Lamborghini Miura SVJ

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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, already owned a Miura SV, chassis 4870, but wanted 'something special'. Happy to tackle the challenge, Bob Wallace and his team plucked a Blu Ischia Metallizzato SV off the production line and modified it in the spirit of the original Jota. The car was repainted dark metallic red and the bodywork was fitted with wheel arch brake vents, fixed, covered headlights and a chin spoiler. Race-inspired touches included a front-mounted oil cooler, straight-through exhaust system and racing harness for the driver.

Costing over 60% more than a regular SV, the car was fitted with studded Pirelli winter tyres and was shipped off to the Shah’s winter home, Villa Suvretta in the Swiss resort town of St. Moritz. It was subsequently sent to Tehran and remained there until 1979, when it was seized during the Iranian Revolution. Fifteen years later, it was sold to a Dubai-based businessman, and later sold at auction to American actor, Nicolas Cage.

Cage kept the car for six years before selling it to London-based Iranian enthusiast, Reza Rashidian. From him it passed to noted collector Juan Barazi and into the hands of its current, Monaco-based owner in 2009, still unrestored.