VIN: Albert Silvera's Lamborghini Miura P400 SV/J chassis 4990
/ Ben Tyer
HISTORY OF CHASSIS 4990
Chassis 4990 was the second of four Miuras officially built to SV/J specification.
Completed on April 18th 1972, it was ordered by Haitian diplomat and businessman, Albert Silvera.
Silvera had close connections with Francois ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier who was elected Haitian President in 1957.
Silvera served as Haiti’s Director of Tourism and reputedly had ties to the American CIA.
During the 1960s, he built the El Rancho Hotel & Casino on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Famed for its stunning architecture, the grand project had started life as Silvera’s private residence.
Silvera also owned homes in Florida and Paris, a private plane, a yacht and several high end European cars, most of which were factory customs built to his personal specification. Among the first were a brace of Ferrari 275 GTBs and a Rolls-Royce Phantom V Limousine with special James Young coachwork.
Over the winter of 1968-1969, Silvera flew to Italy and ordered a Miura (3883) and an Espada for Francois Duvalier.
In April 1972, Silvera collected chassis 4990, the first of three highly individual Lamborghinis built for his personal use.
Like the other three official SV/Js constructed between late 1971 and early 1973, chassis 4990 featured a tuned engine, straight-through exhaust, modified bodywork and uprated suspension.
The finished car was painted Rosso Granada Metallizzato with a Nero leather interior and registered on the export plate EE 60147. Ferruccio Lamborghini personally handed the car over to Silvera at the factory.
The SV/J was subsequently flown out to Haiti via Florida. It was frequently seen at the El Rancho Hotel.
Like Silvera’s other exotics, chassis 4990 was maintained by the Cressman / Baumgarten Ferrari dealership in Fort Lauderdale. Mechanics from Cressman / Baumgarten would normally fly out to Haiti to perform routine service work.
Precisely how long Silvera retained chassis 4990 is unclear.
Back in April 1971, Francois Duvalier had died and was succeeded by his 19 year old son, Jean-Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier.
In May 1980, Jean-Claude Duvalier married Michele Bennett in a wedding that cost $2m.
At some point, chassis 4990 was reputedly sold to Michele Bennet’s father, Ernest, the owner of a 50,000 acre coffee plantation in Haiti.
As a result of a domestic uprising, Jean-Claude Duvalier and his wife ultimately fled Haiti for Paris in February 1986.
In 1994, chassis 4990 was purchased from Haiti by a Japanese collector.
In 1997, the car was sent to the Lamborghini factory for restoration. By this stage, the original colour scheme had been switched to red with white leather.
Albert Silvera’s other Lamborghinis included a 1975 Countach LP400 with custom paint, leather and an engine tuned by Dallara Automobili (chassis 1120056) plus one of the five Countach LP400 Speciales (chassis 1120222, built in 1976).
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Lamborghini - https://www.lamborghini.com
Five years after Lamborghini had displayed the original production-spec. Countach (the LP400), an even more dramatic variant was revealed under lights at the Geneva Motor Show in 1978. Dubbed…
Is the Countach perhaps the most Lamborghini of all? Let's take a ride in the Quattrovalvole, not the purest, but the most powerful carburetted Countach. Twelve symphonic cylinders that still give incredible satisfaction today.
During 1970, Lamborghini development engineer and chief test driver, Bob Wallace, was given the go ahead by general manager, Paolo Stanzani, to construct a mid-engined hot rod more or less from scratch.
Ferruccio Lamborghini established his car building firm to create the kind of discrete Grand Tourers favoured by most European industrialists of the time. However, some of his eager young engineers…
A 5.7-liter V12 sits inches behind Derek Tam-Scott's head. Forty-eight valves, no turbos, nothing between the combustion and your ears. As the Lamborghini Diablo VT charges through the trees, it does what it has always done best: fill the entire world with noise.
Although Lamborghini debuted its 1971 Countach prototype with a five-litre V12, the cost associated with bringing what was still a highly experimental engine to market ultimately proved too great.
