Think of the Lamborghini badge and evoke feelings of incredible performance achieved thanks to the highest standards of hyper car engineering. Think again to the qualities delivered by the application of carbon fibre and the obvious benefit of the material is its lightweight construction while being strong enough to withstand the high energy forces that a car experiences either on the road or on the track.
Imagine combining the two for the ultimate realisation in sports car engineering, which is what the famous marque from Sant’Agata Bolognese has achieved with the newly revealed Lamborghini Essenza SCV12. The model is the first ever road-going car to feature a roll cage made of carbon fibre, homologated according to the FIA Hypercar safety standards.
The Lamborghini Squadra Corse engineers have developed the standard production frame around its carbon fibre structure, following extremely rigorous tests, including over 20 static and dynamic tests.
The carbon integral body has been reinforced in several points, braced to support forces of over 12 tons without showing significant deformations. The decision to keep the carbon, and not steel, load-bearing structure has also resulted in a gain in terms of overall weight and a considerable increase in passenger compartment space to offer optimum driving comfort.
Giorgio Sanna, Lamborghini Head of Motorsport, commented: “The Essenza SCV12 was designed as a ‘laboratory of ideas’ vehicle. It has allowed us to use technical solutions usually typical of competition prototypes, such as the suspension installed directly on the load bearing gearbox, an innovative solution for a GT vehicle. Moreover, the brand-new carbon integral body frame without steel rollbar was achieved with the technical collaboration of FIA, thanks to which we have undertaken a route that will lead to an exponential improvement of safety for drivers of GT vehicles in a future projection.”
Deliveries of the Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 have begun and will continue until the end of next year.
