VIN: the William Loughran / Lord Lilford / Elton John / Charles Chong Lamborghini Miura SV chassis 4830
History of chassis 4830
Of the 147 Miura SVs built, nine were originally right-hand drive.
Chassis 4830 was one such car. Finished in Bianco with a Bleu interior, gold wheels, gold sills and air-conditioning, it was dispatched to Lamborghini GB on October 16th 1971.
A few days after leaving Italy, chassis 4830 went on display at the London Motor Show (October 20th-30th). From here it was purchased by well-known car dealer, William Loughran of Preston.
The car was subsequently registered in January 1972.
William Loughran retained 4830 for about a year. He then sold to George Powys who was better known as Lord Lilford.
Powys (the 7th Baron Lilford) inherited his title aged 18; his father had died in 1945, at which point the Barony temporarily went to his second cousin, Stephen Powys.
During the late 1950s, George Powys set up a business manufacturing car tyres in South Africa. He had moved to the southern hemisphere in 1957 to marry his second wife.
By the time Powys purchased chassis 4830 in early 1972, he was on his fifth wife.
Powys did not keep the Miura long; by 1973 it was in the possession of one Tony Brown who in turn sold the car back to William Loughran.
The next owner was singer / songwriter, Elton John (real name Reginald Dwight).
Having initially written work for other musicians with his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, Elton John released his debut album Empty Sky in 1969. He had his first hit single in 1970; Your Song reached the top ten in both the USA and UK. He went on to achieve massive success and is considered one of the most influential musicians of his era.
Chassis 4830 subsequently went through the hands of three more owners (Steven Wartby in 1974, John Robertson in 1976 and Malcolm Clarke in 1978). In the early 1980s it was purchased by London-domiciled Malaysian property developer, Charles Chong.
During Chong’s ownership, the white Miura was a frequent site in and around London. It spent most of this time on the personalised number plate CCC 1.
In 1985, Charles Chong sold the SV via Portman to serial Lamborghini owner and demolition contractor, Barry Robinson. During Robinson’s ownership, 4830’s interior was switched from the original Bleu to a two-tone white and black colour scheme.
In December 1986, chassis 4830 featured in a road test by Performance Car magazine (for which it starred on the front cover).
Barry Robinson retained the car until 1988. At this point it was reputedly dispatched to a collection in Switzerland.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
