Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

The Lamborghini Sesto Elemento ("sixth element") is a high-performance limited edition car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini, which debuted at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The Sesto Elemento's name is a reference to the atomic number of carbon, referring to the carbon fibre used in its construction.

Design and specifications

The Sesto Elemento is equipped with Lamborghini's 6-speed "e-gear" automated manual transmission and an all-wheel-drive system, mated to a 5.2 litre V10 engine borrowed from the Gallardo Superleggera, generating and of torque. The chassis, body, drive shaft and suspension components are made of carbon fibre, reducing the overall weight to , a weight comparable to subcompact cars. The Sesto Elemento was the first car to use forged carbon fibre (in the tub and suspension arms), a new type of carbon composite developed by Lamborghini and Callaway Golf Company.

The engine is cooled through 10 distinctive hexagonal holes in the engine cover, while two intakes funnel cool air into the mid-mounted engine compartment and the exhaust pipes are positioned in the rear wing. Lamborghini claims a acceleration time of 2.5 seconds, time of 8.0 seconds, and a top speed in excess of .

The interior of the Sesto Elemento is generally bare without vehicle comforts such as air-conditioning and stereo. The Sesto Elemento also lacks seats, instead having foam padding directly adhered to the carbon fibre chassis.

Production

Lamborghini announced plans to produce 20 cars for track use only in mid-2011 with each car costing US$2.92 million. At that time, the Sesto Elemento was the most expensive Lamborghini ever made, until the Veneno was launched, with the price of the car as high as GB£4,162,150 (US$6.5 million). Due to lack of interest for such an expensive car that was not road legal, Lamborghini was unable to find 20 customers willing to purchase the Sesto Elemento. It is widely believed that Lamborghini ended up producing just 10 Sesto Elemento, rather than the planned 20. This is corroborated through the record keeping of vehicle identification numbers, but has not been admitted publicly by Lamborghini.

Singapore was the recipient of more cars than any other country with four cars arriving in 2014, though some have since left the country. The United States of America received no Sesto Elementos, though a demonstration chassis resides at the Boeing Everett Factory occasionally on display, as Boeing aided Lamborghini in their carbon fibre development.

In popular culture

* The car appears in the 2014 film ''Need for Speed'', driven by Dino, the main antagonist. He offers the car to anyone who can stop protagonist Tobey Marshall's Ford Mustang. It is also driven at the De Leon car race, ultimately crashing out.
*In the 20th series of ''Top Gear'', Richard Hammond drives the Sesto Elemento around Imola, the race track that the Top Gear trio had once raced their super cars to beat the Stig’s Ferrari 458 lap time.

References

External links

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{{Lamborghini

Sesto
Rear mid-engine, all-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 2010