Hot car

A classic Lamborghini Miura SV sports car recently caught fire in London, while it was being driven. The owner managed to escape unharmed but by the time emergency services were able to attend the fire, the car had been completely burned out. As this extremely rare car is worth around £1 million, the insurance company is not likely to be happy about having to make a payout. The reason for the fire is unknown but the electrics of this 1971 model were never a strongpoint. Aerodynamically the Miura is also rep
August 15, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A classic 3066 Lamborghini Miura SV sports car recently caught fire in London, while it was being driven. The owner managed to escape unharmed but by the time emergency services were able to attend the fire, the car had been completely burned out. As this extremely rare car is worth around £1 million, the insurance company is not likely to be happy about having to make a payout. The reason for the fire is unknown but the electrics of this 1971 model were never a strongpoint. Aerodynamically the Miura is also reputed to have its flaws by generating lift rather than downforce at speed. As the front-mounted fuel tank empties the car is said to have a somewhat unnerving tendency to lift its front wheels from the ground. Given that the improved later (and most sought after) SV model had a top speed of 276km/h (171mph), this was something of a deterrent to driving a Miura flat out. The rarity and value of this particular model, with only 150 made and few surviving thanks to the car’s peculiar aerodynamics and stunning power to weight ratio, means that the car is likely to be rebuilt from the ground up.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Changing face of global construction industry
    February 28, 2012
    David CA Phillips reports on the changing structure of the global construction equipment industry. In 2007, the year of peak historical demand and before the onset of the international financial crisis, estimated total sales of key equipment types stood at just over 1,000,000 units, valued at approximately US$100 billion. By 2009 sales had fallen to around 600,000 units valued at around $65 billion. The consequences of the global financial recession were dramatic and immediate, and remain with us today, and
    Read More
  • Dangerous contents
    February 28, 2012
    Car thieves in the Russian city of St Petersburg may have got more than they bargained for when they stole a Mercedes SUV. The vehicle owner and his driver were settling his pet Asian Leopard Cat into the rear of the car when the thieves struck.
    Read More
  • New ice detection technology for motorists
    January 23, 2013
    A new technology developed by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland provides drivers with warnings of black ice on the roads. This automatic detection system will warn a driver in advance that a road is dangerous due to the presence of ice. According to VTT, this uses a novel, real-time method of obtaining information on road surface friction and employs data collected from the car’s in-built sensors. This compares the speeds of the drive shafts and axles in an array of driving conditions, with an al
    Read More
  • Surface quality a key trend in asphalt paving
    March 7, 2012
    Improved surface quality and improved machine design are key trends in the asphalt paving sector, Mike Woof reports There is a big difference in asphalt paving techniques in North America and Europe. In North America, the need to construct long stretches of highway quickly resulted in wide pavers offering high throughput capacity, with compaction equipment then being used to achieve the required density of the various courses. In Europe's highway construction projects, distances tend to be shorter and contr
    Read More

Highlighted Content