Lamborghini plunders its past for design inspiration

Lamborghini wowed Detroit show goers with the stunningly beautiful Miura concept. In recent years Lamborghini designs have had huge presence and drama but not conventional prettiness or beauty; something the Miura has in abundance. Obviously it owes much of this to the original 1966 car, itself widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cars of all time, but design boss Walter de Silva has done a fantastic job of modernising the design without defacing the original - very much in the same vein as the Ford GT.

Despite being 40 years younger than the Marcello Gandini penned original, the concept Is unmistakably a Miura with the pure, clean voluptuous curves retained along with recognisable features such as the louvered rear window. Meanwhile the designer has managed to incorporate aerodynamic tweaks throughout the car without upsetting the looks or diluting the lines of the original Miura. The interior is a modernistic reproduction of the 1966 original as well.

No details of the Miura Concept’s running gear were available at the show, but it must be safe to assume that the platform of another Lamborghini, probably the Gallardo, would fit snugly beneath the beautiful body. At this stage Lamborghini is stressing that the Miura concept is just that - a pure concept - but given the glut of modern interpretations of older classics one can’t help thinking that something very similar may make it to at least a limited production run. Here's hoping.