In the following years, Lamborghini’s carbon composite material development process grew with new achievements. In addition to researching and developing materials in the direction of bringing light and modern materials to supercar models, the Italian car company also aims to apply this technology in the medical field. In addition, following the general trend of the industry, Lamborghini also gradually takes into account the goal of sustainable development as well as the environmental friendliness of the carbon production line:
2014: Automobili Lamborghini becomes the first car brand in the world to achieve TÜV certification for its carbon fiber car repair service. This repair service was started in 2011 and has been evaluated by TÜV Italia experts and certified for accountability, traceability, reliability, on-time and Exactly. The service is performed by highly qualified professionals who have undergone initial training at the Boeing Co. Repair Department, followed by more in-depth training at Abaris Training Resources Inc. in Nevada. After the training, they were all certified in Advanced Composite Structure Damage Repair recognized by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The purpose of this Lamborghini repair service is to ensure that the technical characteristics of the repaired part will be 100% identical to the original part.
2015: The brand creates Carbonskin material. Automobili Lamborghini expands its activities in the field of flexible materials. After years of research and development, the brand has designed a new carbon fiber material with extremely flexible properties, suitable for applications in car interiors. From here, Carbonskin was created and exclusively patented. This is a unique, flexible composite material certified for automotive use. Carbonskin was developed entirely by the Automobili Lamborghini Research and Development team and complies with all automotive industry approval and type approval requirements. In addition to reducing weight (28% lighter than Alcantara and 65% lighter than leather), this innovative new material offers unique properties such as preserving the naturalness of carbon fiber with a three-dimensional effect and Extremely soft and unique.
2016: The brand inaugurates a new carbon fiber research laboratory, the Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory (ACSL) in Seattle (Washington, USA). These laboratories operate as an external organization with the company’s headquarters in Sant’Agata Bolognese. ACSL is a research center for potential innovations in carbon fiber.
2017: Research project with Houston Methodist Research Institute to study composite materials in medicine. Automobili Lamborghini has shared its know-how on carbon fiber composite materials with the Houston Methodist Research Institute, launching a collaboration on research on these materials in the medical field. The research project focuses on studying the in vitro biocompatibility of composite materials that can potentially be used to develop prosthetic implants and subcutaneous devices. This aim is to identify new materials that are lighter, better tolerated by the human body, and more durable over time than materials currently used in the medical field.
2019: The brand begins testing materials in space. Automobili Lamborghini is the first car brand in the world to conduct research on carbon fiber materials on the International Space Station (ISS). Joint research on advanced carbon fiber composites initiated two years ago between Automobili Lamborghini and the Houston Methodist Research Institute has now reached a major milestone. The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket launch ceremony from the Wallops Facility in Virginia took place on November 2, 2019 with the mission of delivering a series of composite material samples produced by Automobili Lamborghini to the ISS space station. This event is part of a testing campaign sponsored by the US National Laboratory ISS and overseen by the Houston Research Institute. Specifically, these tests aim to analyze the response of 5 different types of composite materials produced by Lamborghini in the space environment, aiming at future applications of composite materials that Lamborghini creates in the field of space. medical.
2021: The brand launches Lamborghini Essenza SCV12, the first car model on the market with a carbon fiber safety frame structure approved according to FIA Hypercar safety standards. This extraordinary achievement is the result of 30 years of research and Automobili Lamborghini’s extensive experience in researching and applying composite materials to the car industry.
To achieve this result, the carbon fiber monocoque produced in the autoclave of Lamborghini’s CFK division is reinforced at several points with the requirement to withstand forces of over 12 tons without significant deformation during Extremely rigorous static and dynamic testing process to gain FIA approval. This chassis has undergone more than 20 static tests, in addition to the chassis, it also involves pedals, belts and fuel tank. Dynamic crash tests, on the other hand, involve impacts at speeds of up to 14 meters per second. It is important to note that in this type of test, the chassis must not be exposed to the ingress of external factors and the fuel tank must not leak.
To this day, the brand is all about sustainability and recycling of materials. Another aspect that Lamborghini has researched for many years is the sustainability of the composite material production process and its environmental friendliness. Today, the research and projects carried out by Lamborghini engineers have led to the implementation of specific production technologies that reduce the consumption of energy and precious resources such as water, and significantly reduce amount of waste in the production process of composite materials.
All waste is reused for different purposes such as applying it to vehicle parts or putting it into some other uses at the factory, such as panels or making strollers. Everything that cannot be reused is collected and recycled to recover fibers, which are then used to create new products using recycled carbon fiber. This material can even be developed into vehicle parts that differ from structural specifications and are less aesthetically demanding, such as vehicle floor panels. Furthermore, waste from the production process is used to create by-products such as gift products for customers and guests at events organized by Lamborghini. The ultimate goal that the brand aims for is to maintain sustainability as well as thoroughly and effectively recycle all materials in the production process.