Chassis 3961 was dispatched on July 19th 1969 as a right-hand drive Miura S uniquely configured in Verde with dual two-tone Arancia / Bianco stripes and Nero upholstery. The car was ordered…
Chassis 1120004 was the third Countach LP400 built. It followed the Geneva Show cars from 1973 (chassis 1120001) and 1974 (chassis 1120002) from which point on Lamborghini adopted an even…
Arguably the most extreme Diablo to emerge from Sant’Agata was the one-off Roadster Prototype which Lamborghini presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1992. With its cut-down…
After the Mimram Group headed by brothers Patrick and Jean-Claude acquired Automobili Lamborghini in mid 1980, a plan to expand the firm’s one-car model range was immediately…
He's been the public face of Lamborghini, at least to many of their visiting clients and journalists, for decades through good times and bad. The factory even named a car after him, and he's still doing what he does best: test driving Lamborghinis.
Chassis 1121356 was a left-hand drive Series 3 LP400 S built for a Saudi Arabian customer who ordered the unique colour combination of Sahara Gold over White leather. Gold wheels were also…
From the late 1970s until the late 1990s, traditional Italian Rosso paint accounted for around half the Lamborghinis that left Sant’Agata. However, by the early 2000s, reds had dropped right off the radar…
Chassis 1120054 was a left-hand drive Countach LP400 signed off on February 14th 1975 and dispatched to the SEA Auto dealership in Rome. The handsome Tahiti Blue over Naturale Countach…
After a 15 year wait, during which hopes of an entry level Lamborghini were raised and dashed on multiple occasions, such a machine finally emerged when the highly anticipated Gallardo was…
Chassis 4818 was one of the seven Miuras built new to SV trim in right-hand drive. The car was ordered by renowned British singer-songwriter, Rod Stewart, who had previously owned two other…
Chassis 1121438 was the only Series 3 Countach LP400 S configured in Verde Abete with Bianco upholstery. Also optioned with a rear spoiler, the car was ordered through the Al Ayda Lamborghini…
Jonny Smith was contacted by the owners of The Manor in Ashby St Ledgers (the location of the Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot) to say there was a classic Lamborghini needing to be rescued in a stable...
One of 67 right-hand drive Countach Anniversaries built, chassis KLA12717 was ordered by London-domiciled Iranian real estate magnate, renowned watch collector and gentleman racing driver, Reza…
In 1984, Lamborghini started work on a Countach Restyling Prototype that could be assessed as a potential stop-gap model before a proper clean sheet replacement came on stream. The team…
Chassis RLA12122 was the 122nd Diablo SE30 built and one of 18 in right-hand drive. Completed on June 26th 1995, it was configured in Giallo with Nero / Giallo full leather upholstery and custom…
A selection of 1991 photographs from the Portman Lamborghini facility in Brentford. Featured cars: Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole: A8 FAN, Lamborghini Jalpa: F220 RHX, Lamborghini…
Having celebrated its 25th and 30th anniversaries with special editions of the Countach and Diablo respectively, Automobili Lamborghini’s 40th year as a car maker was marked in a similar…
At the Paris Motor Show in September 1998, French coachbuilder Heuliez unveiled one of the most spectacular Lamborghini-based design concepts of the 20th century: the Pregunta. Based on…
To celebrate Lamborghini’s 30th anniversary as an auto maker and homologate an uprated Diablo for GT racing, the limited edition SE30 was unveiled in September 1993. Significantly lighter…
Not long after Countach production began, Lamborghini started planning an uprated variant. The as-yet unnamed machine was to come with wider wheels, a tuned engine and a host of aggressive…
Signed off from the factory on April 16th 1987, chassis HLA12132 was a right-hand drive Countach Quattrovalvole equipped by Lamborghini with unique side skirts. Unlike the later ‘official’ side-skirted…
Although the heavily revised 1999 model year Diablo VT and SV launched in late 1998 were the first new models to arrived since the Volkswagen Audi Group’s acquisition of Automobili Lamborghini…
Lamborghini’s twelve cylinder offerings of the 1980s perfectly exemplified how the company had shifted from its founder’s ethos. Famously, Ferruccio Lamborghini had wanted to build the kind of…
Chassis HLA1255 was a right-hand drive Countach Quattrovalvole ordered through Portman Lamborghini in London by Jersey businessman, Mike Taylor. The car was signed off on August 6th…