The creator of the Lamborghini Miura has died

Paolo Stanzani, a pivotal force in Lamborghini and a “father of the Miura”, has died at the age of 80.

It was Stanzani, along with designer Marcello Gandini, test driver Bob Wallace and chassis engineer Gian Paolo Dallara, who forever changed the fortunes of the small Italian car company in the 1960s when they created the epoch-shifting Miura. 

At the time, Ferruccio Lamborghini was happy to build front-engined grand tourers to compete with Ferrari, but the young and hungry junior employees wanted something revolutionary. 

And they got their wish – the Miura turned the world of supercars on its head, singlehandedly spawning the mid-engined revolution and cementing Lamborghini’s place in the pantheon of all-time supercar greats.

We're pretty much in love with the Miura, and were lucky enough to recreate the its famous first film appearance in The Italian Job. But it's for more than the Miura that we remember Stanzani. 

Under his guidance, the years that followed saw Lamborghini create the Espada, Jarama, Miura SV, Urraco and Countach. Stanzani is also considered the “father of the Countach”, and that’s quite an epitaph.

Vale, Paolo, and thank you.