VIN: the Showstopper - Lamborghini Miura P400 prototype chassis 0502
History of chassis 0502
Chassis 0502 was the first Miura built into a finished car. It followed the naked rolling chassis that had been displayed at the 1965 Turin Motor Show which opened in late October and ran until early November. Both used 0.8mm gauge steel for their chassis whereas subsequent Miuras were built with 0.9mm gauge material.
0502 was dispatched to Bertone for bodywork in late 1965. It emerged wearing a stunning Arancio Acrilico over Nero colour scheme and was signed off on March 1st 1966. Nine days later (March 10th), 0502 made its public debut on the Bertone stand at the Geneva Motor Show.
As the first Miura prototype, 0502 featured a number of details that never made it onto the production version. Most obvious of these was a vented Plexiglas fastback rear screen that ultimately made way for a bank of black slats. Less easy to spot was a roofline that was subtly raised in order to provide a little extra headroom in the production version.
Following its outing at the Geneva Motor Show, chassis 0502 served as a development mule. During this period of its life, 0502 attended the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix; factory test driver Bob Wallace drove to Monte Carlo from Sant’Agata and parked the orange Miura in Casino square where it garnered a huge amount of attention.
In its original guise, 0502 was featured by myriad publications to include an appearance on the front cover of Road & Track magazine (October 1966 edition).
With thousands of hard test kilometres under its belt, 0502 was given a cosmetic overhaul during the autumn of 1966. A fresh coat of paint was applied, the Plexiglas rear screen was switched to a production-spec. bank of black slats and the interior was re-trimmed with dark brown upholstery. At this stage the car may have been renumbered 0509.
0502 went on to star in Lamborghini’s promotional images for the Miura brochure. It was then displayed at the 1966 Paris and Turin Motor Shows which opened in October and November respectively.
Unfortunately, chassis 0502 was destroyed soon afterwards when it was hit and run over by an out of control lorry while stationary at a set of traffic lights.
Notable History
Arancio Acrilico / Nero
0.8mm chassis
1st Miura built
Left-hand drive
01/03/1966 signed off
03/1966 Geneva Motor Show
05/1966 Monaco Grand Prix
10/1966 Road & Track cover car
10/1966 Paris Motor Show
11/1966 Turin Motor Show
Destroyed while out on test
