Revved up to celebrate 50 years of a Lamborghini icon

Revisiting a famous opening scene from the silver screen is a fitting tribute to the gorgeous Lamborghini Miura.

By Robert Ross 08/05/2017

The 1969 British caper film The Italian Job opens with a soon-to-be-dead gangster driving his Lamborghini Miura through the Italian Alps. Shot from a helicopter, from the road, and from behind the wheel, we see the orange sports car snake its way along snow-lined mountain roads and blast up the dramatic Gran San Bernardo pass.

Our ill-fated driver alternates between taking cool drags from his cigarette and stirring the Miura’s gated shifter before he enters a pitch-dark tunnel. The screen goes black, and then we hear an explosion and see flames as the car slams into a bulldozer parked at the far end of the tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel with the Miura’s smouldering remains propped up over its blade, the bulldozer dumps the wreck and its occupant over a cliff and into a river below while an assembly of other gangsters watch from the side of the road.

Last year, nearly a half-century after the car’s apparent demise, that same orange P400 was parked outside the quaint Hotel Beau Sejour in the northern Italian village of Étroubles, about 16 kilometres from the Swiss border. The car didn’t have a scratch on it. A Miura can be worth a seven-figure sum today, but even in 1969 the model was sufficiently rare and coveted for the filmmakers to craftily substitute a previously totalled example as an after-crash stand-in.

The P400 was parked alongside two other Miuras, both owned by Lamborghini: a gold P400 S and a yellow P400 SV. We had driven here in a sextet of Aventadors from the auto maker’s factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, about 385 kilometres to the south, and to kick off the Miura’s 50th-anniversary celebration, we were going to re-create all but the incendiary element of The Italian Job’s opening sequence.

ANAS (Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade), the agency that manages Italian roadways, had closed the mountain pass to other traffic to allow us wide-open runs with photographers and video crews. But more special than the planned drive was the presence beforehand (in the town of Saint-Vincent) of three of the men responsible for the Miura’s existence.

The reunion of Giampaolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani and Marcello Gandini was an unrepeatable event, an opportunity to hear (through interpreters) their stories over dinner and at a morning press conference, and get a sense that, despite the earth-shattering impact the Miura had when it came on the scene in 1966, the car’s genesis was just another day’s work doing a different sort of Italian job.

Dallara, 80, was Lamborghini’s technical director from the company’s founding in 1963 until 1969. Stanzani (who sadly died in January aged 81) was an assistant to Dallara, and by 1967 had become the factory’s general manager. Gandini, who joined the styling house Bertone in 1965 and soon thereafter designed the Miura, is 78.

Together with factory test driver Bob Wallace, who died in 2013 at age 74, they accomplished what could never be done today because of bureaucratic regulations, focus groups and the ponderous machinations of corporate boards. They had only one man to please: Ferruccio Lamborghini, an industrialist with a thriving tractor business who was eager to establish his new automobile marque’s dominance with GT cars produced in a state-of-the-art factory he had built from scratch in 1963.

Inspired by mid-engine competition cars such as the Ford GT40, Dallara, Stanzani and Wallace proposed to their boss a road-going sports car unlike any previously conceived models. It would have a mid-engine layout for perfect balance and be powered by Lamborghini’s mighty V12, which Giotto Bizzarrini designed in 1963 for the 350 GT.

To keep the new car’s length reasonable, the long engine would be turned sideways, as the Mini Cooper’s was, with the transmission running parallel to the crankcase. Such a design represented a serious feat of engineering and metal casting, but Lamborghini accomplished it in time to present a rolling chassis called P400 (P for posteriore, referencing the position of the engine, and 400 for its 4.0-litre displacement) at the 1965 Turin Motor Show, where it attracted huge crowds.

The engine, worthy of Michelangelo, was adorned with four bright Weber carburettors and shoehorned into a chassis, lightened with Swiss-cheese holes, that awaited a body designed as brilliantly as the engine. The body would come from Nuccio Bertone’s firm. After meeting Ferruccio Lamborghini for the first time at the Turin show, he quickly struck a deal to design and build it. The styling assignment went to young Gandini, whose initial concept was a stroke of genius that underwent little compromise before the first prototype was shown at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 1966.

