Looking back at the 2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept

It’s a divisive one, this. Some staunch fans of the original utterly despise it and others love it, while younglings of a generation that would consider the Diablo old-hat and wouldn’t be able to put the bull to the badge on the original Miura, looked upon this with lust.

Though many at the time speculated that it would usurp the then-aging Murcielago, this concept’s prerogative was always, in reality, to be a tribute, rather than a preview for what was to come, as the fortieth anniversary of the original’s unveiling in 1966 was celebrated. As a look to what would follow the Murcielago, the Reventon was certainly more suggestive.

Walter de’ Silva, the then-head of design at Lamborghini, was passionate about this project, claiming to have dreamed of re-interpreting the Miura’s timeless design in modern and contemporary terms. Looking at the concept, we’d say he pulled off that vision rather well. The classic eyelashes are incorporated into the lights, the “horn” doors remain, but there are shades of Lamborghinis-to-follow in the rear lights and the aero, fit and finish are befitting of a much more modern design. It’s also rather fitting that this concept came in the halcyon days of the Bizzarrini-designed V12 engine layout that hit headlines first in the original Miura, and left with 2009's Murcielago SV.

What do you think of the Miura Concept? In spite of our general approval of it, we’re glad it never hit the road. Cars as aesthetically challenging and forward-looking as flagship V12 Lamborghinis should, in our view, always look ahead, rather than to the past, and with the Aventador that eventually took the Murcielago's place, the former was very much the case.