The Lamborghini Miura is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and to commemorate the car’s golden anniversary, Lamborghini->ke44 took out two of its very own museum-quality Miuras->ke378 for a nice scenic drive on the St. Bernard Pass, the section of the Italian highway that was used in the opening sequence of the original The Italian Job starring British actor Michael Caine.

To be clear, Lamborghini didn’t recreate the scene itself, and why would it considering what happened to the Miura in the movie. The joyride was done as part of the Italian automaker’s year-long celebration of the Miura’s 50th nameday. Adding a special twist to the celebratory drive were Lamborghini engineers Gian Paolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, as well as Carrozzeria Bertone designer Marcello Gandini. Dallara, Stanzani and test driver Bob Wallace, in particular, are regarded as the “fathers” of the Miura so it was only fitting that when it was time for the two Miuras to do their versions of a celebratory drive, Dallara, Stanzani, and Gandini took turns taking the wheels of the of the two legendary museum-grade supercars.->ke177

Accomplishing the drive was no small feat for Lamborghini either. It essentially had to get the green light from Anas, the Italian government’s road maintenance and building division, and the Polizia Stradale before getting the nod to use the highway road for the anniversary drive. In the end, all parties consented to the drive, paving the way for the two Miuras to essentially retrace the route from the opening scene of the movie, minus, of course, the part where the Miura crashed inside a tunnel.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Why it matters

It’s often been said that if there was ever a supercar brand that knows how to name its models, it’s Lamborghini. Think about it. All of the iconic Lamborghinis have equally legendary names, almost all of which were derived from Lamborghini’s ties to bullfighting. There’s the Espada, Miura, Diablo, and Gallardo to name a few. Only the Countach was named after something entirely different (an expletive, of all things).

Part of the appeal of the Lamborghini Miura is that it was actually the first model that founder Feruccio Lamborghini named that had ties to the majestic yet ferocious animal. Speaking of firsts, it was also the first model to use the now iconic raging bull logo that has come to define Lamborghini’s history and identity. So yeah, if there was ever a Lamborghini that deserved to have its 50th anniversary celebrated with the same pomp and circumstance that the company is doing now, it’s definitely the Miura.

Having the car’s “fathers” participate in the anniversary is a nice twist to the celebration. It would’ve been nice to have the fourth “father” - test driver Bob Wallace - together again with his brothers-in-arms to commemorate the event. Sadly, Wallace passed away on September 19, 2013 at the age of 75. The fact that Wallace wasn’t around to celebrate the Miura’s 50th anniversary is the only downside to the event. Everything else though was cause for celebration, right down to Lamborghini’s decision to have two of its very own museum-grade Miuras participate in the event.

It’s a great way to celebrate the model that really shot Lamborghini into the supercar stratosphere. At one point, it was the fastest production road car in the world and if you think about the car’s design, it still holds up as one of the most beautiful Lamborghini models in history.

Lamborghini Miura

Read our full review on the Lamborghini Miura here.