Skip to main content

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

  • Take the high road with Thomas Telford
    August 24, 2023
    Take the high road with Thomas Telford: the road builder and the poet
  • High quality paving has been achieved at the Silverstone race track
    April 6, 2020
    Contractor Tarmac helped provide a high-quality surface for the UK’s famous Silverstone F1 racetrack, with the help of sophisticated technology from Topcon Positioning and Volz Consulting
  • Julián Núñez, head of ASECAP offers a little Spanish enlightenment
    May 1, 2018
    Julián Núñez, president of ASECAP, gets his teeth into the vision of a European strategy for toll roads. David Arminas reports from Madrid Getting European politicians to agree to a long-term cross-border highway infrastructure programme for toll roads is extremely difficult. It’s a bit like pulling teeth. People want to avoid the pain. This is perhaps a bad analogy to use in the case of Julián Núñez, president of ASECAP - European Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures. Núñez had just sat
  • Power, stability and control with new Case 8 WX Series
    January 21, 2013
    Case Construction Equipment has unveiled the first three models in an improved range of wheeled excavators: the WX148, WX168 and WX188. The machine trio are said to benefit from the power and performance of a three-pump hydraulic system, with a dedicated swing pump, a new engine speed/working mode selection dial, a heavy-duty undercarriage and an improved operator’s cab. The revisions are also said by Case to result in improved operator comfort and ease of operation, excellent service accessibility and redu