From the Lamborghini 350 GTV, the first car manufactured in the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory to the innovative Lamborghini Sian, the brand’s vision has always been to be the best there is! With a penchant to thrill its fans, Lamborghini has some of the craziest and innovative concepts now and then. One such limited production car built by the bull is the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, the car used in the 2014 Need For Speed movie.
The Sesto Elemento is the lightest car that Lamborghini has built to date. Lamborghini gave the world a small physics lesson with the emphasis on power-to-weight ratio. This beautiful monster can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds. A lightweight frame mated to an explosive engine made the Sesto Elemento such a revolutionary, it was also among the first cars made completely out of carbon fiber composites.
Offering some of the best performance figures, and a unique body composition that can make a grown man swoon. This is the truth behind Lamborghini Sesto Elemento's V10 engine.
How The Sesto Elemento Got Its Name
It was the 2010 Paris Auto Show, and the world tuned in expecting Lamborghini to debut the successor for the Murcielago, but Lambo had other plans. A car kept under wraps was the grabbing eyeballs and setting up anticipation for what Lamborghini had in store for the crowd. After a brief introduction about the car, two gorgeous models unveiled the covers, cue in the Sesto Elemento! The car stole the show with people flocking to take a peek at the all-carbon futuristic machine.
Carbon is the sixth element on the periodic table which translates to Sesto Elemento in Italian, and thus the moniker. Guess we should’ve paid more attention in science class, huh? The idea behind this concept was to create a car with a great power-to-weight ratio for ballistic performance and perfect weight distribution for the best handling dynamics. Lamborghini didn’t just want to be quick on the straight line anymore, they wanted a lethal monster that could dominate the tracks on straights and corners.
The Sesto Elemento Platform
There was a lot of noise about how Lamborghini cars are fast in a straight line, but lose their edge on the curves and corners. A company established on the ego trip of one angry Ferruccio still carried his traits well. They came out with a machine to silence all the naysayers and prove that Lamborghini's can dominate everything! Using the chassis and platform of the old reliable Gallardo, the engineers created the Sesto Elemento.
The chassis, powertrain, and drivetrain directly borrowed from the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera found a new monocoque carbon body to slim down the weight. The Sesto Elemento weighed in at a measly 2,202 lb or 999 kilograms. Now some believe that the weight was 1 kg less than the 2007 Ferrari Milli Chilli concept, all this did was add some more spice to the Lamborghini and Ferrari rivalry.
The Advanced Composites Research Centre at the Sant’Agata headquarters contributed the composites used for the body of this masterpiece. Lamborghini grew by leaps and bounds ever since it created the CFRP chassis Countach prototype in 1983. Over two decades, understanding of carbon fiber reinforced polymer or plastic (CFRP) usage advanced to a point that they could build an entire car with composite materials.
Design Style Of The Sesto Elemento
Carbon is the only element used all over in the design of the Sesto Elemento. It looks every bit a Lamborghini with the sharp masculine lines running around the car. Lamborghini used their affection with the letter Y to make two air intake vents on the hood colored in a shade of red.
In the rear, we see the five pairs of hexagonal holes placed right above the cylinder banks. An open rear end allows the onlookers to peek at the transmission and the exhaust that sits above the taillights exiting through the engine cover. A huge spoiler on the rear and air vents on the sides improve the aerodynamics.
The interior is not the same luxurious cabin that we expect from Lamborghini. It is instead a bare-bones structure with no creature comforts or even a proper dashboard. The seats are cavities in the monocoque body of the Sesto Elemento; they cover the seats with sponge-like cushions and high-tech fabric primed in red to further reduce weight.
A Marvelous Engine Sits In The Rear
The powerhouse of this piece of art sits over the rear-axel like your regular Lamborghini supercar. It houses the same 5.2 liter V10 engine that goes into the Gallardo Superleggera, with the same output of 570 HP at 8000 rpm and the torque of 398 lb-ft at 6500 RPM. This propels the Sesto Elemento to the speeds of 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds.
The Sesto Elemento lays emphasis on power to weight ratio. To simplify the meaning of power-to-weight ratio, it is the weight hauled by horsepower. Now we have done the math on this, the Sesto Element has a power to weight ratio of just 3.86 lb. The power to weight ratio and the acceleration prowess of puts it in the league of the Bugatti Veyron.
Lamborghini did not develop an entirely new engine for the Sesto Elemento. The credit for the agility characteristics most definitely goes to the light weight of the vehicle. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said, “The Lamborghini Sesto Elemento shows how the future of the super sports car can look - extreme lightweight engineering, combined with extreme performance results in extreme driving fun. We put all of our technological competence into one stunning form to create the Sesto Elemento.” And the Sesto Elemento proved a worthy statement!
What Does It Take To Own The Sesto Elemento?
Sometimes, somewhere, a Lamborghini Sesto Elemento pops up for sale. There has also been an instance when the Sesto Elemento popped up on Craigslist, which made everyone question the legitimacy of the posting. In our search, we came across a website that has listed the Sesto Elemento for sale; The ad also claims to offer street conversion to make it road legal.
There are a lot of such postings on the internet with no proof of authenticity. If you really wish to own a Sesto Elemento, we would advise getting in touch with A-List dealerships that can facilitate such an expensive and rare purchase. These beauties will probably sit pretty in the collectors' garage and increase their value as they age.
Sources: TopGear, YouTube, millionplus.com, Motor1, lambocars.com