Lamborghini Opens New Carbon Fiber Research Center

Italian sportscar manufacturer Lamborghini announced a new Advanced Composites Research Center (ACRC) at its headquarters in Sant’Agata Bolognese that is meant to conduct research and development of carbon-fiber elements. Through the use of carbon fiber, cars become lighter, thus improving fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

According to Lamborghini, a super sportscar built using composite materials in carbon fiber has improved acceleration and braking as well as superior handling.

The new ACRC centre comprises two facilities covering an area of more than 2,600 square meters and employs a team of 30 people. The centre makes use of a test laboratory, with efforts focusing on “out of autoclave” technologies such as Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) or vacuum RTM.

The team develops vehicle components of all shapes and sizes. They build prototypes and the associated tools, production tools, and develop optimized production technologies.

Lamborghini ACRC’s specialists have already achieved a breakthrough with the invention of an innovative technology: Lamborghini can use minimal pressure and relatively low temperatures to manufacture carbon-fiber components, achieving higher process speeds, lower costs, and extremely light tooling.

“The consistent development of carbon-fiber technology is a key element of our strategy,” Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A, said in a release. “The most important parameter for super sportscars is, now as in the future, the weight-to-power ratio; therefore, as there is a limit to power increase due to emission regulations, we must work on weight reduction. The real difference is in the correct use of technologies and materials to satisfy technical and financial concerns.”