First Look: Lamborghini Sesto Elemento Concept

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The stiff monocoque is made of a single piece of injection-molded resin. Complete with aluminum reinforcements, the cell weighs a little over 220 pounds. The finished body-in-white with CFRP front frame, crash boxes, and hang-on panels weighs in at less than 440 pounds. Other pounds-shaving measures include a suspension made of SMC (30 percent lighter than alloy) and carbon fiber wheels. The exhaust system is formed from Pyrosic, a glass-ceramic composite. Although the 4WD system, the sequential transmission, the V-10 engine, and the steering rack have shed precious few calories, the power-to-weight ratio works out at an incredible 3.85 pounds per hp. With 570 hp on tap, the Sesto Elemente is allegedly capable of accelerating from 0 to 62 mph in only 2.5 seconds, thereby matching the mighty Bugatti Veyron for take-off urge. The calculated top speed is well in excess of 190 mph.

Finished in a new matte-shimmer clear coat, the Lamborghini show car proudly displays every pore of its carbon-fiber skin. It is a very technical looking piece, with plenty of razor-sharp lines merging, intersecting, or avoiding each other. Viewed from above, triangular, trapezoidal, and hexagonal styling elements prevail, most of them highlighted by fire-red accents. "Every line has a function," states Fitzgerald. "In quite a few cases, it is simply to reinforce the panel concerned. Smoothing the air flow is another important issue, as is to ensure the thermal well-being of the drivetrain and the aerodynamic stability at high speed."

To achieve an ideal 48:52 weight distribution, the lateral radiators are mounted as close as possible to the engine. To make the weight savings visible, the car does without conventional grilles and louvers. Instead, you can see straight through to the heart of the matter, be it the carbon-ceramic brake discs, the upward-pointing carbon-fiber tailpipes or the silver transmission housing.