Photo: Lamborghini
Decades before Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg teamed up with others in the 2003 The Italian Job, another crew, led by Michael Caine, was wreaking havoc in Turin in 1969, in the movie by the same name.
For car lovers, the movie was a hit right from the get-go. In the opening scenes, Rossano Brazzi is driving an orange Lamborghini Miura up and down the roads in the Italian Alps, ending his trip as a total wreck after he hits construction machinery conveniently placed at a tunnel exit by his foes.
It is the Miura that captured the imagination of moviegoers, the roar of its engine on the crests, the amazing interior shots showing the winding, climbing road. And for a while, some believed the car was actually destroyed in filming the scene.
That was not the case, it seems, as it was soon revealed a second Miura, an already wrecked one, was used for the crash scene. But the car driven by Brazzi somehow was misplaced.
For 50 years, says Lamborghini, “enthusiasts and collectors from around the world searched and amassed numerous and sometimes conflicting clues,” about the car’s location, but with no luck.
In 2018, Liechtenstein collector Fritz Kaiser bought a Miura P400 that was previously owned by a host of collectors. He decided to send the car to Lamborghini Polo Storico, the carmaker’s division charged with restoring and certifying Lamborghinis.
After checking the car’s identification, the carmaker found the P400 wearing chassis number chassis 3586 is “exactly the one used to shoot The Italian Job,” and the discovery was announced on Monday.
Coincidence or not. the Lamborghini Miura P400 was identified exactly 50 years after the movie was released. And even if it’s unclear what Fritz Kaiser plans to do with it, it’s clear the car’s price went up a notch after this announcement.
It is the Miura that captured the imagination of moviegoers, the roar of its engine on the crests, the amazing interior shots showing the winding, climbing road. And for a while, some believed the car was actually destroyed in filming the scene.
That was not the case, it seems, as it was soon revealed a second Miura, an already wrecked one, was used for the crash scene. But the car driven by Brazzi somehow was misplaced.
For 50 years, says Lamborghini, “enthusiasts and collectors from around the world searched and amassed numerous and sometimes conflicting clues,” about the car’s location, but with no luck.
In 2018, Liechtenstein collector Fritz Kaiser bought a Miura P400 that was previously owned by a host of collectors. He decided to send the car to Lamborghini Polo Storico, the carmaker’s division charged with restoring and certifying Lamborghinis.
After checking the car’s identification, the carmaker found the P400 wearing chassis number chassis 3586 is “exactly the one used to shoot The Italian Job,” and the discovery was announced on Monday.
Coincidence or not. the Lamborghini Miura P400 was identified exactly 50 years after the movie was released. And even if it’s unclear what Fritz Kaiser plans to do with it, it’s clear the car’s price went up a notch after this announcement.
Google News