This is what the first Lamborghini Miura prototype looks like now

Many superlatives have been used to describe the Lamborghini Miura over the years, but one that’s generally agreed upon is that it was the first true supercar; the genesis of the world’s greatest bits of exotic metal. And this very car pictured is where it all started. No wonder it looks... knackered.

Christened chassis number ‘0502’, it’s the prototype which was used in 1966 by Lamborghini at events like the Geneva Motor Show and the Monaco Grand Prix to see if people loved or loathed its overabundance of eyeliner.

It never officially wore the Raging Bull badge either and went through an estimated 20 colour changes throughout its testing phase. We wonder if that includes Estoril Blue or Gunmetal Grey. Anyway, its labour eventually led to the creation of over 700 examples in total, such as the slightly cleaner 1970 ‘S’ also pictured above.

With a top speed of around 170mph (give or take a few depending on the trim), the Miura’s significant leap from anything else at the time is the reason why a whole new type of car class had to be created. This eventually led to creations like the Diablo, the Murcielago and the Aventador, before Lamborghini’s family of big V12s recently welcomed the Revuelto.

It's done a lot of heavy lifting for Lamborghini... hence why it looks knackered.