A few years back CC published a story and pictures of some of the international students’ cars at the University of Oregon in Eugene. At the time, I had heard of but never seen this phenomenon, despite having lived most of the past 60 years either close to a University of California campus, or near Stanford University. I guess I had forgotten all about this picture which I just found while going through some boxes in my basement this week.
I took it in in front of the International House, no less, at UC Berkeley in 1972. I was 15 years old and the Miura was very much an unobtanium exotic then. And yes, the back of the car, with all the exciting bits in it, is sticking into a pedestrian crosswalk. Geelongvic provided a good overview and CAR magazine report on the Miura, here. 46 years later I live in another UC town, but I haven’t seen a Miura on the road locally yet.
Wow. When I was in engineering school in the late 80s one of the older students had a nice Porsche 914, and those of us driving Valiants and the like thought it was pretty flash… Wasn’t even close to a Miura.
This great side profile shot shows just how timeless the Miura’s styling was and is.
Not so much of a phenomenon at the university I went to in Atlantic Canada in the early ’90s. I think someone may have had a new Camaro. 🙂
One of the instructors at my small, private College (ACCD) had one when I was a student in the early 70s. Mostly I saw it a night, looking down from a 3rd floor class window when he would drive in for night classes. I never got tired of studying the beautiful flowing surfaces. That was quite UNlike later over wrought Lambos that SCREEMED: “look at me”……:( DFO
The sexiest supercar ever? The Countach is known for being the subject of tons of posters stuck up on bedroom walls. However, my bedroom wall poster showed a Miura.
+1
I still have my little Matchbox one (in solid yellow) and rarely pas up the opportunity to see the start of “The Itlian Job”. The ‘music’ is great even before Matt sings….
I´m with you. Best movie start ever.
Kansas State University, primarily an Agriculture and Engineering school, there’s always numerous vehicles in the parking lot; Audi R8, Bentley GT, Porsche Panamera, etc., and they’re not faculty’s rides. Chinese students.
Sadly chances to see a Miura nowadays are very low, because prices for cars like this went so high, that most owners are to scared to drive them in real traffic
Please check out “2.5 million dollar Lamborghini barn find” on YouTubes 1320 video channel…what’s the point of having it if you don’t drive it!
In the winter of 1974-1975, there was a yellow Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer driven by a Saudi student at the University of Iowa. The first time I saw it, I couldn’t believe, since this was a car not even sold in the US, and even more exotic than a Miura. He puttered around the center of town with it, all winter long in the snow, slush, salt and all. It soon looked terrible with a coating of dark gray. He lived close to the campus, so it never got warmed up, and had a plume of condensation behind it perpetually.
It was other-worldly; I’d never seen any exotic in Iowa City, but this BB being puttered around in the snow all winter was way too much. It made me sick to see it being used like that.
BTW, that is an excellent shot of the Miura.
I was a lot better photographer at 15 than 61. But thanks for the complement! Whether it was well-used chemicals when I first printed it, or just 45 years of aging, the print looked pretty muddy and I did enhance the contrast a bit after scanning it.
Anyone know if Jay Leno is a regular curbside reader..?!?
Amazingly enough, there’s an orange one in my town that I see on the road once in a blue moon. It even made an appearance at Cars and Coffee one of the times I was there.
Here’s the business end…
SO much better looking than later Lambos!
Do you suppose the guy on the left is the owner? He’s headed the right way and seems to be reaching for his keys (or wishing he was).
Oh, Charlie Charlie… the owner is actually the girl in white!!! Her Iranian father bought it and sent it to her to be sold in the USA, but she decided to drive it instead!!!
https://www.motortrend.com/news/1971-lamborghini-miura-garage-find
I don’t know about parking rules in 1972, although I drove by there many a time, I do know that would be illegal parking on Piedmont and Bancroft in front of I House in 1977.
No classic sports cars, but at the University of California campus where I work there are scads of new high-end Porsches, BMWs, Mercedes and Maseratis, all driven by Chinese students.
Believe it or not, I just purchased the car in the photo, it has been in storage for 45yrs. and has only 15k original miles on it! I was told it was driven by an 18yr. old female freshman and was very skeptical of the story…..sometimes truth is stranger than fiction?
Congratulations!
Now if you could pose your new acquisition in the same spot, we’d love to run that here as a Before and After.
My thoughts exactly, would love to make it happen…..The seller, who I just recently purchased the car from, had owned it since 1973. He bought the car from the original owner, a female freshman from Iran, whose parents had given her a new Miura as her daily transportation. The car has been parked, locked away in storage since 1973, with only 15k miles currently recorded. A crazy tale, right? The moment I spotted the post of a white Miura with the side mirror mounted on the door and the USA market no-knockoff wheels I knew it was the same car. What are the odds a long forgotten photo would be discovered and posted by someone who at age 15 photographed an “unobtainiam” car in front of the International Housing Dormitory at Cal Berkeley back in 1972…(and by the way a very good photo at that)! and then within a few months the same white Miura in the photograph is discovered after being hidden away for 45 years, to once again see the light of day? How about this….once I get the Miura up and running, why not have the same person photograph it in the same spot for a “then vs. now” comparison? Maybe even go for a cruise around campus afterwards? I guarantee it’s what that 15yr. old was dreaming about 47 years ago…….
It’s a great tale.
I don’t know if you read my earlier comment in this thread about a Ferrari BB I saw being driven daily around the campus in Iowa City in 1973, in the snow and slush, by a Saudi student. And the BB was never sold legally in the US.
i will let dman, who lives near Santa Cruz, know of this development, and I’m sure he’s be thrilled to shoot it and ride in it.
An offer to take a ride in a Miura I last saw almost 50 years ago? I’m in. Paul sent me your contact info … I’ll be in touch. Could the woman walking down the stairs of the I House be the owner?
It very possibly could be…
Hello dman,
I am writing a story on this Lamborghini Miura for Automobile. With your permission and credit given, would it be possible to feature this photograph in the story? Hope to hear from you soon.
This has to be one of the most fascinating car stories I have ever seen. Just fantastic!
Growing up in London, I remember seeing a number of Miuras at the time — simply beautiful, quite unlike the Countach, which was just stupid show-off stuff.
Thanks for this!
Well, JM! It’s up and running!!!
How about that “before and after” picture???
I ended up selling the car at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Sale. All in price with fees included price was $2,095,000. I took the entire car down to bare metal, metal finished the entire car and polished the metal. It became know as the baremetalmiura.
Here’s the link to the auction info, which even includes dman’s photo from the top of this post.
https://rmsothebys.com/blog-editorial-videos/blog-editorial-videos/metal-crafted-artistry-showstopping-series-ii-lamborghini-miura-s-shines-in-the-lights-of-los-angeles/