- Lamborghini shows off its new carbon-fibre front crash structure The upcoming successor to the Aventador.
- The new car will be stiffer and lighter than the Aventador.
- One significant change is that there is no longer pushrod suspension, but upright springs at each corner.
The recently retired Aventador was the first Lamborghini road car to use a carbon-fibre structure. Now the Italian supercar maker has shown us the lighter and stronger “monofuselage” that will sit at the heart of the Aventador’s successor, the as-yet-unnamed model known only by its LB744 engineering code.
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While we need to wait a while to see the full car, images of the new structure make it clear that it sticks to the low roofline combination and pointed proportions of its famous predecessors. We would be very surprised if this were not the case. The images also offer a chance to see how the new hybrid V-12 and front electric motors will fit into the platform.
The chassis of the LB744 will be both lighter and stiffer than that of the Aventador. The structure combines parts made from extremely strong forged composite – a technology pioneered by Lamborghini and the Callaway Golf Equipment Company – as well as carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic parts. The most obvious difference on the Aventador is a new carbon front impact structure ahead of the passenger compartment that is both lighter and stiffer than the Aventador’s crash frame.
At the rear of the tub, the LB744 continues to use an aluminum structure to mount its engine, transmission and rear suspension components. The images also reveal that the new car will be moving away from the supremely elegant pushrod suspension of the Aventador, using more conventional upright springs for double wishbone suspension at each corner. They also show it riding on Bridgestone Potenza tyres.
While we don’t have weight figures for the monofuselage yet, Lamborghini’s claimed torsional stiffness of 29,502 lb-ft/degree represents a 25 percent improvement over the Aventador, and 100 percent better than the 14,751 lb-ft/degree Is. The company quoted for Murciélago. Although the LB744’s core structure is lighter than the Aventador’s, we anticipate an increase in overall weight due to the mass brought by the hybridized powertrain’s three electric motors and 3.8-kWh battery pack.
The images also show the new car’s stretched roofline design, which should help improve headroom as compared to the tight-fitting Aventador. We’ll get to see the finished car in full and learn its new name at the end of the month.
European Editor
Mike Duff has been writing about the auto industry for over two decades and calls the UK home, although he usually lives life on the road. He loves vintage cars and adventures in unlikely places, with career highlights including driving up to Chernobyl in a Lada.