1971–1975 Lamborghini Miura SVJ

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Lamborghini miura svj
Type
Miura SVJ
Production
5 units
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Soon after the Jota became public knowledge, several Miura owners asked to have their car modified to Jota specifications, since the one and only original Jota was destroyed in an unfortunate accident, these factory custom SV’s are the only thing to remind us of the fabulous Jota until a near identical replica was built in the United Kingdom.

Only a few of these official Miura’s had a dry-sump lubrication, however most of these just had some look alike bodywork done, some were ordered with additional air intakes and fixed headlights, others retained the standard bodywork but had a modified engine, note that none of these specials actually used Avional for the bodywork, they all remained in aluminium. Underneath that beautiful, low slung styling, most of these custom SV’s remained more or less a ‘normal’ Miura SV.

Some sourced state these specials were built on the following chassis : 4860, 4990 and 5090, while the real Jota was built on chassis number 5084, with engine number 30744, only one of these had a dry sump lubrication and an auto blocking differential mounted, the other cars used a more or less ‘standard’ Miura SV engine.

Rumor has it there were only two Miura ever built with a dry sump lubrication and auto blocking differential, one with chassis number 4878 and the other with number 4956.

As usual, some customers had their Miura altered afterwards, but the Miura listed here are regarded as ‘original’ factory cars, these SVJ were factory built and therefore authorised, however later more Miura were converted at the factory or at bodyshops throughout the world. If you want to buy a real SVJ, you’ll only have to look for the first three cars ever made, the rest are just trying to more or less look like a Jota.

I’ve tried to include a list, that is accurate to my personal knowledge, of the Miura’s that were built or converted into SVJ specifications.

Lamborghini Miura SVJ #4934

Actually the first official Miura SVJ, number 4934 with engine number 30685, built by the factory, was delivered to the Shah of Iran in 1979, apparently by none other that the late Ferruccio Lamborghini himself. The Shah ordered a second Miura SV with only one request (he already owned Miura SV #4870), it had to be special, so Automobili Lamborghini SpA went to work, they took a dark blue SV body from the production line and cut custom brake vents behind the front and rear wheels much like those seen on the Jota, they also installed numerous rivets all over. Fixed headlight units were mounted covered by plexi and a race type fuel filler cap was installed in the front hood, naturally a front spoiler was mounted and a custom race suspension lowered the car. A single windscreen whiper was mounted and to top off these modifications a magnificent sounding open race exhaust was coupled to the altered dry sump V-12 engine, sending chills down your spine whenever you touched the gas pedal.

The car was finished in a dark Burgundy metallic shade, contrasting heavily with the white leather interior, after completion of the car it was tested by Bob Wallace before being delivered to St Moritz in December 1971 for a price of Lire 13,000,000 while a standard Miura SV was available for only Lire 8,000,000 at that time.

After they completed this car, Automobili Lamborghini SpA actually made another, original SVJ along the same method, chassis number 5090 was not a modified SV, but was built as an SVJ from the start.

The very first SVJ (4934) was abandoned in the Imperial garage by the Shah in 1972, he quickly lost interest in all his new cars, so no further maintenance was done and during the 1979 revolution in Iran this car was confiscated together with all of the Shah’s other cars. Miura number 4934 was later found in very poor condition, a complete refurbishment was needed, also note that the chassis had to be refreshed to get the car into the shape it was when it was offered for auction in 1997, some sources state that it was actually sold by the Iran authorities to an enthusiast in Dubai during 1995.
In March 1997, during the Geneva Auto Show, this car was put up for auction by Brooks, the famous actor Nicolas Cage was able to buy the car for nearly $500,000, and kept it in his collection of supercars until early 2004, when it was acquired by a collector in the United Kingdom.

Lately this unique SVJ was ‘restored’ at the factory and today it boasts a fit and finish exactly like when it left the factory doors in 1971, the bodywork is just perfect now and the engine is now tuned like it was intended. This SVJ now drives like a ‘lightweight’ SV, the V12 revs freely and the current owner states that this one of a kind Miura is perfectly stable cruising at 250 Km/h on the UK highways.

Lamborghini Miura SVJ #5090

A 1972 Miura SVJ, this car was delivered towards the end of the Miura production at the factory, and together with the mystery SVJ described on this page, they  are considered to be the only two official factory SVJ’s built after the initial #4934. This car was finished in metallic red over red leather Miura SV, number 5090 with engine 30751 was built by the factory to full SVJ specifications.

It was delivered to Paul Ferrandi in Corsica after it was ordered from the French importer Voitures Paris Monceau, in 1982 this car was sold to France while in 1984 it was again sold to the current owner, who had it repainted into a Grey/Blue metallic later on.

Today this car is still in it’s original shape, showing the obvious age of the car by now, but still runs and looks great, little corrosion is starting to form on the silver bodywork, but it can still be considered an extremely rare Miura.
At this time the car features black sills, custom four point harness for the driver and passenger, a nice touch are two chronographs mounted on the dashboard, this car also features the rivets all over the bodywork, painted in the bodycolor just like the factory did in the early Seventies.

Lamborghini Miura SVJ #????

Rumor has it one of the closest Miura Jota builds ever would be a 1972 MIURA SVJ ‘dry sump’ model delivered by the factory on August 31. 1972, but no official documents can show the chassis number nor the engine number.

Note that this would have been only ‘period’ dry sump SVJ (based on real Jota mechanicals), and one of only two original SVJ ( together with #5090) delivered by the factory, still the second car, #5090, was a wet sump version.

The other existing SVJ’s (#4934 – #4990 – #4860 and now #4892) were originally delivered as standard SVs that were upgraded by the factory on special request from their owners, these cars were modified into the famous “SVJ look” at a later date.

