How a legendary Lamborghini ended up in a famous Van Halen rock song

One of the most hard-driving rock songs of the 1980s about fast cars and fast women is Van Halen's 1984 hit "Panama."

The song has a bit of a tale that made it stand out when we compiled our summer driving playlist, so here's that story: Lore has it that an interviewer accused Van Halen's then-lead singer David Lee Roth of only writing songs about sex, drugs and fast cars. Roth realized he actually had never penned a song about fast cars, the story goes, so he got to work on "Panama."

"Ain't nothin' like it, her shiny machine/got the feel for the wheel, keep the moving parts clean ..." the lyrics go.

Some versions of the tale hold that the song's name came from a stripper Roth knew. But it was also the name of a real car, David Bertinelli told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. Bertinelli was brother-in-law to the late Eddie Van Halen when the song was written.

"Ed had written the music and David Lee Roth came up with the lyrics," Bertinelli said. "Dave had a friend who had a race car and it was nicknamed Panama."

The famous bridge in the song was Eddie Van Halen's idea, Bertinelli said. In the bridge, Roth sings: "I can barely see the road from the heat comin' off it" as a car engine is revved in the background.

The engine was from Van Halen's 1972 red Lamborghini Miura S, an anniversary gift from his wife, Valerie Bertinelli, David Bertinelli said. The license plate read: "APR11," which was their anniversary.

"They wanted an engine sound to go along with the song, so they dragged a mic from the recording studio 5150 (in Los Angeles) right to the car. There’s an asphalt driveway next to the studio," said Bertinelli, who was present in those days for many of his brother-in-law's song creations or recordings. “They put the mic near the gas cap because there was too much wind near the exhaust. Ed got in there and did the revving."

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The car had a V-12 engine. Bertinelli said he rode in it back in the day and "it was crazy fast. A gorgeous machine."

“He drove pretty fast," Bertinelli said of Eddie. "We used to drive motorcycles together and Ed was a lead foot. He got pulled over, but they let him go.”

Van Halen's future lead singer, Sammy Hagar, wasn't so lucky. He got a ticket in New York for going 62 mph in a 55 mph zone, which inspired him to pen his famous anthem, "I can't drive 55."

Eddie Van Halen died on Oct. 6, 2020, but had strong Michigan ties through Bertinelli.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan.