How the Miura SV Invented Lamborghini's Most Coveted Two Letters

Fifty-five years ago in Sant'Agata Bolognese, two letters became a philosophy that every V12 Lamborghini would follow.

Every Lamborghini that has carried the SV badge, from the Diablo SV to the Aventador SVJ, traces its conceptual DNA directly to the decisions made in Sant'Agata Bolognese in 1971.

The upgrade that mattered most

Separating the engine and transmission into independent oil circuits was the single most meaningful upgrade in the Miura's evolution, and it established the Super Veloce principle that would persist for decades: address the car's real weaknesses, not just its headline numbers.

Ferruccio's order: remove the eyelashes

Ferruccio Lamborghini reportedly ordered the chrome headlight eyelashes removed to eliminate the time-consuming process of fitting them precisely during assembly, and the cleaner front end became the defining visual signature of the ultimate Miura.

A template repeated across five decades

The Aventador SVJ added the Jota suffix and a Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record, cementing the SV lineage as Lamborghini's answer to every competitor's track-focused special edition through the same recipe the Miura SV established: less weight, more power, sharper focus.

The driver-focused cockpit of the original Super Veloce

Lamborghini chose to spotlight the SV specifically for this anniversary, reinforcing the idea that the most extreme version is the one that matters most to the brand's identity.

A philosophy perfected in 1971, still unbroken

The Miura SV, which remained in production until 1973, was the version where Lamborghini's engineers stopped refining a concept and started perfecting a philosophy that every Super Veloce has followed since.