This mystery car would have been the last SVJ actually built and delivered during the actual Miura production, on August 31. 1972 to be exact, while #5090 was delivered only 6 days earlier, on August 25. 1972.

Because of a detailed list of special, original specifications many called this specific Miura the most exact ‘cosmetic’ replica of the real Jota : Correct rivet placement, all-aluminum doors, hexagonal central lock wheels (all the other SVJs are fitted with the classic 3 eared knock off wheel nuts), single Jota wiper (only #4934 also mounted this from the factory), Mercedes stalk, different suspension geometry giving lower ride height and roll centre.

Mechanical basis: Oil radiator on the chassis’s front part, limited slip differential (not the case on all the SVJs), and most importantly the dry sump system.

Lamborghini Miura SVJ #4860

The nr. 4860 was built for Hubert Hahne in Dusseldorf, he was the German based importer for Automobili Lamborghini SpA at the time. This Miura was originally finished in black over white leather with black cloth, but in 1977 it was repainted in the current silver metallic at the factory, and received a full-leather interior in black, also note that all the visible chrome on the car was now finished in matte black. This car was actually a Miura SV that was converted into SVJ specs by the factory in late 1972, it was re-delivered to Mr Hahne in April 1973 and was officially denoted as the fifth, and last ‘original’ Miura SVJ built.

Note that this Miura SVJ was the only one using a 110 Liter fuel tank, also normal SV dual windshield wipers were mounted, note that this was probably the only SVJ that had the quad exhausts ‘cut’ into the rear section instead of completely removing it like on the four other SVJ’s.

Over the years the car was sold to several owners, but today it is rumored to reside in Japan, the current owner is actually thinking about returning this rare Miura SVJ back into the original black bodywork.

Lamborghini Miura SVJ # 4990

Yet another Miura SVJ nr. 4990 was sold in April 1972 to Alberto Silvera in Port au Prince, Haiti. It was delivered with a single windscreen wiper and painted in a very nice red metallic over black interior, later on the car was repainted into Rosso Corsa and received a larger windshield wiper from the Countach. After an extensive restoration at the factory in 1997 it was sold to a collector in Japan.

Note that today this original factory SVJ features a red with cream interior and a black ‘reversed leather’ dashboard, and another ‘non-original’ feature are the rivets on this car they are finished in chrome!

Note that these five Miura SVJ’s are considered to be the only ‘official’ factory cars, while the following cars on this page were actually originally built as normal Miura models that were later on modified/customized into more or less SVJ style Miura’s, but these later cars are not to be considered to be Miura SVJ models, just custom made cars most importantly the previous five cars will be a lot more expensive when found on the market, since actor Nicolas Cage acquired his SVJ for nearly $ 500,000 the price still went up.

Miura’s Modified Into SVJ Look (Not Considered Real SVJs)

An original first series Miura P400, green over brown with #3781 was bought by Heinz E. Steber in Germany, he later asked Hubert Hahne to have the car modified by Automobili Lamborghini SpA in November 1975.
The car was finished in April 1976 and included very wide central locking BBS wheels with Pirelli P7R tires, massive 345/35 ZR 15 were mounted at the rear, a special Koni race suspension was installed and Girling disc brakes from a Porsche 917 were used to stop this very fast Miura SV Jota replica.

The engine was rumored to be converted into dry sump, modified cams were mounted together with open Weber carburetors and a very loud race type exhaust system. On the inside special race type Recaro seats with a four point harness were installed. This car was later sold to a wealthy Japanese collector for an unknown price, rumors states he paid up to US $ 550,000 for it, today this car is still in Japan.

When Patrick Mimran took over the factory he also wanted a Miura to be built to SVJ specifications back in 1987, this was an orange over black Lamborghini Miura S #4088, it only received a few extra air holes in the bodywork and fixed headlights, the wheels remained standard, but it is rumored the engine was in fact upgraded and used a dry sump too. The car was shipped to Switzerland after Patrtick Mimran sold the company to Chrysler.

The Miura SV number 4806 with engine number 30592, was originally finished in red, after Graheser had the car rebuild at the factory it was repainted in yellow. The car was later bought by Armin Johl who heavily modified it to include some SVJ specifications, this car used drilled central locking units on the wheels.

Another Miura SV number 4870 was converted to use fixed headlight units, finished in dark blue metallic over white leather, this car was first delivered to Reza Pahlevi, the Shah of Persia, on July 21st 1971. The car was driven a few times and abandoned in the garage after that, it never received any maintenance and was only sold recently, the new owner completely restored it to the original specifications. This is probably one of only a few Miura’s in existence with less than 10,000 km on the counter.

Some of the other Miura’s modified into SVJ style cars were #4446, this LHD model was originally sold to an Australian owner who later sold it to a Japanese owner, today this Miura S was completely restored and modified into a Jota version by an authorized Lamborghini dealership.

A Miura S with chassis number 4791 was later converted to SVJ specs by none other than Bob Wallace himself in his US based workshop after he’d left Automobili Lamborghini SpA.

Specifications Lamborghini Miura SVJ
Production Years 1971-1973
Engine 3.9 L V12
Power 385 hp @ 7,850 rpm
Torque 294 lb-ft @ 5,750 rpm
Top Speed 186 mph (299 km/h)
0-60 mph 5.8 seconds
Transmission 5-speed manual
Brakes Four-wheel disc brakes
Curb Weight 2,866 lbs (1,300 kg)
Length 170.5 inches (4,330 mm)
Width 70.9 inches (1,800 mm)
Height 42.1 inches (1,070 mm)
Wheelbase 98.4 inches (2,500 mm)
Fuel Capacity 100 L (26.4 gal)
Tires Front: 205/70VR14, Rear: 215/70VR14
Suspension Independent suspension, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers
Steering Rack-and-pinion