When Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli watched the first man land on the moon he was just 12, but he knew then he would be an astronaut: it was a defining moment. When the Miura SV was presented in 1971, it was another: the glorious finale to Miura iterations that established the prowess and appeal of the Lamborghini marque.
Nespoli flew 300 days in space during his career. He experienced accelerations of more than 4 gs, speeds above 27,500 kph: machinery and man battling the laws of physics to see the world from a different perspective. “I had total belief,” says Nespoli, “in myself, and that nothing is impossible. You need that belief to achieve. That is what the aerospace industry is built on. A purity of vision and, in the 50s, 60s, 70s, raw engineering. When the Wright brothers flew a few hundred metres in 1903, who imagined flying to the moon 66 years later? We went to the moon because it was difficult, not easy. NASA redefined the boundaries as they went.”
Like Lamborghini. Established in 1963 Automobili Lamborghini overcame every challenge, revealing the original Miura just two years after the company’s formation. The Miura’s purity of engineering, its pioneering technical layout, its power, performance and beauty, was born from a Lamborghini obsession with going beyond the edge. It ignored rules and conventions; it was the dawn of the super sports car. Presented in 1971 the Miura SV – Super Veloce, super speed – again redefined the benchmark for super sports cars.
“The Miura SV went beyond the edge, beyond belief,” continues Nespoli, “even 55 years on you can feel the engine power, the way the clutch moves with the gearshift, putting power to the wheels. You feel the wheel and tame the power. I am obsessed with engineering, technology. I always look to the future but driving the Miura SV I feel young again.”
Paolo Nespoli and the Miura SV share a legacy of changed perspectives through engineering evolution. Two icons who defied expectations and broke boundaries to go beyond the edge.
