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Some 43 years after its Turin Show debut, Los Angeles based collectors have acquired the one-and-only 1965 Turin Salon Lamborghini Miura chassis, designed by chassis genius Gian Paolo Dallara, complete with Lambo’s first-ever transverse mid-mounted V12 engine (0293). It’s being “restored” now. Well, after Christmas.
26 Comments on “NOW How Much Would You Pay?...”
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John, John! Come on! I’ve got the chassis!
That’s a pretty frigg’n amazing chassis for a street car at that time.
Not to mention the cupholders…
I’d pay $500 and use another $100 or so to bribe Lieberman into letting me race that sucker in a LeMons event.
I mean, that’s an awesome piece of history and I hope it spends the rest of its life in a museum somewhere. That’s what I meant to say.
Museums are death for cars. They are meant to be DRIVEN, not just looked at. To enshrine a car as an untouchable, undriveable object is to cage a bird. To kill its essence. To destroy its purpose.
I am the caretaker of a classic car. It has a reasonably high market value, though not in the class of a Miura, but certainly above your average Mustang or even Porsche of the same era. It has immense value to me beyond $$s though, as it belonged to my father. I still drive it hard, and won’t hesitate to offer it’s wheel to anyone I know (supervised of course.) I even have a sign I put on the dashboard when I park it that says “It is OK to touch this car” because it ticks me off to no end to see people’s “don’t touch” signs at car shows. Cars can not be “hurt” by touch. They are thousands of pounds of metal, leather, wood, and rubber. Somebody lovingly touching it is a compliment, not a threat. If anyone says they like my car (especially kids), I invite them to sit in the driver’s seat, to grab the wheel and look out over that bonnet. It is my duty to provide those experiences for people. These things should be shared, not hoarded.
To whomever is restoring that car I say DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT. Ferruccio would be happy if you did.
–chuck
I would say upwards of US$700,000.00 for the frame and engine of a one of a kind Miura chassis.
I would be interested in knowing where it has been all these years? Where is the body? Was there ever a body produced for this chassis? and other interesting aspects of its history. Was it found in a barn on an estate sold at auction or something?
Hmmmmmm! I wonder!
Chuck rules.
chuckgoolsbee:
tomorrow when i start drinking again, i will be tipping a glass to you!
i like the cut of your jib
Could not agree with you more Chuck. Just had a conversation with my dad today on how in certain hobbies people relegate their items of interest into dust collectors rather than enjoying them for their intended purpose.
Is close to a million dollars out of the question?
chuckgoolsbee :
To whomever is restoring that car I say DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT. Ferruccio would be happy if you did.
–chuck
I don’t have any experience owning a car older than 1992 but as I understand it, you really need to drive these classic supercars like you stole them to keep the combustion chambers carbon-free and the engine in good running shape.
Robert Farago :
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Not to mention the cupholders…
That’s a lot of large cupholder on the frame rails there.
chuckgoolsbee,
Check out the post on Jalopnik about a privately owned Corvette ZR1 out on a snowy freeway in suburban Detroit. Say what you will about Detroiters, we don’t favor trailer queens.
Isn’t the sole point with this chassi to show off the chassi without the body? This chassi is known as the one without a body, it’s a museum piece, a car show item. Therefore, it would be a waste of money to put a body on it. And to do that would destroy the only thing that made it famous. So, considering the history of this chassi, and the fact that it’s never gonna be driven or clad in a body, that it’s sole mission in life is to be put on display, I’d say that the value of this car is practically worthless, or worth as much as somebody would pay just to look at the sheer beauty of the engineering. How much is it worth to have instead of an aquarium in the living room?
@Chuck
Many years ago I was on a tour package of a European country that involved a boat ride on a lake. This county being somewhat half-assed in it’s tourism industry at the time, I ended up getting bumped from the boat ride because they had booked too many people (at least they didn’t cram us on and sink). The consolation prize-an essentially private tour of a spectacular car museum. The highlight: sitting in and working the controls of a pristine Gullwing. To this day I love tracking the auction prices of those bad boys.
To your point, if you’ve ever been to Luray Caverns in Virginia; they have an incredible collection of pre-1950 cars, including a Stanley Steamer, a Bugatti, a Doozy, Packards, etc, crammed into a tiny space so that you can’t even walk all the way around the cars, with cracked rubber, cracked leather, and cloudy glass.
chuckgoolsbee: “These things should be shared, not hoarded.”
Three cheers for you. I like to drive my Model A or Studebaker and see the grins on the faces who see an old car. Older folks remember the cars of their youth; children are delighted to see a vehicle they’ve only seen in pictures. A twenty-something young woman said she’d never heard of Studebaker. Interestingly, it seems that bikers are the friendliest of the lot, as if they sense a mutual appreciation of machines that move.
Um… say, Chuck, would you mind sharing that car with me for a couple of years?
