Lamborghini, MIT Go to School on Futuristic Concept Car

Lamborghini SpA and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new concept vehicle that features advanced propulsion, energy storage and materials technologies.

The partners unveiled the car, dubbed the Terzo Millennio (Italian for third millennium) at MIT’s EmTech conference Monday night in Cambridge, Mass. The vehicle is the first joint project completed under a three-year agreement that began in November 2016.

Power comes from four electric motors—one in each wheel—to optimize torque control and design freedom. The motors are teamed with a Formula One-style kinetic energy recovery system, while supercapacitors are used in place of batteries for energy storage. Lamborghini currently uses low-voltage supercapacitors to boost the output of its V-12-powered Aventador supercar.

The partners also are exploring the use of conductive carbon fiber nanotubes and other advanced materials that could double as structural components and an energy storage medium. In addition, sensors and chemicals embedded into body materials are designed to detect and repair minor damages.

Lamborghini concedes that breakthroughs are needed to make the supercapacitor and carbon fiber nanotube technologies feasible. To this end, the carmaker is investing €200,000 ($232,000) per year in the partnership, which involves MIT’s Dinca Research Lab for advanced materials and the Mechanosynthesis Group for energy storage.

The partners aim to finalize material selection within the next few months, then focus in 2018 on how best to store and release energy. In the third year of the project, researchers hope to create a 3D geometry that promises to “dramatically” increase the vehicle’s energy capacity.

The concept car’s interior features a virtual cockpit system, which simulates driving on famous racetracks to help teach drivers better techniques before testing their skills on a real track. Lamborghini also is working with MIT to create the sound of a high-powered piston engine.