Lamborghini named the car Miura after a formidable type of fighting bull bred by Eduardo Miura Fernández in Seville, Spain. Gandini even created a clever logo script, adding horns to the M and a tail to the A.

To say the Miura was a sensation is an understatement. Lamborghini assumed the company might sell only 50 of these ‘halo’ cars, but it ended up building about 760 from the spring of 1966 until production ended in January 1973.

Miura taxonomy is complicated because the model underwent many changes – mechanical and cosmetic – during its production run. Broadly, the P400 evolved into the P400 S by 1969, with a power increase from 260 to 275kW and structural improvements. The P400 SV, introduced in early 1971, generated 287kW and featured an improved rear suspension, wider rear bumpers and wheels, revised pop-up headlights and, for the final 96 examples, split-sump lubrication. This design separated the engine and transmission cases, preventing gear fragments caused by missed shifts from destroying the engine bearings.

Lamborghini reportedly produced 275 examples of the P400, 338 of the P400 S and 150 of the P400 SV. Five of the SVs and one new chassis were built to SVJ specs, which incorporated styling elements from Wallace’s one-off racing test mule called the Jota.

But just as Dallara, Stanzani and Wallace were perfecting the Miura SV, Bertone debuted the LP500 Countach prototype – featuring another brilliant Gandini design – and the Miura was suddenly relegated to history. In hindsight, the Miura’s creators say there were years of life and customer orders left in the SV, but progress demanded that Lamborghini, maker of trendsetting supercars, once again define the future with an even more radical design.

The Miura is to historic sports cars what Everest is to mountains. It also represents the pinnacle of automotive beauty, not just for its era but perhaps for all time. And while such proclamations may be debated, no one can deny that driving a Miura offers a thrill that few other cars can equal.

As you approach the Miura, you realise how small, low and delicate it is. Its featherweight doors open with a tiny latch, and as you settle into the narrow bucket seat, you can imagine that this intimate interior, when new, felt as modern as a space capsule.

The Miura holds you in a close embrace and a slightly awkward position, with your arms outstretched and your legs splayed to fit in the shallow foot well. The leather-wrapped steering wheel (wood-rimmed on the early P400 models), big tach and speedo pods, close-set pedals and imposing chrome shift gate suggest that a visceral driving experience is in store. The headrest is just millimetres from a glass window that separates the cabin from the four fuel- and air-gulping carburettors and the rest of the engine.

Turn the key and the 4.0-litre, four-cam engine barks to life, with fine mechanical noises coming from valves, gears and chains. The exhaust note is stentorian and mellifluous, unlike Ferrari’s edgy wail. The engine produces peak horsepower at 7850rpm and revs freely to redline, though out of courtesy to the yellow SV’s freshly rebuilt motor, we exercised some restraint.

The road through the Gran San Bernardo is narrow but well paved. Its tight hairpins alternate with straight shots, where the Miura flexed its V12. The car’s torque band is broad; the engine is willing to pull from 1500rpm in top gear, meaning that your right foot can do most of the work. But the synchronised five-speed gearbox is pure entertainment. With the precision of a rifle bolt, the Miura’s hardened-steel shift rod glided into the slotted gate. The sound of matching revs and the exhaust’s percussion repeated off the near-vertical walls of snow on either side of the road.

The Miura is pure muscle – no fat – and driving it reminds you how different this elemental, lightweight car (1315 kilograms) is from the Aventador and its other complicated descendants. The Aventador has nearly twice the power, but like every other modern supercar, it feels large and heavy compared with the Miura. The Aventador is, of course, far more evolved. The distance between it and the Miura is about the distance between the Miura and another machine of its day, a Lamborghini tractor.

But the Miura is a timeless expression of aesthetic perfection that also affords a connection between driver and machine that does not exist with today’s automobiles. As Dallara observed at the press conference: “We were lucky enough to have a magic style that is still magic today.”

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Watch of the Week: TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith

The legendary sports watch returns, but with an unexpected twist.

By Josh Bozin 02/05/2024

Over the last few years, watch pundits have predicted the return of the eccentric TAG Heuer Formula 1, in some shape or form. It was all but confirmed when TAG Heuer’s heritage director, Nicholas Biebuyck, teased a slew of vintage models on his Instagram account in the aftermath of last year’s Watches & Wonders 2023 in Geneva. And when speaking with Frédéric Arnault at last year’s trade fair, the former CEO asked me directly if the brand were to relaunch its legacy Formula 1 collection, loved by collectors globally, how should they go about it?

