Lambo carbon fibre research

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. officially unveiled the “Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory” (ACSL) yesterday with an event held at the University of Washington. The unveiling of the lab publicly marks the leading super sports car manufacturer’s commitment to investing in the future of carbon fiber technologies by partnering with leaders in aerospace and composite material development, including University of Washington and The Boeing Company.

 

Lamborghini has made a substantial financial contribution to the ACSL with the goal of furthering the university’s long-time research in aeronautics and astronautics with partners such as The Boeing Company and the Federal Aviation Administration for application in super sports car development. Lamborghini intends to utilize the studies conducted through the ACSL to develop future vehicles with lighter, stronger and more versatile materials.

 

“Lamborghini remains committed to investing in its future, and advancing carbon fiber composite technologies is the key to achieving many our goals,” said Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. “As Lamborghini has long been influenced by aerospace technology, the University of Washington’s collaboration with The Boeing Company and the Federal Aviation Administration is the complementary fit to furthering our research and development programs that will continue to set the benchmark in carbon fiber technology.”

 

The ACSL has already contributed significantly to Lamborghini’s impact in certification methodology for carbon fiber composite materials. Lamborghini has collaborated with ACSL head Professor Paolo Feraboli on research projects since 2001. In 2007, the super sports car manufacturer increased activities with projects focused on “Crash Behavior of Composite Automotive Primary Structures.” Since 2008, Lamborghini has contracted a research project with the Advanced Structures Technology Group of Boeing Research & Technology, with the ACSL supporting the research collaboration.

 

"Partnerships between the University of Washington and industry leaders like Lamborghini give our students the advantage of working on real-world problems," said University of Washington President Mark Emmert. “We are excited that University of Washington researchers and Lamborghini engineers will be collaborating to bring innovative materials to the automobile industry.”

 

Carbon fiber is ideal for use in super sports car manufacturing due to the density of the material, which is far lower than steel. Substituting steel with carbon fiber reduces weight, which not only enhances the performance of the vehicle by increasing the power-to-weight ratio, but also lowers CO2 emissions by reducing the overall mass. Carbon fiber is also stiffer than other materials, thus creating better handling characteristics. In addition, carbon fiber provides greater manufacturing versatility, decreases the time it takes to make parts and simplifies the structure of the components. These key points provide proof that carbon fiber is the best material for nearly all applications which are essential for creating Lamborghini’s extreme, uncompromising and unmistakably Italian super sports cars.

 

The ACSL will provide the setting for testing and characterization, manufacturing and machining of carbon fiber materials.

 

Good news!!!

That's VERY GOOD NEWS!

 

Do I hear a new Murci chassis in development??? That would be awesome.

Like I was told by inside sorce a while back when I was at the factory new car will have c/f chassi and app 740 HP. lets hope it was good info.

Here is a link someone on another forum found, it has some pics including a Carbon prototype door and ?Carbon front end chassis on crash sled?

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/tech...ini_lab_at.html

 

 

Do I hear a new Murci chassis in development??? That would be awesome.

 

Was thinking the same thing, they need it badly. Only way to get the weight where they need it to be for many reasons (CO2 emmissions, performance, fuel economy, everything).

 

Only problem is the price, but with the SV being nearly a half million dollars they should have the margin to make it possible within the next car's MSRP.

Here is a link someone on another forum found, it has some pics including a Carbon prototype door and ?Carbon front end chassis on crash sled?

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/tech...ini_lab_at.html

 

some of the comments on that link

God people are stupid!

 

Lambo is heading in the right direction, I sure hope we will see a CF chassis in the next M and maybe G car, making these cars lighter should be their number one priority.

the next m/g pretty much have to be carbon fiber chassis based on the new mclaren and ferrari

some of the comments on that link

God people are stupid!

 

Lambo is heading in the right direction, I sure hope we will see a CF chassis in the next M and maybe G car, making these cars lighter should be their number one priority.

 

 

i'm with you, i love when people talk about how unreliable they are when they don't own one, yet everyone here hasn't seemed to have any problems with the m or g

the next m/g pretty much have to be carbon fiber chassis based on the new mclaren and ferrari

 

The F458 uses an aluminum space frame, just as the current G does.

