PARIS — Even in the world of supercars, there is such a thing as subtlety, and the Italians are famous for wanting no truck with it. Lamborghini in particular has traditionally steered as far from the notion as possible, building vehicles that bring to mind nothing so much as a permanently irritated naked woman with a machine gun in each hand.
This year's Mondial De L'Automobile — the official name for Paris' biannual auto exposition — was widely expected to host the debut of the next Lamborghini Murciélago. The Murcié, which was first introduced in 2001, is growing a bit long in the tooth, and Paris is usually a good place to launch outlandish, high-powered sports cars. Naturally, because Italy is Italy and Italians are Italians, the unpredictable happened: The car that debuted instead, a concept called the Sesto Elemento, makes the Murciélago look both tame and subtle, which means, of course, that it makes perfect sense.
Holy Roman empire and a side of red sauce, this mother is angry.
*Sesto elemento *is Italian for "sixth element." The term refers to the matte-finish carbon-fiber that makes up the Sesto's body panels and basic structure. Carbon fiber is many things — hyper-expensive, difficult to repair, pretty — but it is also one of the lightest and strongest materials currently being used in car construction. As a result, Lamborghini claims that the V-10-powered Sesto weighs in at a staggering 2200 pounds. (Perspective: That's 1100 pounds lighter than a Lamborghini Gallardo and a fat passenger's heft away from a Lotus Elise.) In other words, if it weren't for the massive engine mounted behind the passenger compartment, the Sesto might flutter down the street in a stiff breeze. This is in stark contrast to Lamborghini's current lineup, almost all of which emphasizes power, traction and comfort over low weight.
As with most Lambos, the details are nuts: The 5.7-liter V-10 in front of the wheels cranks out a thundering 570 hp at 8000 rpm and a whopping, face-ripping 398 lb-ft at 6500 rpm. Sixty-two mph arrives in a claimed 2.5 seconds, and that figure — go ahead, count to two, take a breath, and imagine hurtling yourself and a passenger down the highway in an eye blink — is only mildly incomprehensible. Top speed is said to be "well over 185 mph," which probably means that, as with most modern supercars, you're more likely to run out of road (or cojones or whatever the Italian word for "courageous stupidity" is) than car.
The Sesto's interior is a bare-bones jungle gym of carbon bones and bare-minimum trim. The seat cushions are glued to the car's body, and there are no seat frames. There is no dash top. A paddle-shifted six-speed transmission is fitted, its red end cap sticking out of the Sesto's monstrous rear. The V-10's ten exhausts exit through the rear deck, just in front of the spoiler. All of which is patently ridiculous and wholly wonderful.
The Sesto probably won't be built, and if the rumors are true, little of its styling language will be found on future Lamborghinis. But the fact that it exists is reason enough to love it.
Photos: Sam Smith/Wired.com