My answer to the baited entreaty definitely didn’t mention a collaboration with Ronnie Fieg of Kith, one of the world’s biggest streetwear fashion labels. Still, here we are: the TAG Heuer Formula 1 is officially back and as colourful as ever.

As the watch industry enters its hype era—in recent years, we’ve seen MoonSwatches, Scuba Fifty Fathoms, and John Mayer G-Shocks—the new Formula 1 x Kith collaboration might be the coolest yet. 

TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer

Here’s the lowdown: overnight, TAG Heuer, together with Kith, took to socials to unveil a special, limited-edition collection of Formula 1 timepieces, inspired by the original collection from the 1980s. There are 10 new watches, all limited, with some designed on a stainless steel bracelet and some on an upgraded rubber strap; both options nod to the originals.

Seven are exclusive to Kith and its global stores (New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Hawaii, Tokyo, Toronto, and Paris, to be specific), and are made in an abundance of colours. Two are exclusive to TAG Heuer; and one is “shared” between TAG Heuer and Kith—this is a highlight of the collection, in our opinion. A faithful play on the original composite quartz watch from 1986, this model, limited to just 1,350 pieces globally, features the classic black bezel with red accents, a stainless steel bracelet, and that creamy eggshell dial, in all of its vintage-inspired glory. There’s no doubt that this particular model will present as pure nostalgia for those old enough to remember when the original TAG Heuer Formula 1 made its debut. 

TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer

Of course, throughout the collection, Fieg’s design cues are punctuated: the “TAG” is replaced with “Kith,” forming a contentious new brand name for this specific release, as well as Kith’s slogan, “Just Us.”

Collectors and purists alike will appreciate the dedication to the original Formula 1 collection: features like the 35mm Arnite cases—sourced from the original 80s-era supplier—the form hour hand, a triangle with a dot inside at 12 o’clock, indices that alternate every quarter between shields and dots, and a contrasting minuterie, are all welcomed design specs that make this collaboration so great. 

Every TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith timepiece will be presented in an eye-catching box that complements the fun and colour theme of Formula 1 but drives home the premium status of this collaboration. On that note, at $2,200 a piece, this isn’t exactly an approachable quartz watch but reflects the exclusive nature of Fieg’s Kith brand and the pieces he designs (largely limited-edition). 

TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer

So, what do we think? It’s important not to understate the significance of the arrival of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 in 1986, in what would prove integral in setting up the brand for success throughout the 90’s—it was the very first watch collection to have “TAG Heuer” branding, after all—but also in helping to establish a new generation of watch consumer. Like Fieg, many millennial enthusiasts will recall their sentimental ties with the Formula 1, often their first timepiece in their horological journey.  

This is as faithful of a reissue as we’ll get from TAG Heuer right now, and budding watch fans should be pleased with the result. To TAG Heuer’s credit, a great deal of research has gone into perfecting and replicating this iconic collection’s proportions, materials, and aesthetic for the modern-day consumer. Sure, it would have been nice to see a full lume dial, a distinguishing feature on some of the original pieces—why this wasn’t done is lost on me—and perhaps a more approachable price point, but there’s no doubt these will become an instant hit in the days to come. 

The TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith collection will be available on Friday, May 3rd, exclusively in-store at select TAG Heuer and Kith locations in Miami, and available starting Monday, May 6th, at select TAG Heuer boutiques, all Kith shops, and online at Kith.com. To see the full collection, visit tagheuer.com

 

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8 Fascinating Facts You Didn’t Know About Aston Martin

The British sports car company is most famous as the vehicle of choice for James Bond, but Aston Martin has an interesting history beyond 007.

By Bob Sorokanich 01/05/2024

Aston Martin will forever be associated with James Bond, ever since everyone’s favourite spy took delivery of his signature silver DB5 in the 1964 film Goldfinger. But there’s a lot more to the history of this famed British sports car brand beyond its association with the fictional British Secret Service agent.

Let’s dive into the long and colourful history of Aston Martin.

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What Venice’s New Tourist Tax Means for Your Next Trip

The Italian city will now charge visitors an entry fee during peak season. 

By Abby Montanez 01/05/2024

Visiting the Floating City just got a bit more expensive.

Venice is officially the first metropolis in the world to start implementing a day-trip fee in an effort to help the Italian hot spot combat overtourism during peak season, The Associated Press reported. The new program, which went into effect, requires travellers to cough up roughly €5 (about $AUD8.50) per person before they can explore the city’s canals and historic sites. Back in January, Venice also announced that starting in June, it would cap the size of tourist groups to 25 people and prohibit loudspeakers in the city centre and the islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

“We need to find a new balance between the tourists and residents,’ Simone Venturini, the city’s top tourism official, told AP News. “We need to safeguard the spaces of the residents, of course, and we need to discourage the arrival of day-trippers on some particular days.”

During this trial phase, the fee only applies to the 29 days deemed the busiest—between April 25 and July 14—and tickets will remain valid from 8:30 am to 4 pm. Visitors under 14 years of age will be allowed in free of charge in addition to guests with hotel reservations. However, the latter must apply online beforehand to request an exemption. Day-trippers can also pre-pay for tickets online via the city’s official tourism site or snap them up in person at the Santa Lucia train station.

“With courage and great humility, we are introducing this system because we want to give a future to Venice and leave this heritage of humanity to future generations,” Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) regarding the city’s much-talked-about entry fee.

Despite the mayor’s backing, it’s apparent that residents weren’t totally pleased with the program. The regulation led to protests and riots outside of the train station, The Independent reported. “We are against this measure because it will do nothing to stop overtourism,” resident Cristina Romieri told the outlet. “Moreover, it is such a complex regulation with so many exceptions that it will also be difficult to enforce it.”

While Venice is the first city to carry out the new day-tripper fee, several other European locales have introduced or raised tourist taxes to fend off large crowds and boost the local economy. Most recently, Barcelona increased its city-wide tourist tax. Similarly, you’ll have to pay an extra “climate crisis resilience” tax if you plan on visiting Greece that will fund the country’s disaster recovery projects.

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Omega Reveals a New Speedmaster Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics

Your first look at the new Speedmaster Chronoscope, designed in the colour theme of the Paris Olympics.

By Josh Bozin 26/04/2024

The starters are on the blocks, and with less than 100 days to go until the Paris 2024 Olympics, luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega was bound to release something spectacular to mark its bragging rights as the official timekeeper for the Summer Games. Enter the new 43mm Speedmaster Chronoscope, available in new colourways—gold, black, and white—in line with the colour theme of the Olympic Games in Paris this July.

So, what do we get in this nicely-wrapped, Olympics-inspired package? Technically, there are four new podium-worthy iterations of the iconic Speedmaster.

Omega

The new versions present handsomely in stainless steel or 18K Moonshine Gold—the brand’s proprietary yellow gold known for its enduring shine. The steel version has an anodised aluminium bezel and a stainless steel bracelet or vintage-inspired perforated leather strap. The Moonshine Gold iteration boasts a ceramic bezel; it will most likely appease Speedy collectors, particularly those with an affinity for Omega’s long-standing role as stewards of the Olympic Games.

Notably, each watch bears an attractive white opaline dial; the background to three dark grey timing scales in a 1940s “snail” design. Of course, this Speedmaster Chronoscope is special in its own right. For the most part, the overall look of the Speedmaster has remained true to its 1957 origins. This Speedmaster, however, adopts Omega’s Chronoscope design from 2021, including the storied tachymeter scale, along with a telemeter, and pulsometer scale—essentially, three different measurements on the wrist.

While the technical nature of this timepiece won’t interest some, others will revel in its theatrics. Turn over each timepiece, and instead of a transparent crystal caseback, there is a stamped medallion featuring a mirror-polished Paris 2024 logo, along with “Paris 2024” and the Olympic Rings—a subtle nod to this year’s games.

Powering this Olympiad offering—and ensuring the greatest level of accuracy—is the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 9908 and 9909, certified by METAS.

Omega

A Speedmaster to commemorate the Olympic Games was as sure a bet as Mondo Deplantis winning gold in the men’s pole vault—especially after Omega revealed its Olympic-edition Seamaster Diver 300m “Paris 2024” last year—but they delivered a great addition to the legacy collection, without gimmickry.

