Forged from 50 years of passion.
At the gala to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Lamborghini, attendees were given a brilliant presentation that began with a trailer being projected onto nine different screens, above a stage that was transformed into a landing strip. A model with a flight armed with ground crew light paddles began to direct a loud, automobile cloaked by darkness as it shook the stage. Then, out of the shadows came something never seen before; a concept that looks like no Lamborghini before, but is a distinct representation of the brand. Enter the Lamborghini Egoista Concept.
Exiting the cockpit was Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Lamborghini, who then invited the Head of Design for the Volkswagen Group, Walter De Silva, onto the stage to celebrate his creation. The new Lamborghini Egoista Concept is a celebration of the brand’s 50-year history and was created with an incredible passion that makes it sui generis in the world of automobiles.
“I am very attached to this Italian brand, being an Italian myself. I wanted to pay homage to and think up a vehicle to underline the fact that Lamborghinis have always been made with passion, and with the heart more than the head,” explained De Silva. ““This is a car made for one person only, to allow them to have fun and express their personality to the maximum. It is designed purely for hyper-sophisticated people who want only the most extreme and special things in the world. It represents hedonism taken to the extreme, it is a car without compromises, in a word: egoista (selfish).”
“It’s as if Ferruccio Lamborghini were saying: I’m going to put the engine in the back, I don’t want a passenger. I want it for myself, and I want it as I imagine it to be. It is a fanatical vehicle, Egoista fits it well.”
De Silva assembled a team of designers to create the new concept, with Alessandro Dambrosio crafting the exterior and Stefan Sielaff focusing on the interior. The goal was to create a single-seat automobile that pushed the limits of the Lamborghini philosophy and offer nothing short of pure driving pleasure. The interior was designed to conform to the driver like a glove and draw from the aeronautical world, taking shape from the cockpit of an Apache helicopter.
The exterior of the new Lamborghini Egoista is designed to be muscular and dynamic, while incorporating the tradition and history of the brand. The shape creates the impression of a bull readying to charge, with its horns pointed downwards as if to strike. The wedge-shape side profile creates a distinct Italian profile, while the cockpit rises from the bodywork when facing ahead.
Instead of large spoilers protruding from the top of the body, the new Egoista has flaps integrated into the bodywork that automatically deploy under specific circumstances. Two rear flaps deploy at high speeds to improve stability and a number of intakes activate to improve cooling for the 600 horsepower, 5.2-liter V-10 engine. The profile is shaped to create downforce, while the rear is left open to expose its mechanical underpinnings. The new concept is made from carbon fiber, aluminum, and other lightweight materials and is marked with no-walk zones, similar to that of an aircraft. The body also wears stealthy anti-radar material while the glass is anti-glare, while the wheels sport the same anti-radar material and are highlighted by carbon fiber fins to aid cooling.
Even the lighting was designed to mimic those on an aircraft. Instead of traditional headlights, LED lights stare ahead and illuminate the road, while two rear lights, a flashing red light on the tail, and two orange “bulls eyes” as side markers form the basic lighting. But it doesn’t end there; two lights on the roof, red on the left and green on the light give the impression of an aircraft instead of a super car. Two xenon headlights are hidden between the body and side sections and form “eagle eyes” that stare ahead into the darkness.
Inside, the interior is focused on the driver and takes functionality to the extreme. A single racing seat with different-colored four-pointed seatbelt secures the driver as he faces an airbag and only the essential instruments on display, the main aspect of which is an aircraft-styled heads-up display. Exiting the Lamborghini Egoista is rather a chore. The driver must first remove the steering wheel and place it on the dashboard, press a button to open the top, then stand up in their seat and sit down on a specific point on the left side of the bodywork, turn their bottom 180-degrees towards the outside, and then take a step out. But it wouldn’t be a special car if that wasn’t the case, now would it?
The Lamborghini Egoista takes everything that Lamborghini represents to another level and differentiates itself from anything on the road today. It’s a dream for all automotive enthusiasts.
The official production information and specifications on the Lamborghini Egoista has not been released, but you can expect some form of it to make it into a very, very limited production.
Lamborghini Egoista Concept Gallery
[Source: Lamborghini]
What do you think of the design for the Lamborghini Egoista Concept?
