We’ve only recently published the news that the Lamborghini Aventador production came to an end when the 11,465th unit left the Linea Aventador in Sant’Agata, the final Aventador Ultimae was a bright blue Roadster, and immediately after seeing the photos and reading the press release it was obvious to me who ordered this car, and why it looked as it did: the car was going to a Swiss client, and it clearly looked like the one-off Miura Roadster from the Sixties, owned by Albert Spiess … and today Automobili Lamborghini SpA confirms our conclusion: this was a very exclusive Ad Personam Ultimae Roadster created in homage to the unique Miura Roadster.
The Swiss client is still not mentioned by name, but Mr. Spiess owns the Miura Roadster, and he was also the one that was able to convince Lamborghini to recreate the Countach prototype just for him, so asking Ad Personam to spec an Aventador Ultimae Roadster as a look-alike to his Miura Roadster would be easy after that Countach build. So they created a brand new color for this bespoke Aventador, called Azzuro Flake, which is very close the sparkling blue shade found on the Miura Roadster, but with a different glitter effect for homologation reasons apparently.
The wheels and side sill on the 1968 Miura Roadster were finished in silver, so this Aventador Ultimae Roadster received Grigio Liqueo lower side sills and lower front bumper, to mimic the split with the blue there is a pinstripe in Nero Aldebaran on the edge, on the Aventador Roadster the roof panels are finished in black carbon fiber, remember there is no roof whatsoever on the Miura Roadster, while the only option in terms of wheels on the Aventador had to be a silver finish with black brake calipers to match the classic beauty from the Sixties.
On the inside, we find a stunning Bianco Leda interior with Nero details, the Ad Personam studio even put a bespoke Miura logo on the dashboard in front of the passenger, a touch that is also visible on the side sills, where the stylish Miura script is accompanied by a ‘Roadster’ logo as an ultimate homage to the Miura Roadster this final Aventador V12 was intended to mimic as closely as possible, the top of the dashboard was kept black to avoid nasty reflections from the sun, remember a white dashboard, especially in a Roadster, will create almost blinding reflections in the windshield while driving.
The Miura P400 Roadster that has inspired the very last V12 Aventador, was a one-off show car unveiled at the Carrozzeria Bertone stand at Brussels Motor Show in April 1968. More than simply the coupé with the roof removed, the Roadster sports several differences to deliver the most aesthetic solution and ensure the necessary torsional rigidity of the chassis. It was painted in a spectacular, and very shiny, Lamè Sky Blue Acrilico paint, on a Pelle Bianco interior paired with a red carpet. With a low roofline, large side air intakes, and a sharply-raked windscreen and all other glass removed, the Roadster was well-received but never entered production. After also being shown at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show the show car, after being test-driven in Sant’Agata Bolognese, returned to Bertone and was sold to the International Lead and Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) who replaced every possible component with zinc or lead and repainted in olive green with green interior. It was used as a demonstration show car and renamed ZN 75. It traveled the world promoting lead and zinc materials and was shown to several car design centers. The rust-protective zinc treatment, still now considered mandatory on every new car, can be directly related to the work of the ZN 75. After different owners all over the world, the ZN 75 was returned to its original Roadster configuration in 2008. Fully restored to its original Brussels motor show condition, it was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’élegance in 2008 where it finished second in the Lamborghini class.
The photos in this article were made by ‘Cave Lazzareschi’ managed by Alvise Lazzareschi, located inside the mining basin of Colonnata di Carrara (MS).
