the world's forst supercar - the lamborghini miura

NUCCIO BERTONE - CREATOR OF THE SUPERCAR

The Lamborghini Miura revolutionised the motor world when it arrived back in the 1960s.  Designed by the enigmatic Nuccio Bertone and manufactured by Lamborghini it is widely regarded as the world's first supercar. 

It was a true game changer and the Italian power house had just paved the way for all that would follow.  When released - it was the fastest production road car ever made - and the layout of the Miura has become the standard for high performance sports and supercars.


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CREATOR OF THE SUPERCAR

Nuccio Bertone is possibly the greatest car stylist that ever lived.  His style company was one of the world's most prominent and longest-lived design brands.  Under his tutolige the Bertone company created innovative and commercially successful designs for major car manufacturers - including Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini.  He was responsible for the realisation of pioneering concept cars, opening car factories and for discovering and developing excellent new talented minds and is widely regarded as the inventor of the supercar with his creation - the Lamborghini Miura.


PIONEER OF ITALIAN DESIGN

Bertonne was a pioneer of Italian design.  He opened his own carriage-making auto shop in Turin in 1912 but he was quick to identify that the future of coach-building lay in design.  He worked to adapt and design bodywork to fit the platforms the major manufacturers were already churning out at the time.  He was a creative mind and wanted to design revolutioary cars that people could only dream of.

 

THE 1953 ALFA ROMEO B.A.T

In the post war era - his most inspired creation was the design he created for Alfa Romeo in 1953 - the B.A.T (Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnice).  His ground breaking creation was designed to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible.  The stylish and sleek lines of the car were reported to have a drag co-efficient as low as 0.19 - an incredible achievment.  In terms of design, shape and performance the goal posts had just been moved.  The car was twice evolved with new editions in both 1954 and 1955.

 

THE 1954 ALFA ROMEO GIULETTA SPRINT

It was Nuccio's next creation that really cemented his name as a giant of the car design world.  In 1954 Alfa Romeo unveiled his latest creation at the Turin Motor Show - the Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint.  The ground breaking yet simple design of the elegant coupé was to usher in a new era of car design.  His services were now in high demand around the world and he went on to design iconic cars for BMW, Iso and Fiat - including the Fiat Dino.

 

THE 1966 LAMBORGHINI MIURA - THE FIRST SUPERCAR

Launched in 1966 the Lamborghini Miura was a truly inspired creation.  It was the world's first supercar.  The effect it was to have on the car industry cannot be over estimated.  It gained instant acclaim with its mid-engine layout, stunning details and elegant proportions.  It was the fastest production road car ever produced at the time.

 

NURTURING YOUNG TALENT

The Bertone design house was a hot bed for young talented minds who would go on to become highly regarded car designers in their own right.  Among them were Franco Scaglione, Giovanni Michelotti, Marcello Gandini and Giorgetto Giugiaro.  Bertone had a knack of spotting young talent and taking them in and developing them.  The Bertone company was also highly successful in securing contratcs with established manufactrers to build cars at its own plant.  Bertone built cars for Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Opel and Volvo - often adding their own badge to the car.

 

THE 1970 LANCIA STRATOS ZERO

In 1970 Bertone created a car that would rival his greatest creation to-date, (the Lamborghini Miura).  The newly unveiled Lancia Stratos Zero is possibly the closest car design will ever come to raw sculpture.  The new Lancia design boasted an ultra low lieing body with an extreme wedge shape.  Passengers had to enter the car through a hinged windscreen.  The mid-mounted engine cover opened upwards like an old grand piano. The design would later evolve and in 1973 the World Rally Championship winning Lancia Stratos was launched.

 

THE WORLDS FIRST SUPERCAR - THE MIURA

Although Bertone's long list of innovative car designs is breath-taking it will be the Lamborghini Miura that he will be best remembered for.  The Miura was the world's first supercar.  It was a powerful purpose built road machine built to deliver immense power, rapid motoring and raw thrills.  They weren't built for race tracks or to win races.

The Miura boasted a V12 3,929cc engine.  It provided an extremely low cabin with room for just two people.  It was an incredibly beautiful, technically genius and mind blowingly fast supercar - with a top speed of 175 mph, (281 km/h).  To complete the package the car was finished in outrageously exotic colours that mirrored the times of the late 1960's.  An interesting side note is the fact that the Italian team of engineers and designers responsible for the Miura were all in their twenties.

 

A NEW ERA

A New Era was born - the era of the modern supercar.  The Italian's had just created a masterpiece - that was to lead the way for all supercars that would follow.  The Miura was the fastest production road car ever made when it was released and it's ground breaking layout has become standard design for high performance supercars.

AutoCar Photo Shoot - The Meaning of the Lamborghini Miura

 

When was the first super car made?
The first supercar was made in 1966 - it was the Lamborghini Miura.

Who made the first supercar?
Lamborghini made the first supercar.

What was the first supercar?
The Lamborghini Miura was the first supercar - the world's first hypercar, world first supercar.

When was the first supercar made?
The first supercar made in 1966.

 

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1 comment

Alula

Alula

Mmmm… the Miura.
Mmmmiura.
<3 <3 <3

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