Atelier Jalaper Present Actual Lamborghini Miura Piece Within AJ-400P

The Lamborghini Miura is something a legend, and not just of its era. It is arguably among the most beautiful sports cars ever produced, and set the template for the rear mid-engined two seat supercar. Fewer than 1,000 Miura’s were produced between 1966 and 1973, and tend to fetch 7 figure sums when they appear at auction. While the car is firmly out of reach for many of us, Atelier Jalaper has found a way to incorporate a small piece of that car into the dial of a watch called the AJ-P400. Like the car, the watch will be quite limited in production, naturally, as parts of the car aren’t exactly easy to come by. The watch takes other design cues from the Miura, and brings it all together in a mostly respectful manner. 

The AJ-P400 is offered 4 colorways, each a take on the colors seen on the original Miura, including light blue, green, and orange joining a full black dial. The inspiration appears to be Azzuro Mexico for the blue, Verde Rio Metalizzato for the green, and of course, Arancio for the orange, though none look to be dead ringers for the distinctive paint codes. The color is used sparingly, only found in the chapter ring rehaut at the dial’s perimeter. Given the colors, it’s plenty to make a statement, however.

The star of the show is the central dial piece, which is a piece of an actual Lamborghini Miura, according to the brand. According to Atelier Jalaper, it took them over a year before finding what they were looking for in France, and what they found was “a piece of aluminum separating the V12 from the burned body of a Miura P400S”. The P400S, or Miura S, saw a bit more than 300 examples produced between ‘68 and ‘71, and is the most common Miura to have been produced. Among its unique features were the “eyelash” design of the headlight surround, which was no longer present on the proceeding SV model. What exactly a piece of aluminum separating the engine from the ruined body means is not quite clear, but it was apparently a part of the original car. 

The shape of the 39.5mm steel case and dial also reference a design feature of the car in the headlight structure and surround. The circle within an oval design was a brilliant way to incorporate the shape of the headlight into the low slung hood without compromising the lines of the car as a whole, and it’s the same shapes we see at play within the case and dial of the AJ-P400. 

The dial itself gets a rough textured finish to reference its source material. It works aesthetically here as well, though to pay utmost respect for the car I’d have preferred they left date aperture off to preserve more of the material itself, which is kind of the whole point of this watch. 

Inside, Atelier Jalaper is using a handwound Sellita SW270, which is visible through an exhibition caseback. Pricing is set at $2,000 and just 400 examples are set to be produced. The watch is available for pre-order right now from Atelier Jalaper.