Rome doesn’t need much help being theatrical, but for a long weekend in April, it turned the drama up anyway. Between April 16 and 19, the inaugural Anantara Concorso Roma unfolded like a well-directed period film—equal parts rolling sculpture garden and high-society gathering—set against the kind of backdrop that makes even modern supercars feel like they’re late to the party.
And then Automobili Lamborghini showed up with a reminder of who wrote the script in the first place.
The Return of a Legend
Front and center was a freshly restored Lamborghini Miura SV—arguably the final, most polished expression of the car widely credited as the world’s first supercar. This wasn’t just a polish-and-parade job. Over three years, Lamborghini’s heritage division, Lamborghini Polo Storico, performed a forensic-level restoration, peeling back decades of alterations to return the car to its factory-correct form.
Unveiled at Casina Valadier, the Miura didn’t scream for attention—it didn’t have to. In a city built on permanence, authenticity carries weight, and this car had it in spades.
The backstory reads like a restoration thriller. When the car arrived in Sant’Agata Bolognese in late 2023, it wasn’t quite itself. Non-original details had crept in over the years, blurring the edges of its identity. So Polo Storico went deep—consulting original production sheets, period documentation, and historical records to reconstruct the Miura down to the smallest detail.
We’re talking about the kind of obsessive accuracy that borders on the philosophical. The front-fender grilles? Corrected. The delicate fins above the door handles? Re-profiled with proper rounded edges. Rear louvers? Rebuilt to match period regulations. Even the octagonal center-lock hubs and those wonderfully named “Bob-type” exhaust tips—after legendary test driver Bob Wallace—were reinstated.
Inside, the cabin received the same treatment. Air-conditioning provisions restored. Hazard lights reintroduced. A more compact steering wheel fitted. Even the extended handbrake lever made a comeback. It’s the kind of detail work that most people will never notice—and that’s exactly the point.
Fifty Shades of Brown (Done Right)
Then there’s the paint. Finished in “Luci del Bosco,” a deep, earthy brown paired with a “Senape” interior, the Miura looks like it was poured rather than painted. Getting that shade right wasn’t as simple as cracking open an old can of paint—color specifications evolved over time, and nailing the exact hue required yet more archival digging.
It’s a reminder that restoration at this level isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about truth.
A Family Reunion in Rome
Lamborghini didn’t come to Rome with just one star. Owners brought out their own heavy hitters, including two Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary models and another Lamborghini Miura P400—the latter with a Hollywood résumé.
Yes, that Miura. The one from the opening sequence of The Italian Job.
Long rumored to have been destroyed during filming, the car’s survival story is almost as compelling as the movie itself. It turns out the Miura wasn’t sacrificed for cinematic drama after all. Instead, it lived on, its identity eventually confirmed and restored by Polo Storico in 2019 for the film’s 50th anniversary.
At the concours, it didn’t just show up—it won. First place in its class, plus a special award celebrating its cinematic legacy. Not bad for a car once written off as a prop.
More Than Just a Pretty Face
If there’s a takeaway from Lamborghini’s Roman holiday, it’s this: heritage isn’t static. It’s maintained, argued over, researched, and—when necessary—rebuilt bolt by bolt.
As Giuliano Cassataro, Lamborghini’s Head of After Sales, put it, this kind of work is about preserving authenticity over time. That may sound like corporate-speak, but standing in front of a perfectly restored Miura SV, it feels more like a mission statement.
Because in a world increasingly obsessed with the next big thing, there’s something quietly radical about getting the past exactly right.
Source: Lamborghini
