The Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster that has inspired the very last V12 Aventador, was a one-off show car unveiled at the Carrozzeria Bertone stand at Brussels Motor Show in April 1968. The Lamborghini Miura is a sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 1966 and 1973. The car was the first supercar with a rear mid-engined two-seat layout, although the concept was first seen in a production road car with René Bonnet’s Matra Djet, introduced in 1964. This layout has since become the standard for high-performance sports and supercars. More than simply the coupé with the roof removed, the Roadster sports several differences to deliver the most aesthetic solution and ensure the necessary torsional rigidity of the chassis.
It was painted in a spectacular, and very shiny, Lamè Sky Blue Acrilico paint, on Pelle Bianco interior paired with red carpet. With a low roofline, large side air intakes and a sharply-raked windscreen and all other glass removed, the Lamborghini Miura Roadster was well-received but never entered production. After also being shown at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show the show car, after being test-driven in Sant’Agata Bolognese, returned to Bertone and was sold to the International Lead and Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) who replaced every possible component with zinc or lead and repainted in olive green with green interior.
It was used as a demonstration show car and renamed ZN 75. It travelled the world promoting the lead and zinc materials, and was shown to several car design centers. The rust protective zinc treatment, still now considered mandatory on every new car, can be directly related to the work of the ZN 75. After different owners all over the world, the ZN 75 was returned to its original Roadster configuration in 2008. Fully restored to its original Brussels Motor Show condition, it was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2008 where finished second in the Lamborghini class.
