Legend has it that after being slighted by Enzo Ferrari, tractor manufacturer and GT enthusiast Ferruccio Lamborghini set out to make the perfect car in 1963. Two years later, the first supercar was born. Named after a Spanish ganadería which produces particularly fierce bulls, the Miura astonished the public when only the chassis was shown in 1965, with its V12 engine mounted transversely behind the cockpit. Many pundits doubted that Ferruccio would ever put his mid-engine mount into production. At the time, almost all cars designed for the road were rear drive with engines placed under the hood.

Marcello Gandini from Bertone was called in to skin the chassis with sleek bodywork and clam-shell hoods on both front and rear. It was quite simply the hottest thing on four wheels. When Ferruccio first presented the complete car in person at the 1966 Salon de Genève, the Miura was hailed as an aesthetic masterpiece and a technical marvel. It was so radical, so sexy, and so low to the ground - light years away from the Ford Galaxy Jay’s Dad drove every day.

Despite the sensation caused by early prototypes, Ferruccio planned on a limited production of about 50 cars. When the orders started pouring in, his team had to scramble through development, creating some confusion with earlier models, as changes were implemented over a range of serial numbers. Early Miuras were known as P400s, and were powered by a version of Lamborghini’s famous 3.9 liter V12 engine, producing 350 hp. Taking a cue from the Mini, the gearbox and engine were formed in one casting and shared oil.

About 274 P400s were manufactured between 1966 and 1969. Jay’s is number 127, part of the first batch that was built of 0.9mm steel, a bit lighter than later cars. Although the P400 was originally priced around $20,000 U.S., Jay was lucky enough to get his for free. Originally owned by Dean Martin, the car was used by his son Dino to commute to school. Dino cracked the crankcase, causing the engine to seize. A friend of Jay’s came into possession of the car, but couldn’t afford to fix it, and so gave it Jay to restore.