Lamborghini has revealed a rolling chassis version of its next V12 supercar flagship known for now as the LB744.
Dubbed the “monofuselage”, this monocoque chassis is inspired by aeronautics and made entirely of carbon fibre of different varieties.
Its front section is made from a special material called Forged Composites which is patented by Lamborghini and consists of short carbon fibres soaked in resin. The tub, front firewall and A-pillar are also made of Forged Composite.
The only part of the vehicle’s chassis that isn’t carbon fibre is the rear section that’s made of high-strength aluminium alloys and features two hollow castings in the rear dome area.
Lamborghini says the monofuselage is a “significant step forward from the Aventador in terms of torsional stiffness, lightweight qualities and driving dynamics”.
Although the Italian carmaker doesn’t specify an exact weight figure, it says it is 10 per cent lighter than the Aventador chassis. The new model’s front frame is also 20 per cent lighter than its aluminium predecessor.
Torsional stiffness has been improved with a value of 40,000Nm per degree, which is up 25 per cent compared to the Aventador.
This isn’t the first time Lamborghini has given us an official sneak preview into this new flagship model. It follows some details it released on its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain.
Dubbed the brand’s first series production High Performance Electrified Vehicle (HPEV), it features a new 6.5-litre V12 engine at its heart.
Producing 607kW of power and 725Nm of torque, it’s hooked up to the rear axle only. Redline is 9500rpm, or 500rpm beyond what the 4.0-litre six in the Porsche 911 GT3, GT3 RS, and 718 Cayman GT4 RS can manage.
It won’t be augmented by turbochargers, superchargers, or even 48V mild-hybrid technology. But it will be backed by three electric motors.
One (with 110kW and 150Nm) is attached to the transverse-mounted, eight-speed dual-clutch transmission; the other two are attached to the front wheels.
This is only the third V12 model from Lamborghini to have a transverse-mounted transmission. The first was the Miura, the second the track-only Essenza SCV12.
Lamborghini says the transmission can decouple the engine in a way that allows its new V12 supercar to be all-wheel drive even when it’s in EV mode.
Those front-mounted motors each makes 110kW of power and 350Nm of torque, and open the door for all kinds of torque vectoring trickery not possible with the conventional all-wheel drive system in the now-defunct Aventador.
Combined, the PHEV powertrain will make make 745kW (1000hp) of power.
Feeding the electric motors is a 3.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted in what would once have been the transmission tunnel.
It can be charged in 30 minutes using a 7kW wall box, or with regenerative braking from the front wheels, or using the V12 in six minutes.
Reverse is handled by the electric motors, rather than the petrol engine and transmission.
MORE: LB744: Lamborghini PHEV will have V12, three e-motors, wild outputs
