Today The Car Spotter will be discussing the recently discovered Lamborghini Miura supercar from The Italian Job film that was found after 46 years and is now owned by two British businessmen and is estimated to be worth more than £1m.
The Lamborghini Miura was made famous from the opening scene of the Italian Job, The orange Lamborghini cruises through the Alps in the 1969 film before venturing into a tunnel and exploding into a ball of flames. The wrecked Lamborghini is pulled out of the tunnel by the mafia operated bulldozer and rammed off the cliff into a ravine.
The classic car which many believed was used in the original filming and written off has now resurfaced in immaculate condition. You can watch the original Italian Job opening scene below.
The Lamborghini Miura was tracked down by two British businessmen after receiving a tip-off at Christmas. Iain Tyrell one of the joint owners was given a three hour window to identify the vehicle in a secret underground car park in Paris.
Mr Tyrrell stated,“I was initially sceptical because no one had seen it for 46 years. But my source was a credible one so I started to pursue it.”
“It was all very James Bond-ish, I had to go to Paris to inspect the car in a secret underground car park.”
He had been informed that The Italian Job’s opening sequence was filmed using two cars, one of which was destroyed whilst the other remained intact.
Other claims state the vehicle that was pushed down the cliff was just a body shell without an engine as Lamborghini knew the value and importance of the Miura and would not sacrifice a vehicle at the time.
The Lamborghini Miura
The Lamborghini Miura in the openening scene of The Italian Job
The orange Miura racing through the Alps in the film
The Lamborghini is intentionally destroyed by the mafia and pushed into a ravine by a bulldozer
The opening scene was reported to have featured two cars, one was already smashed up.
Mr Tyrrell, the owner of Cheshire Classic Cars, said: “The Italian Job Lamborghini is the holy grail of supercars precisely because no one knew what happened to it after the film.
“After inspecting the car, there is no doubt in my mind that it is the Miura from The Italian Job.”
Mr Tyrrell and his friend and co-owner, Keith Ashworth, plan to display the orange Lamborghini Miura around the world.
Top Gear magazine voted the Lamborghini the “coolest car in the world” in 2004.
Personally I think it is wonderful when classic, legendary vehicles such as The Italian Job Lamborghini Miura are rediscovered after so many years. I wonder where the vehicle has been kept until now? It is always nice to hear the vehicle will be displayed around the world and not kept in storage for many more years to come. I am sure the co-owners will be delighted with their new discovery.
What are your thoughts on The Italian Job Lamborghini Miura? Would you like to own The Italian Job Lamborghini Miura?
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In your post The Italian Job Lamborghini Miura found after 46 years. I noticed the Lambo is the wrong shade of orange. In the movie the car was a red orange color and not the plain orange color both of which were available from the factory. Is it possible the car was painted for the movie to match up with the other cars used and later changed back.? I know other cars were painted for production in the movie including some minis and the Fiat Dino’s that were all painted black witch were originally red, green and blue.
Hello Jeff. I can’t say for sure as I’m not an expert on the matter. Certainly this could be the case or perhaps modern camera and lighting capture the Miura differently now to previously. I believe the Miura will be the correct one as mentioned in the article as the documentation matched and the vehicle was checked with a fine toothcomb by experts. Thanks for reading the article by The Car Spotter, hope you enjoyed it.