A classic Lamborghini ‘supercar’ which was owned by Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay and tested on Top Gear with Richard Hammond is up for auction – it is expected to sell for up to £2.75million.
The red 1972 Miura P400 SV was purchased by pop star Kay at the height of her fame and was part of her extensive vintage engine collection.
The rare Lamborghini – dubbed the first supercar – was one of 150 models made, with a V12 engine allowing it to go from 0 to 60 mph in just five seconds and reach a top speed of 172 mph.
Kay, 54, showed off the vehicle in a 2004 episode of BBC motoring show Top Gear, driving it with Hammond in the passenger seat.
The pop star was filmed saying while driving: “This car was so ahead of its time – it’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.”
Red 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV up for auction by RM Sotheby’s
Jay Kay, lead singer of funk band Jamiroquai, pictured at Windsor Great Park in July 2009, is a previous owner of the supercar which is now up for sale.
Auctioneers estimated the vehicle would sell for up to £2.75 million.
The car’s V12 engine, which travels at 180 km/h, allows it to go from 0 to 100 km/h in just five seconds.
Other proud owners of Lamborghini Miuras include Frank Sinatra and Sir Rod Stewart.
Kay’s old car is being sold by RM Sotheby’s, whose listing reads: “It is legend that ‘supercar’ – the title bestowed on all of today’s most successful automobiles – was first applied in printed form to the Lamborghini Miura.
The auctioneer quotes English motoring journalist LJK Setright describing a 1,000-mile journey in a then-new Miura from Modena in Italy to the English capital London in 1967.
Setright wrote: “The exultant scream of a thoroughbred V12 is unlike anything else in automobiles. It is immediate, urgent, peremptory.
“The Lambo idles at about 800 rpm and a slight noise up to 2,000 rpm produced a kind of instantaneous acceleration of everyone in the square, like an adjutant calling the parade to attention -YOU.
“It could develop 87.5 hp per liter, but from ridiculously low revs it would pull as smoothly and inexorably as a Silver Ghost.
“Obviously this was going to be an amazing automobile.”
London auctioneer RM Sotheby’s adds: “In the early 1990s the car was purchased by a Hong Kong collector, who commissioned the Modena Group to carry out a full restoration.
“Then the car passed to famous musician and collector of vintage performance cars, Jay Kay of Jamiroquai, and his ownership was featured on an episode of Top Gear in 2004.
Jay Kay was seen driving the Lamborghini in an episode of Top Gear in 2004.
The singer enjoyed chart success with hits such as the 1996 single Virtual Insanity.
He was accompanied on his Top Gear ride by the show’s co-presenter Richard Hammond
Jay Kay called the car a “wonderful, wonderful thing” during his appearance on Top Gear
The auctioneer’s listing cites a 1967 magazine review describing the Lamborghini Miura as “an astonishing automobile.”
Automotive critic LJK Setright said of the vehicle in his 1967 article: “The exultant scream of a thoroughbred V12 is unlike anything else in motoring.” »
Jay Kay himself said in 2004 about the Lamborghini: “This car was so ahead of its time”
Other owners of Lamborghini Miuras include Frank Sinatra and Sir Rod Stewart.
This rare Lamborghini Miura was one of only 150 made
It is believed that this vehicle was the first to receive the “supercar” label.
“Shortly afterwards it was acquired by the famous British collector Michael Cotter.”
The Lamborghini auction is scheduled to take place in Toronto, Canada on June 1.
Kay had already put three vehicles from his collection of 110 supercars up for sale five years ago for a total of £2.5 million.
He offered a 1973 Porsche 911, a 2016 Ferrari F12 and a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT.
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