VIN: the unique Lamborghini Miura P400 Roadster chassis 3498
History of chassis 3498
At the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968, Bertone displayed what turned out to be a unique Miura Roadster built on chassis 3498. Bertone had created the car in secret. When it was shown to Ferruccio Lamborghini, the boss was not impressed and refused to sanction a production version.
In its transformation to Roadster configuration, Bertone had made a series of significant modifications to chassis 3498. Most importantly, to compensate for the structural rigidity lost by cutting away the roof, the box section side members and roll-over bar had been reinforced. The roll-over bar itself was lowered as was the windscreen which helped improve aerodynamics.
An entirely new rear clamshell was fitted. It did away with the original slatted fastback profile in favour of a flattened central section that left the transversely mounted engine partially exposed.
Bigger shoulder mounted intakes were added and the fenders were re-profiled.
The engine surround was painted grey in contrast to the rest of the body which was a light metal-flake blue.
The tail fascia was made deeper and given a new vertically slatted grille through which the twin exhausts exited (unlike on the standard car where they emerged from underneath the bodywork).
New tail lights were installed that would later be adopted on some Miura SVs.
No roof panel was ever made, which left the interior exposed to the elements.
The cockpit was upholstered in white leather with red carpets. A Marzal-style steering wheel was fitted and the normally roof-mounted switchgear was moved to the central console.
After starring at Brussels, chassis 3498 was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Later in 1968, an offer was made for the car which could not be refused. It had been spotted by members of the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO), a promotional alliance of lead and zinc producers from New York. They considered it the ideal platform to showcase automotive uses for zinc and lead-based materials.
ILZRO purchased chassis 3498 and immediately set about giving the car a $200,000 makeover. Many components were re-rendered in lead, zinc and other such alloys. The colour was changed to an iridescent green gold. The interior was re-upholstered in tan leather with matching carpet and a conventional steering wheel was fitted.
Work finished in May 1969, at which point chassis 3498 was christened Zn75 – Zn for Zinc and 75 to denote the atomic mass.
In this new configuration, the Miura Roadster was shown all around the world.
After its show career ended, chassis 3498 was sold to ILZRO’s Executive Director who used it on the road for a short while before he donated the car to the Museum of Transportation in Brookline, Massachusetts.
In the late 1980s, chassis 3498 was sold to a syndicate headed by David Joliffe of Portman Lamborghini in the UK.
It later headed to Japan and then to the US where in 2008 it was restored to original configuration.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Bertone - https://www.bertone.it