Chuckgoolsbee:
Excellent attitude. Several years ago they had a story in our local newspaper at the time of our local car show. One of the participants since the beginning has been an older gentleman with a 65 Mustang Convertible that he restored to original condition. The article noted that even though it is a “99 to 100 pt car” and has won many awards, he still drives it at least once each week. As he put it, why would I put all of that time into fixing it up if I wasn’t going to drive it? Cars are meant to be driven. When I see something like a Lambo Diablo with 12 miles on the odometer, I just have to ask why!? What posesses a person to spend that much money on a driving machine only to ruin it by never driving it?
To chuckgoolsbee and others:
I salute you. You are true enthusiasts. I would do the same. Some people lose perspective. Sort of like a neighbor down the street with the lushest green grass around that doesn’t allow kids or dogs enjoy it. Or those people who put vinyl covers on furniture.
My grandparents kept their nice silverware and china in a cabinet that only saw them out for company. I vowed as a kid never to be that way when I grew up. I use everything I have. The way it should be, as we’re only here once.
Merry Christmas!
That’s why I like the Newfoundland Targa (and the participants). No show queens, and no ‘professionals’ trying to bend the rules beyond their intent just to get an advantage. Just guys (and some girls) who like driving driving cars that should be driven.
What a marvellously refreshing comment from Chuck.
cheers
Malcolm
I like Chuck’s point, but how exactly does one drive a bare chassis? This particular piece seems like it was only every intended for show and tell.
chuckgoolsbee:
Someday, Farago will get around to creating a TTAC B&B/Posters/Contributors Hall of Fame.
Based on your posting re: driving vs. storing old cars…..
May you be in the first induction class. Cheers, mate!
Others have the same ethos….this summer, the largest group of Brass Era cars (I think the latest model I saw in this group was a mid- or late-1920’s) toured the Great Lakes and stopped in Kalamazoo. Several dozen of the finest brass-era vehicles, including several 1903 curved-dash Oldsmobiles. When I politely asked a few of the owners if I could take a picture of my 5-year-old grandson in the driver’s seat, to a person they cheerfully complied, letting him climb in, test the horn and steering wheel, etc. I expected cringes and polite ‘no’s’, we got the experience of a lifetime and great photos for my grandson. Mean people suck, but antique car owners that share, Rock!
Chuck’s “please touch” sign reminds me of a guy named Bert Lobberegt who I used to know. He was into Pierce Arrows big time. He restored a 1907 Great Arrow – huge thing, tall as a Kenworth -and drove it from the Seattle area to New York for the Pierce Arrow national meet and back. We had a Mopar car club meeting at his place and we all got to climb on and off his various cars including the Great Arrow and a pristine-looking aluminum-bodied 1924 (or so) Pierce Arrow with its original paint. We asked him if he’d restored it: No, it was original, hadn’t even had the engine rebuilt…why should he, it only had 150,000 miles on it!
I agree, old cars are to drive too. We had company from Denmark, and I let the guy drive my 58 Plymouth convertible. He’s never stopped talking about it.
Thanks Guys. Any/all here are welcome to a ride/drive, just bring something fun for me to try out. Lotus Elise is the top of my “want to drive” wish-list, with an Ariel Atom at #2. Anything interesting is welcome though. Just wait until summer, I’m under 3′ of snow right now. =D
Detroit-Iron, contact me (cg at goolsbee dot org) as I know of a 300sl (roadster, not gullwing) for sale if you are interested. I’ve driven it, and it is truly an amazing car. Light years ahead of its time in terms of fit and finish. A wonderful “driver” both at low and high speed.
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
Chuck, your demeanor is truly first rate.
A museum is probably a good place for this, given it’s state and history.
And as much as I take the same attitude as Chuck with my cars, I personally think the variety of attitudes people have is a good thing; if everyone felt the same there would eventually be no perfectly restored cars left. A certain number of trailer queening primpers help keep some perfectly restored models for others to view and enjoy.
Everyone,
I enjoy all the comments. I am the collector who purchased the chassis. Without saying too much a this time, I can say that this is not only important in the lamborghini world. Most importantly, it is the grandmother of all mid-engine high performance cars. Ferrari. McClaren, etc. mid-engines descend from this chassis. This was a revolution point in production cars. The car will be restored to exactly as it was shown in 1965 at Turin (hope I can find the tires). Truthfully, a little sandblasting, painting and tuning up the engine are all this baby really needs. Al right, maybe a little more than that. But not much. It is wonderful not to have to deal with the time and expense of body and interior on this.
As far as driving it, it is not street legal and will never be. Have no fear, however. I have access to tracks, private airstrips and sometimes even closed street courses. The chassis will be driven, shown at selected shows, and probably have stints at important car museums that are interested. I imagine the Lambo museum in Sant’AgataBolognese might be interested at some point. For those who believe this is worthless, you might want to reconsider – it is priceless!
By the way, I have an aquarium also – its in my hangar with my cars and in a few months, this chassis.