it has a starring role in the classic movie the italian job – in one of the most memorable opening sequences in cinema history a stunning orange supercar races through the alps, before disappearing into a tunnel then, in a heartbreaking moment for car fans, the lamborghini miura crashes in a ball of flames the smashed up wreckage is dragged out of the tunnel by the mafia and pushed into a ravine by a bulldozer – followed by a wreath for the driver the millions who have seen the iconic film since it was made in 1969 must have assumed the car was an irrecoverable write off, never to be driven again scroll down for video  the holy grail of supercars: fans had assumed the iconic lamborghini miura was a complete write off  the car, now worth more than £1 million,  was found in pristine condition and bought by two british buisnessmen pictured: joint owner iain tyrrell  but now the mail on sunday can reveal the car seen powering through the alps has been found in pristine condition – and is worth more than £1 million described as ‘the holy grail of supercars’, it has been tracked down by two british businessman the car’s new co owner, iain tyrrell, received a tip off at christmas that the miura had resurfaced he said: ‘i was initially sceptical because no one had seen it for 46 years but my source was a credible one so i started to pursue it’ he was invited to see it – but given just three hours to verify the vehicle as the genuine article ‘it was all very james bond ish – i had to go to paris to inspect the car in a secret underground car park,’ he said mr tyrrell learned that the thrilling sequence that opens the italian job was shot using two cars – both supplied by lamborghini, but one of them was already smashed up it is the first, intact, car that has now been found mr tyrrell said: ‘the italian job lamborghini is the holy grail of supercars precisely because no one knew what happened to it after the film i have a life long passion for these cars but i just assumed this particular vehicle was out of reach’ as the miura is still in near mint condition, mr tyrrell – who owns cheshire classic cars – was able to cross reference its original features with stills from the film he has also checked the car’s history at the lamborghini archive he said: ‘after inspecting the car, there is no doubt in my mind that it is the miura from the italian job top gear magazine named the lamborghini, featured in the opening sequence of the italian job, the coolest car in the world  in the 1969 iconic film the stunning orange supercar races through the alps, before disappearing into a tunnel  the lamborghini crashes in a ball of flames and is then dragged out of the tunnel by the mafia before being pushed into a ravine by a bulldozer  the opening sequence of the film was shot using two cars, but one was already smashed up  ‘there are certain quirks within the interior of the car, such as the trim and the stitching they are like a fingerprint or a birth mark they can’t be replaced’ research has uncovered that the filmmakers, paramount, hired the car from lamborghini and after filming it was sold to a dealer michael caine and maggie blye in the movie  the dealer then sold the miura to an unidentified buyer in 2005, after it had changed hands a few times, norbetto ferretti, a luxury yacht manufacturer, bought it this transaction brought a remarkable coincidence to the saga – as mr ferretti was the son of the dealer who originally bought it from lamborghini after the italian job incredibly, it seems that both he and its previous owners had been completely unaware of its role in the movie mr tyrrell and his friend and co owner, keith ashworth, now plan to display the lamborghini around the world, although they have not ruled out selling it on the car’s value is likely to increase substantially in the light of its history but the miura mystery has not been entirely solved the smashed  up lamborghini, vanished without trace after it disappeared down the mountainside mr tyrrell said: ‘when the production team went back to salvage the remains of the crashed car the next day it had gone the whole car had disappeared and had obviously been stolen’ built between 1966 and 1973, the 170mph lamborghini miura is widely credited with kick starting the trend for high performance two seater sports cars in 2004, top gear magazine voted it the coolest car in the world
lamborghini miura italian british more than £1million top gear 2004
lamborghini miura crashes in ball of flames at start of the italian job . car fans always assumed the iconic vehicle was a complete write off . it has now been found in pristine condition by two british businessmen . now worth more than £1million and will go on display across the world . top gear magazine vote it the coolest car in the world in 2004 