base giving a strange dark green pearl like color (iridescent gold-green), with a contrasting brown leather upholstery it looked totally different from most Lamborghini Miura.
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (10).jpg (93 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (11).jpg (53 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (12).jpg (148 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (13).jpg (151 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (14).jpg (165 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (15).jpg (101 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (16).jpg (74 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (17).jpg (150 KB)")
.jpg "Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster (18).jpg (105 KB)")
The name also changed, now into the Zn75, a name taken from the periodic table of metals used for this modification. The Zn75 first appeared in May 1969 after which she was flown all over the world to various Auto Show and shown to automotive companies worldwide, always attracting a lot of attention, when her job was over, the Miura Zn75 was auctioned off to S.F. Radtke, the Executive Vice President of the Ilzro at that time.
In late 1980 the Miura Zn75 was completely refurbished by Synthetex Inc. and valued at $186,000 when Mr Radtke donated the car to the Brookline Museum of Transportation in Massachusets, U.S.A. in February 1981. The Miura was then shown in this museum for a long time were it was for sale at one time for only $ 50,000, later it was restored for the museum by J. Geils from KTR Engineering who was actually on the board at the museum.
Specificacions[]
- General :
| Years built | 1968 |
| Production | 1 units |
| Chassisnr. | 3498 |
| Presentation | 1968 Brussels Auto Show, Zn75 in December 1970 in Paris |
| Built by | Bertone, modified by the ILZRO |
- Dimensions :
| Wheelbase | 2504 mm / 98.41 in |
| Overall length | 3470 mm / 136.37 in |
| Overall width | 1760 mm / 69.17 in |
| Overall height | 1050 mm / 41.27 in |
| Front track | 1412 mm / 55.49 in |
| Rear track | 1412 mm / 55.49 in |
| Ground clear | 130 mm / 5.11 in |
| Front overhang | 933 mm / 36.67 in |
| Rear overhang | 933 mm / 36.67 in |
| Weight | 1000 kg / 2205 lbs |
| Distribution | “ not available ” |
- Chassis :
| Structure | Sheet-steel unitized body, lightened welded box sections by Bertone |
| Body | Monocoque steel construction with aluminum front and rear sections |
| Suspension | All-independent, consisting of double transverse wishbones with coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers and anti-roll bars |
| Brakes | All-wheel Girling disc brakes, hydraulically operated via a dual circuit system |
| Front | 305 mm / 11.99 in |
| Rear | 280 mm / 11 in |
| Steering type | Unassisted rack and pinion, 3.4 turns lock to lock |
| Turning circle | 11.2 m / 37 ft |
| Front tire size | HS 205-15 |
| Rear tire size | HS 205-15 |
| Type of tire | Pirelli Cinturato Belted |
| Front wheel | 7×15 inch |
| Rear wheel | 7×15 inch |
| Type of wheel | Campagnolo cast magnesium on original Bertone prototype Modified wheels were mounted after the ILZRO acquired the car. |
- Engine :
| Type | V-12 60 degree, light-alloy block with gearbox and differential built in the same block and pressed-in liners mid mounted, rear wheel drive |
| Distribution | Dual overhead camshafts, chain drive, two valves/cyl. |
| Main Bearings | 7 |
| Cyl. Capacity | 3939 cc / 240 ci |
| Bore & stroke | 82 x 62 mm |
| Compr. Ratio | 9.5 |
| Max. power | 350 Bhp at 7000 rpm |
| Max. torque | 369 Nm at 5100 rpm |
| Cooling system | Cross-flow radiators and twin electric fans |
| Ignition | Two coils and two Marelli distributors |
| Alternator | 660 Watt |
| Fuel system | Dual electric Bendix fuel pumps, 4 tripple-choke Weber 40 IDA 30 carburetors |
| Fuel type | 100 Octane |
| Fuel consumption | 19 Lit/100 Km |
| Lubrication | Wet sump, common engine-transmission lubricant |
| Electr. system | 12 V |
| Plugs | Bosch 250P |
- Drivetrain :
| Type | Lamborghini all synchromesh five-speed + reverse manual |
| Clutch | dry-single plate, hydraulically operated |
| Disc diameter | 266.7 mm / 10.48 in |
| 1st gear ratio | 2.520:1 – Max speed 93 Km/h or 58 Mph |
| 2nd gear ratio | 1.735:1 – Max speed 135 Km/h or 84 Mph |
| 3rd gear ratio | 1.225:1 – Max speed 188 Km/h or 117 Mph |
| 4th gear ratio | 1.000:1 – Max speed 225 Km/h or 140 Mph |
| 5th gear ratio | 0.815:1 – Max speed 280 Km/h or 174 Mph |
| Reverse gear ratio | 2.765:1 – Max speed 0 Km/h or 0 Mph |
| Final drive ratio | 4.08:1 |
- Performance :
| Top speed | 280 Km/h / 174 Mph |
| 0 – 100 Km/h | 6.60 sec. |
| Standing Km | 24.40 sec. |
| 1/4 Mile | 14.60 sec. reaching 101 Mph |
- Capacities :
| Fuel | 90 Liter / 24 Gallon |
| Engine oil | 14 Liter / 4 Gallon |
| Cooling system | 14 Liter / 4 Gallon |
| Luggage | 140 Liter / 37 Gallon |
See Also[]
.jpg){kind=link}