Nobody ever accused Lamborghini of thinking conventionally. The company was formed by a legendary innovator – Ferruccio Lamborghini – and his innovative spirit is deeply engrained in Lamborghini’s DNA. Lamborgini will alway be a company that pushes the bounds of innovation, and the Terzo Millennio EV sportscar is one heck of a good example.
Designed to push the envelope
According to our technical consultant at Lamborghini Broward of Broward, FL, the Terzo Millennio is the brainchild of Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali. His idea was to make an EV hypercar dramatic with performance and looks worthy of the brand. The Terzo concept is basically a rolling technical test bed designed to challenge current EV technology and jump-start some radical new ideas. To start with it will be designed to exceed 300kph (186mph) and be capable of doing three hot laps of the Nordschliefe, a brutal, 20 Km racetrack in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Some of the brightest minds
In order to make the Terzo Millennio reach fruition, Lamborghini has drafted in some of the brightest minds in the world to help. One of the partners is the world-famous MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), where the car was launched last year.
The body is the battery
Domenicali explains that a new EV hypercar seems to appear every other month and all are based on the same skateboard layout, with the occupants sitting on top of huge battery.. The Terzo team is currently exploring the potential of using nanotechnology to thread billions of tiny copper anodes and cathodes into the body’s carbon weave, turning the whole bstructure of the Terzo into an energy-storage system.
Self-healing
In addition to this futuristic concept, the team is uworking with aerospace polymer technology within the bodywork to allow the carbon fibre body surface to self-heal minor imperfections.
Supercapacitors needed
To manage the body-panel charge, the team is pushing the boundaries of supercapacitor technology. The main advantages of supercapacitors compared with standard batteries is their ability to store up to 100 times more energy and deliver power quickly.
In-wheel independent motors
The current design of the car sees each wheel driven by an independent in-wheel motor. This allows for powerful multi-wheel drive, torque vectoring, and both steering and braking-by-wire.
Autonomous support technology
While others are concentrating on autonomy to get you home from the pub after a night out, Lambo’s virtual assistant will assist you when driving. The Terzo will have a kind of human or virtual interface that is able to talk with you, to give you feedback, and what you need to improve – a kind of “autonomous supporter.”
Using airflow to create sound
Concerned that the relative silence of EVs, Lamborghini is looking at making “noisy bodies.” The Terzo project is looking into how to use the airflow over and around the car to provide sound for traffic and pedestrian recognition.
A risky endeavour
Lamborghini believes that takes someone to lead not to follow in this industry. They believe the Terzo redefines our understanding of every aspect of a hypercar, challenges convention and breaks new boundaries. And for that we should credit it and the automotive brains developing it.
