Prior to its conversion to Jota specifications, chassis 4892 was constructed at the factory in July 1971 as a Miura SV that was finished in white with a blue interior. The car remained in Italy and was sold new to a Dr. Alcide of Rome, Italy. It is not known when the conversion was done, but a letter issued by Lamborghini in 1974 listed it as a “P400 Miura SV Mod. Jota” at that time, which confirms that the conversion was done within three years following its production.
Mechanically, chassis 4892 received slight engine tuning and was fitted with a wet-sump engine. It was refinished in red at that time and imported to Japan. The car then passed through two subsequent owners before Kazuo Takahashi restored it in the late 1980s. After moving to the United States in 2007, it was purchased by a collector residing in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Miura was then shown at the 2007 William K. Vanderbilt Jr. Concours d’Elegance in Newport, RI, where it earned the Vanderbilt Award.
In May 2007, chassis 4892 was inspected by Claudio Zampolli, a former Lamborghini employee who was in charge of the company’s Special Projects Division from 1967 to 1972. Zampolli confirmed in a letter that this particular car has all the correct features of the factory-modified SV-Jotas, furthering the belief that this is one of the true factory-modified cars. It was then decided that the car would be fully restored by Miura expert Gary Bobileff, a process which took two years and cost $225,000.
The car was acquired by its current custodian in 2010 and has been sparingly driven and expertly maintained and preserved in his custody. The current owner of this Jota also took the time to research the car’s history and contacted Bob Wallace before his passing.
Through this interaction, Wallace was able to confirm that the car was indeed converted to Jota specifications at the factory. The car is still in excellent shape both cosmetically and mechanically, and it would be an ideal acquisition for anyone looking for a Miura that would stand out from the rest. Included with the sale of this car is an extensive file containing letters from Automobili Lamborghini, Claudio Zampolli, and Bob Wallace, as well as restoration photos and documents.
SVJ-specification Miuras are examples of “what could have been” had Lamborghini taken Bob Wallace’s advice and decided to go racing. They are without a doubt some of the most interesting cars to have ever left Sant’Agata. This Miura SVJ, one of only a handful of its kind built as an homage to the original SVJ, is an important part of Lamborghini history, harkening back to a car that was the pinnacle of Lamborghini engineering and development at its time. Any Miura is a beautiful car to behold, either at a standstill or at speed, and this SVJ takes the revered Miura to the next level.