Do you recall that episode of Speed Racer where Speed takes the wheel of the fastest car ever built? The vehicle is so astonishingly powerful that it causes drivers to hallucinate due to the rapid cadence of imagery that blurs by their vision. Could that vehicle have been the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento? Unveiled at the VW Group Night on the eve of the 2010 Paris Motor Show, the Italian concept literally blanketed the show with its carbon fiber body, sharp design technique and lightweight engineering borrowed from Audi AG’s experience.
Sesto Elemento is derived from the periodic table whereas carbon is the sixth element. Strong, light and precise, the carbon-fiber monocoque structure of the Italian super car weighs only 2,202 pounds. Combined with the Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera sourced V10 and its 570 horsepower output the vehicle scorches asphalt at a pace of zero to sixty mph in 2.5 seconds. The longitudinally mounted, amidship engine provides the ideal balance for a super car with such extreme measures. Permanent all-wheel drive technology provides pulling power out of turns for a strategic advantage over rear-wheel driven vehicles.
“The Lamborghini Sesto Elemento shows how the future of the super sports car can look – extreme lightweight engineering, combined with extreme performance results in extreme driving fun. We put all of our technological competence into one stunning form to create the Sesto Elemento,” comments Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini. “It is our abilities in carbon-fiber technology that have facilitated such a forward-thinking concept, and we of course also benefit from the undisputed lightweight expertise of AUDI AG. Systematic lightweight engineering is crucial for future super sports cars: for the most dynamic performance, as well as for low emissions. We will apply this technological advantage right across our model range. Every future Lamborghini will be touched by the spirit of the Sesto Elemento.”
Lamborghini is always perfecting its craft, one of which is design through carbon-fiber innovation. Their new Advanced Composites Research Center at the company headquarters in Sant’Agata Bolognese is working on breakthrough construction and production methods for carbon-fiber components in auto design. Here, over 30 specialists develop vehicle parts and build prototypes while engineering optimized manufacturing technologies. Mostly developed in-house, these complex systems permit extremely high precision levels as engineers simulate manufacturing processes on complex carbon-fiber structures.
Welcome to the next generation of the super car! Speed Racer would certainly be proud.
