Lamborghini Miura

As far as cars go, this is a very pretty car.

For background, it was brought out in 1966 by Lamborghini, was the world's first real mid-engined road car and was the fastest road going car in the world at the time. It was also very pretty. I think I mentioned that.

The shape is distinctive but uncomplicated and communicates exactly what the car is. Outrageous, fast and desirable. The lines are simple, they seem to have been drawn with a flowing hand and with real passion, but there is nothing clinical about it. What the design does it create a persona for a mechanical object, an extraverted Italian maybe. Its design therefore personifies it, it seems to have hips, eyes, a heart in the engine. Even eyelashes. Makes me want to hug it somehow.

What makes this car really crazy is that it was designed by a 22 year old. It also wasn't really an official project of the company, it designed and engineered initially by a group of friends after hours simply for the love of the car. The design is therefore somehow purer and lacks compromise. This was not a car built to please a particular demographic, it was just made to look and be as good as it could be. Not that it was mechanically perfect, the engines had a propensity to explode and when the car became low on fuel the front end would lift making steering impossible due to the aerodynamics of the front and the placement of the fuel tank. But this just adds character somehow.

Personally, I enjoy the aerodynamic form of the car, accentuated by the violently inclined windscreen and long bonnet whilst the strong hips create a powerful stance almost conveying a hint of american muscle car, as does the enormous wheel arches. Its design was not unprecedented at the time, the ford gt 40 preceeded it, but this for me has more class and has become the quintessential supercar in my mind.

Finally, when the car doors are fully open and the car is viewed from the front the car takes the appearance of a bull's head. A neat touch considering lamborghini's emblem is a bull. Shows that this was a very well considered piece of design.

Ed Hamer

http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/02/19/random-wallpapers-lamborghini-miura-sv.html

http://www.harrypayne.com/blog/lamborghini-miura

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Miura