A concept made in collaboration with MIT.
If you want to suck the wind out of most performance car enthusiasts today, bring up electric vehicles. Up until now, the prospect of an electric super car seemed rather bland and boring compared to the raw power of a combustion engine. The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is different. Created in collaboration with two laboratories at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the new Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is what the future holds for super sports cars – and it’s something to be very excited about.
Gone are the bland, boring ideas of electric super cars that pollute the minds of car enthusiasts thanks to the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio. The new design concept brings five different dimensions of the future of super cars to reality: energy storage systems, innovative materials, propulsion system, visionary design, and emotion.
Automobili Lamborghini worked alongside and heavily financed the project working with the “Dinca Research Lab” led by Professor Mircea Dinca, the Department of Chemistry and the “Mechanosynthesis Group” led by Professor Anastasios John Hart, and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT.
“Exactly one year ago we have signed an agreement with the MIT-Italy Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which marked the start of a collaboration between two outstanding entities for the creation of a project that intends to write an important page in the future of super sports cars for the third millennium,” said Stefano Domenicali, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automobili Lamborghini.
“Collaborating with MIT for our R&D department is an exceptional opportunity to do what Lamborghini has always been very good at: rewriting the rules on super sports cars. Now we are presenting an exciting and progressive concept car. We are inspired by embracing what is impossible today to craft the realities of tomorrow: Lamborghini must always create the dreams of the next generation.”
The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio doesn’t just go with an electric powertrain but takes a step forward by utilizing potential supercapacitors. These low-voltage supercapacitors were first used in the Aventador five years ago. This innovative storage system allows for high peak power and the ability to easily regenerate kinetic energy without affecting the aging and cycling throughout the life of the vehicle thanks to symmetrical harvesting and releasing of power as opposed to traditional batteries.
“The new Lamborghini collaboration allows us to be ambitious and think outside the box in designing new materials that answer energy storage challenges for the demands of an electric sport vehicle. We look forward to teaming up with their engineers and work on this exciting project,” said Prof. Dinca.
Lamborghini also took steps to advance in the realm of carbon fiber parts and manufacturing with their cooperation with MIT. The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio aims to utilize new carbon fiber materials that make up the body shell that keep weight to a minimum but also provide energy storage.
An advanced “self-healing” technology will also be explored in the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio. This technology monitors the carbon fiber structure to detect cracks and damage in the substructure as a result of accidents. A self-repairing process uses micro-channels with healing chemistries to prevent cracks from growing further in the structure.
“We are thrilled to combine our expertise in advanced materials and manufacturing with the vision and support of Automobili Lamborghini, and to realize new concepts that will shape the future of transportation,” said Prof. Hart.
Another innovation in the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is the fact that the electric motors are integrated into each wheel as opposed to the axle. This provides full-time four-wheel drive and takes advantage of each motor’s high, instantaneous torque and ability to reverse. This packaging also gives engineers and designers greater freedom to create a vehicle that looks unlike anything else on the road. It’s also the first step towards “Lamborghini Electric”.
Visually, the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio was envisioned by the Lamborghini Centro Stile. The concept takes advantage of the new technology and innovations from the partnership with MIT and takes a step into the future with Lamborghini design with utilizing current elements such as the Y-signature in the lighting. A whole new architecture that is designed around aerodynamic efficiency and performance looks radically different thanks to the innovative powertrain. At the heart of the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is an even more advanced version of the Lamborghini Forged Composite monocoque with only the energy accumulation system and two seats.
The design was also focused around exciting the senses and evoking emotion while driving – an element that is often missed with electric vehicles today. A virtual cockpit is designed to take advantage of the highways of the future. A new Piloted Driving simulation takes drivers around a track by a virtual expert then allows them to race a ghost car on the circuit.
The new Lamborghini Terzo Millennio concept developed in cooperation with MIT won’t be seeing any time on the road soon. Most of the technology featured on it is still being developed. However, it is a glimpse at what the world of super cars could be in the future with advancements in technology – and it’s not as bad as you may think.
Lamborghini Terzo Millennio Gallery
Source: Lamborghini
Is the new Lamborghini Terzo Millennio an electric super car of the future that you can get excited about?
