1969 Lamborghini Miura S to Jota

Tony’s Take: Produced from 1966 to 1973, the Lamborghini Miura was the first supercar with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. In 1968, Lambo introduced the Miura S, offering speed demons an extra 20hp, good for a staggering-for-the-time 350 horsepower. But that was not the top of the Miura tree. That honor/challenge was reserved for the Lamborghini Jota (“J” in Spanish).

The Lamborghini Jota was a – as in one – pared-down, track-focused test mule. Created in 1970 to meet the FIA’s Appendix J regulations, it never raced. Worse, “this single example was eventually sold to a private buyer after extensive testing. In April 1971, the car crashed on the yet-unopened ring road around the city of Brescia, and burned to the ground.”

This 1969 Miura S started life in Rosso Corsa over Nero leather. The S then spent three decades in Japan doing God knows what. Somewhere along the line, an owner was asked “orange you glad you repainted it Arancia?”

In 2006, the owner of chassis #4280 decided to convert the S to Jota spec.

The seven-year conversion process cost $475k. It included body and suspension mods and an engine transplant (1971 SV/P400SV) and power upgrade (400hp). The Miura S became a Jota homage, one of a handful of Miuras modified to mirror the Mack Daddy.

In 2014, RM hammered the completed car for $617k. It’s been sold privately a couple of times since, spending quality time in Sweden and the UK. Eight years later, the Lamborghini Miura is back on the market.

Although there aren’t any direct comparisons, let’s go to the tape for recent Miura S sales.

The growing demand for classic Lamborghinis and the rising collector market (generally) has pumped-up the volume on the value. That said, this is not an original, numbers-matching car.

Based on recent market trends and the “unique” history of this particular vehicle, I estimate the car’s worth between $840k and $875k. Given service and storage costs, anything over $700k would will provide profit for the owner.