Automobile designer Dilip Chabria,on why the Lamborghini Muira is one of the most graceful cars ever designedThe Lamborghini Miura-1966 has the greatest design I have ever seen. I first saw this car in Rome,Italy,where I had gone with friends on a trip organised by my school in the mid 1970s. Parked in the middle of a town square,the car was gleaming in the sunlight. I had a vague idea of it from what I had heard but when I first saw it,my jaw dropped. I just couldnt take my eyes off the beauty. My friends had gone to a café and finished with their meal but incredibly,I stood there still in awe. This two-seater sports car was a trendsetter. It was a revolutionary mid-engine car at a time when most other race cars were of the rear wheel drive,front-engine type. And very few could successfully replicate the mid-engine concept of the Miura. After I left Italy,I never saw the car again. I went to study automobile design at the Arts Centre College in the US,I realized what made the Miura 1966 model stand out. It was a benchmark for car designs as it was eye-catching and practically designed. Its production stopped in 1968. The cars feline grace and proportions,starting from the shark-like nose to its tail,exude energy in a very smooth way. Its forward stance was like a fighter jet. Its large curvy windscreens rose till the roof and its cleverly-designed headlamps looked like eye-lashes. It would swivel up when activated and tuck into the recesses of the nose when not in use to reduce drag and maximise performance. Even the side air-intakes were a useful feature as they combined style and functionality. I could never lay my hands on one,since it was never available in India,but I would not think twice to buy this car at the first chance I get.
