Lamborghini created the Lamborghini Miura, often credited as the first supercar with a rear mid-engine layout.
The Miura debuted as a prototype at the 1965 Turin Motor Show and entered production in 1966. Its V12 engine was mounted transversely behind the passenger compartment, an arrangement that kept the car compact while concentrating mass near its center.
Engineers Gian Paolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani and test driver Bob Wallace were central to the car’s development. Marcello Gandini designed the production bodywork for Bertone, giving the Miura its low nose, dramatic side air intakes and distinctive proportions.
The phrase “first supercar” is not an official category, and earlier sports cars used mid-engine layouts. The Miura’s lasting importance is that it combined this layout with extreme performance, exotic styling and series production, establishing a template followed by many later high-performance road cars.