However, the all-gold Speedmaster is 85K at the top end of the scale, which is a lot of money for a watch of this stature. By comparison, the immaculate Speedmaster Moonshine gold with a sun-brushed green PVD “step” dial is 15K cheaper, albeit without the Chronoscope complications.

The Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope in stainless steel with a leather strap is priced at $15,725; stainless steel with steel bracelet at $16,275; 18k Moonshine Gold on leather strap $54,325; and 18k Moonshine Gold with matching gold bracelet $85,350, available at Omega boutiques now.

Discover the collection here

 

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Here’s What Goes Into Making Jay-Z’s $1,800 Champagne

We put Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs Assemblage No. 4 under the microsope.

By Mike Desimone And Jeff Jenssen 23/04/2024

In our quest to locate the most exclusive and exciting wines for our readers, we usually ask the question, “How many bottles of this were made?” Often, we get a general response based on an annual average, although many Champagne houses simply respond, “We do not wish to communicate our quantities.” As far as we’re concerned, that’s pretty much like pleading the Fifth on the witness stand; yes, you’re not incriminating yourself, but anyone paying attention knows you’re probably guilty of something. In the case of some Champagne houses, that something is making a whole lot of bottles—millions of them—while creating an illusion of rarity.

We received the exact opposite reply regarding Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs Assemblage No. 4. Yasmin Allen, the company’s president and CEO, told us only 7,328 bottles would be released of this Pinot Noir offering. It’s good to know that with a sticker price of around $1,800, it’s highly limited, but it still makes one wonder what’s so exceptional about it.

Known by its nickname, Ace of Spades, for its distinctive and decorative metallic packaging, Armand de Brignac is owned by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy and Jay-Z and is produced by Champagne Cattier. Each bottle of Assemblage No. 4 is numbered; a small plate on the back reads “Assemblage Four, [X,XXX]/7,328, Disgorged: 20 April, 2023.” Prior to disgorgement, it spent seven years in the bottle on lees after primary fermentation mostly in stainless steel with a small amount in concrete. That’s the longest of the house’s Champagnes spent on the lees, but Allen says the winemaking team tasted along the way and would have disgorged earlier than planned if they’d felt the time was right.

Chef de cave, Alexandre Cattier, says the wine is sourced from some of the best Premier and Grand Cru Pinot Noir–producing villages in the Champagne region, including Chigny-les-Roses, Verzenay, Rilly-la-Montagne, Verzy, Ludes, Mailly-Champagne, and Ville-sur-Arce in the Aube département. This is considered a multi-vintage expression, using wine from a consecutive trio of vintages—2013, 2014, and 2015—to create an “intense and rich” blend. Seventy percent of the offering is from 2015 (hailed as one of the finest vintages in recent memory), with 15 percent each from the other two years.

This precisely crafted Champagne uses only the tête de cuvée juice, a highly selective extraction process. As Allen points out, “the winemakers solely take the first and freshest portion of the gentle cuvée grape press,” which assures that the finished wine will be the highest quality.  Armand de Brignac used grapes from various sites and three different vintages so the final product would reflect the house signature style. This is the fourth release in a series that began with Assemblage No. 1. “Testing different levels of intensity of aromas with the balance of red and dark fruits has been a guiding principle between the Blanc de Noirs that followed,” Allen explains.

The CEO recommends allowing the Assemblage No. 4 to linger in your glass for a while, telling us, “Your palette will go on a journey, evolving from one incredible aroma to the next as the wine warms in your glass where it will open up to an extraordinary length.” We found it to have a gorgeous bouquet of raspberry and Mission fig with hints of river rock; as it opened, notes of toasted almond and just-baked brioche became noticeable. With striking acidity and a vein of minerality, it has luscious nectarine, passion fruit, candied orange peel, and red plum flavors with touches of beeswax and a whiff of baking spices on the enduring finish. We enjoyed our bottle with a roast chicken rubbed with butter and herbes de Provence and savored the final, extremely rare sip with a bit of Stilton. Unfortunately, the pairing possibilities are not infinite with this release; there are only 7,327 more ways to enjoy yours.

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