 

Only the flagship needs to move to a MUCH more costly c/f chassis for the reasons mentioned in this thread. The econo entry-level cars are still fine with aluminum and will be for years.

 

The McLaren throws a wrench into the status quo with their entry-level car offering such a light weight versus the competition but it's also a more expensive car than a base LP560 or F458, so it has a trade off there. For the sales volume Ferrari and Lambo require from their moneymaker V8/V10 cars the McLaren's price point is too high.

The F458 uses an aluminim space frame, just as the current G does.

 

Only the flagship needs to move to a MUCH more costly c/f chassis for the reasons mentioned in this thread. The econo entry-level cars are still fine with aluminum and will be for years.

 

I believe the F458 has a cf drive shaft, there are many other apps for the material besides a chassis. I doubt we will see a cf frame on the next gen Murci,(rumors say it will use the R8 space frame), but hopefully the next gen G will have one after the university wunderkids figure out how to manufacture it more economically.

 

I believe the F458 has a cf drive shaft, there are many other apps for the material besides a chassis. I doubt we will see a cf frame on the next gen Murci,(rumors say it will use the R8 space frame), but hopefully the next gen G will have one after the university wunderkids figure out how to manufacture it more economically.

 

The econimics are rough. Porsche managed to make the numbers work for the CGT at a price point that is close to where the Murcie-replacement will be ($450-$550k). Porsche ran into problems however with consumer demand not being high enough to sell as many CGTs as they had hoped (-40% versus initial targets).

 

Lambo doesn't have that problem as they stretch out the production runs on their halo cars to amazingly long levels (Diablo, Murcie). At say a $500k MSRP, and with a 7-10yr production run totalling roughly 2500 - 3000 total units sold, the math may work for a cf chassis.

i'm with you, i love when people talk about how unreliable they are when they don't own one, yet everyone here hasn't seemed to have any problems with the m or g

 

3 years of ownership with not one issue!

Lambo doesn't have that problem as they stretch out the production runs on their halo cars to amazingly long levels (Diablo, Murcie). At say a $500k MSRP, and with a 7-10yr production run totalling roughly 2500 - 3000 total units sold, the math may work for a cf chassis.

 

You cant amortize direct labor, and thats the problem with cf, its just to labor intensive, which drives up the raw material chassis costs over alum by factor of three or four. CF also adds a new level of complexity when it comes to assembling the car, further driving up direct costs. And then there is the problem of how to figure out simple/cheaper repairs to collision damage.

 

Lamborghini picked a good partnership with Seattle/Boeing, the new Dreamliner is loaded to the gills with cf, so hopefully some cool spinoffs will come of it.

Allow me to quote myself from January:

 

As for the Reventon, I don't think it has been mentioned here, or if it's even publicly known, but there is a very specific reason they made them.

Now you know the reason, it was mainly to finance this ACSL thingy

 

As for a CF monocoque in the Murcie replacement, reliable sources say yes.

I just got home from the event... flight delays and all that other crap, but it was a GREAT trip! Once I get caught up, I'll post some pics.....

3 years of ownership with not one issue!

 

4 years and +1

Assuming Audi/VAG keeps the cash flow coming , the Murci replacement should be very interesting & exciting.

The McLaren throws a wrench into the status quo with their entry-level car offering such a light weight versus the competition but it's also a more expensive car than a base LP560 or F458, so it has a trade off there. For the sales volume Ferrari and Lambo require from their moneymaker V8/V10 cars the McLaren's price point is too high.

 

I don't know what the McLaren's price point is in the States but over here it's supposed to be around £150k - which is actually quite a lot cheaper than the Ferrari 458 (£172k inc. taxes) and only a little more than a Gallardo.

Yup, I was there too. It was a nice event. I took lots of photos and I'll get them posted too.

It started with the president of the University of Washington talking about the history of the lab, etc.

The engineering students were on the left and right hand side of the podium. They were wearing these cool black Lamborghini lab coats that came from and are used at the the Lamborghini factory. I WANT ONE!

The backdrop at the University.

There were 160 people invited, many from Boeing and Calloway who also donated money to the lab. The night before there were tents up and it was planned to be an indoor event. Lamborghini arrived and looked around and asked that the tents come down overnight and by the next morning it was like they were never there. I think it was the right call because the place looked terrific and the weather was perfect.