Lamborghini's lightweight future

Lamborghini’s response to the McLaren MP4-12C – a rather timely announcement about its dedication to carbonfibre. The Italian supercar maker will be a guest of honour at the 2010 JEC Composites Forum in April, the first time it’s participating in the event, designed to be a sign of its ongoing dedication to lightweight construction and the chase of more impressive power-to-weight ratios. Lambo has also opened up a research laboratory in the US, the neatly titled ‘Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory’. It’s in partnership with the Univeristy of Washington and Boeing, a leader in the use of carbon composite solutions in aerospace construction. Cutting weight is one of the chief elements in the cleaning up of Lamborghini’s range, with a 35 per cent drop in CO2 emissions targeted.  Lending a further hand to Lambo’s green effort is a photovoltaic system to power its Sant’Agata factory. A host of solar-power garnering panels covers a huge area of the company’s operations, from the production plant and sales offices to the customer service department, occupying over 17,000 square metres. All-in-all, industrial CO2 emissions have been cut by 30 per cent, the equivalent of over 1000 tons. And if it means we still get excellent naturally-aspirated supercars like the Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera and Murcielago LP670-4 SV without engine downsizing, it’s a move we’re happy to support. See the Murcielago LP670-4 SV in action at evo Car of the Year

Hi-res gallery of the all-new Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera

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