Rod Stewart’s Lamborghini could be yours for £1.2m

British rocker’s Miura P400 S is up for auction

As supercars go, the Lamborghini Miura is perhaps the most rock-star of the lot. Rod the Mod’s Miura S? Well that just takes the biscuit.

British rocker Rod Stewart was no stranger to extravagance and excess back in his heyday, so it’s only right that he should own a car that aped his personality.

Now, the musician’s former speed machine is going under the hammer.

Interested? You’ll need somewhere in the region of £1.2m to win the bidding on Wednesday 5 September. Here’s why.

The first car ain’t the cheapest

Lamborghini launched the Miura in 1966 as the first true two-seat, rear-mid-engine supercar, with a price tag of around $20,000 (roughly £120,000 in today’s money).

Calling in the big guns

Initially developed in-house by three Lambo engineers, the P400 broke cover at the Geneva Motor Show in ’66, after some tweaks by Italian design legend Bertone.

Have you ever seen the power train?

While the show car had nothing but ballast in the engine bay, the Miura P400 would eventually be equipped with a 3.9-litre V12 engine good for 345bhp.

Hot wheels

More stunning than the performance was the way the car looked – a vision of supercar styling for years to come, with low, sweeping lines and a sharp front-end.

Sweet little rock’n’roller

Come 1968, the Miura’s next iteration was launched: the P400 S. Largely identical to the P400 – and therefore just as beautiful – the Miura’s second coming brought updates including powered windows, dashes of chrome and engine tweaks that delivered a further 20bhp.

The evolution of Miura

It was the first of several evolutions of the Miura (the P400 SV being the most notable), with a total of 764 examples eventually built across all models.

Familiar with many models

Rock’n’roll legend Rod Stewart was doubtless familiar with most of those models, having owned several Lamborghini machines over the course of his long and fabled music career.

Some guys have all the luck (and Lamborghinis)

In fact, he’s reported to have owned an example of almost every new Lambo model – including each iteration of the remarkable Miura.

Star car for sale

That of course includes the P400 S which is up for auction with RM Sotheby’s at the firm’s London sale on Wednesday 5 September.

Let me be your car

Stewart ordered the 1971 Miura S in Bianco – the same shade of white that it still wears today.

Proof in the papers

As documents being auctioned with the car show, the hit singer (holder of six number ones in the UK) received the P400 S – chassis 4863 – through a London Lamborghini dealer in 1971.

Cool as standard

Shipped in right-hand drive guise straight to the UK (complete with factory-fitted air conditioning and seatbelts), the new Miura took pride of place in Stewart’s fleet.

One photo, three models

Model Dee Harrington – Stewart’s girlfriend at the time – was photographed with the new Italian supercar shortly after its delivery, alongside one of the rocker’s existing machines.

Cover star car

It’s also believed that Stewart’s car – registration ‘JLL 831K’ – was the one featured on the cover of Car magazine in November 1970.

Thanks for the memory

It’s not clear how much mileage Stewart put on the Lambo, but he held it for a few years before parting with the supercar in the mid ’70s.

I am selling

Following the singer’s ownership, the Miura passed through several pairs of hands, eventually selling in 1994 to an owner who would hold it for 10 years.

Oh no not my Miura

During that decade, the P400 S was modified to bring it up to the higher P400 SV specification – though the engine and chassis remained intact.

This old car of mine

Sold again in 2014, the new owner set about returning the car to its original specification, with Lamborghini’s in-house Polo Storico restoration unit handling the work.

Twistin’ the mods away

Everything from the bonnet and boot to the wheel arches, chassis and mechanical elements were comprehensively and sensitively returned to the way they were when they left the factory.

It’s all over now

In total, the painstaking effort cost more than €400,000, with every step of the thorough restoration documented and photographed in order to prove the originality of the main components.

Engine tags & gladrags

As a result of the work, the Miura goes to market as one of the best examples in existence today. 

What a wonderful car

Chassis 4863 is about as close to perfection as you can get – and Polo Storico reported that it was the finest Miura to have left its workshop.

Crazy about her

Proving the point, the Miura S was shown at this year’s Salon Privé Concours d'Elegance, where it won both its class and ‘Most Iconic Car’ honours.

Tonight’s the night

Want it for your own? Estimates suggest this stunning, storied Lamborghini could fetch between £1.2m and £1.4m when the hammer falls on Wednesday (5 September). Tune in later this week to find out how much it makes.