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Lamborghini Miura Retro Review: What it's like to drive the original supercar

“Glon, youÂ’re in the Miura.” Hang on, IÂ’m in what now? About a minute later, I have the keys to a 1973 Lamborghini Miura SV finished in Oro Metallizzato. Five minutes later, IÂ’m annoyed by the frosty winter air whooshing onto my face but too enthralled by the V12Â’s noise to close the window. The person who coined the phrase “never meet your heroes” clearly hasnÂ’t been let loose in the original supercar, a model of paramount importance in the pantheon of automotive history. Unveiled in 1966, and positioned above the 400 GT as LamborghiniÂ’s range-topping model, the Miura may as well have landed from a far, unexplored corner of the galaxy. It stretched about 172 inches long, 69 inches wide, and merely 41.5 inches tall, dimensions that gave it proportions more closely aligned with todayÂ’s definition of a supercar than with the crop of GTs whizzing by in the left lane of the Italian autostrada in the 1960s. I canÂ’t say that the Miura broke with tradition, Lamborghini didnÂ’t have much in the way of tradition three short years after its gutsy inception, but it looked nothing like the 400 GT. Highly respected Italian designer Marcello Gandini penned the Miura while working for Bertone. Its Fiat 850 Spider-sourced headlights were mounted nearly flat, its door handles were integrated into a column of fins, and its roof line peaked above the seats before flowing into a Kammback-like rear end. Mamma mia! It may look humble parked next to an Aventador, but its design was revolutionary in the 1960s. Equally revolutionary was the technical layout. While the 400 GT — and most high-end GTs sold during this era — were fitted with a front-mounted engine, the MiuraÂ’s 3.9-liter V12 was positioned directly behind the passenger compartment. Odder still, it was mounted transversally. Some historians claim that the inspiration for this arrangement was the original Mini, which stretched just 120 inches long thanks in part to a transverse-mounted engine. The MiniÂ’s role in shaping the Miura has never been proven, but whatÂ’s certain is moving the engine back and turning it 90 degrees changed LamborghiniÂ’s history. More than simply a new model for what was then a small, obscure company, the Miura became nearly a deity in the automotive stratosphere. It blazed the course that dozens of supercars have followed since. Rejigging the proportions required rearranging the interior.

Dad 3D-printed a Lamborghini because his son liked one in Forza

Sterling Backus's son only had one question after he drove a Lamborghini Aventador in the XBOX video game Forza: Can we build one? Most dads would respond with a chuckle and some quip about winning the lottery. But not Backus, whose day job is laser physicist. Backus responded, "Sure," and he meant it. As of this week, the replica is capable of driving under its own power. Backus, the chief scientific officer at KMLabs in Boulder, Colorado, and his 11-year-old son dubbed the project "Interceptor," and the build has a budget of about $20,000. Backus hand-built the steel chassis and pulled an LS1 V8 from a Corvette for power. He found the panel layouts through online design community GrabCAD, and then he modified them for 3D printing.  But he ran into a problem: The 3D-printed plastic would melt in the sun. So, he decided to incorporate carbon-fiber encapsulation (shown below), in which he wraps the parts and covers them in epoxy. Piece by piece, he assembled the shape of the supercar using a Creality CR-10 105 desktop 3D printer that he got for about $900 from Amazon. The front brake air intake alone is said to have taken 52 hours to complete. Additional cool features include a gated shifter, functioning lights, and scissor doors.  One of the fun aspects of the whole story is that Backus admits he had some learning to do when it came to the art form of additive engineering. So, he turned to the same place everybody else goes these days: YouTube. The physicist joked that he went to YouTube University and learned by watching videos.  With the end of the project in sight, Backus says he wants the final product to serve as an educational tool for Science Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) programs.  "The intent is to take the car to local schools to show kids how cool technology can be," the project's Facebook page says.  In the words of Jesse Pinkman, "YEAH SCIENCE!"  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rare U.S.-spec 1990 Lamborghini LM002 fetches $467,000 at auction

A rare "Rambo Lambo," an American-spec 1990 LM002 that was Lamborghini's first SUV and arguably the first high-performance sport utility, has sold at auction in New York for $467,000. RM Sotheby's says the luxury ute, which has 19,153 miles on the odometer, underwent a comprehensive five-year mechanical and cosmetic restoration and was originally priced at $158,000 when it arrived in the U.S. through a Florida port of entry. The auction sale price is more than twice the cost of the new Urus, the sleek new crossover that Lamborghini unveiled earlier this week. The LM002 traces its lineage to the Cheetah, a rear-engine-mounted 4x4 that Lamborghini made with an American defense contractor for the U.S. Army, which did not reward the automaker with a contract. It was Lamborghini's first production SUV, based on the Cheetah's basic engineering, and it added luxurious wood and leather to the interior, a spacious cargo area and the 5.2-liter Countach V12 engine that took it from 0-60 in 7.7 seconds. Only 301 examples were ever made between 1986 and 1993, with just 48 of them built to the LM/American specs and delivered to the U.S. Sotheby's notes that the exotic car market of the early '90s "was in full flourish thanks to a new generation of millionaires and billionaires seeking the ever-greater 'toy' — and nothing was bigger or better than the LM002." It boasts a massive 76-gallon fuel tank, and the model that just sold was equipped with specially designed Pirelli Scorpion run-flat tires. Jay Leno took an LM002 of the same model year for a spin two years ago on an episode of "Jay Leno's Garage." The restoration effort was valued at $325,000 and covered the Countach engine, new exhaust and a full, new interior, adding an Alpine stereo head unit and integrated Bluetooth to bring things up to modern speed. It also features the rare rear cargo toolbox, tonneau cover, and correct LM/American floor mats and chrome bumpers. The owner also got correct tools, keys, books, jack, full receipts and photographic documentation of the restoration process, plus two OEM ECU computer units.Related Video: