A class of Lamborghinis will undoubtedly make their presence known at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for March 8-10 in Amelia Island, Florida. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Lamborghini, the rare Miura Roadster will be among the headline entries at the 18th annual event. The historic roadster will be joined by its contemporary, the Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster, a full class of historic Lamborghinis, as well as a surprise from Lamborghini’s new motorsports team, Squadra Corse.
Ferruccio Lamborghini was a man of the earth and was born under Taurus, the sign of the bull. So it was no surprise when he founded his own line of farm tractors that he chose the fighting bull as his emblem. He loved fast cars and owned everything from an Aston Martin to a Mercedes-Benz Gullwing and, of course, Ferraris. When he became irritated by certain traits of his personal Italian exotic, he directed his workmen to install a new clutch from one of his tractors in the car.
In 1963, Lamborghini took the next step and built his own GT car. He knew precisely the kind of buyer he needed to please: himself. “I want to make a GT car without faults. Not a technical bomb. Very normal. Very conventional. But a perfect car.” Unspoken was the goal to out-Ferrari Ferrari. His first GT, the 350 GTV, had a 3.2 liter twin overhead cam V12 engine where Ferrari had a 3-liter single cam.
The front engine Lamborghini 350 GTV came first, but the Lamborghini that comes to mind when the cars from Sant’Agata Bolognese are mentioned, is the Miura. Named for an especially ferocious strain of Spanish fighting bull, the Miura made its debut without bodywork at the 1965 Geneva Auto Show. The 4-liter twin-cam 12 was mounted transversely and the advanced P400 (its model number) stole the show. When it was parked in front of the Casino in Monte Carlo during the Grand Prix weekend, alarm bells sounded from Maranello to Stuttgart to Coventry.
The rare Lamborghini Miura Roadster, which will be on display at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours, debuted at the 1968 Brussels auto show.
The 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will be held March 8-10th on the 10th and 18th fairways of The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. The show’s Foundation has donated over $2 million to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Inc. and other charities on Florida’s First Coast since its inception in 1996.
For more information, visit ameliaconcours.org.
[Source: Amelia Island Concours; photo: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A]
