The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is known for cutting-edge engineers, and Lamborghini is known for super cars. Just this week, the two paired up to ponder the future of an ultra-light, strong, and innovative automotive brand.
On Wednesday at the EmTech conference at MIT in Boston, Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali sat down with leaders from the university, other Italian companies, and the Italian Trade Agency. He was there to talk about Lamborghini’s long-time work in the development of carbon-fiber technologies for automotive, consumer, and aerospace industries.
The technology used to create that prototype is known as “pre-preg.” Pre-impregnated sheets are first infused with resin and then put into a vacuum mold and heated to activate the resin. This time-intensive process is usually done by hand and creating a single component can take days. Repairs to a broken piece are nearly impossible. While the pre-preg Countach Quattrovalvo prototype didn’t survive crash testing, the lessons Lamborghini’s team learned in building and creating it are still being used today.
Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), as used on the Aventador, evolved out of pre-preg carbon fiber techniques. In RTM, a two-sided, closed mold is used and carbon fiber and resin are pumped into the mold under low pressure. They are then either vacuum- or heat-cured. RTM carbon fiber parts are significantly faster to make, and the raw materials are easier to store since they can be held at room temperature. RTM parts also don’t yield print-through like pre-preg parts do. When the Aventador hit the market in 2013, it was the only consumer car with a complete carbon fiber tub and roof.
Lamborghini didn’t stop its carbon fiber research there, however. The same year, the automaker hired Dr. Paolo Feraboli to run its Advanced Composite Laboratory in Seattle. Feraboli is a composite engineering specialist who was working at the University of Washington. He describes himself as a “carbon fiber designer” and did a stint at Lamborghini headquarters in Sant’Agata between undergraduate and graduate school. His career in carbon fiber and aerospace material development spans companies as diverse as Callaway Golf, NASA, and Boeing.
Under Dr. Feraboli’s tutelage, a team of five engineers test and develop new composite technology for everything from aerospace to consumer goods, and of course, automotive. The facility on the edge of downtown Seattle houses one of only two lightning strike generators in the country (the other is housed at Boeing).
Feraboli is also the man behind the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, the supercar that was launched back in 2010. That car is special because it’s made up of more than 80 percent carbon fiber.
Feraboli and his team in Seattle pioneered a new form of carbon fiber manufacturing called Forged Composite (or FC) to create the Sesto Elemento. Forged composite carbon fiber is created when a block of material is weighed and then dropped into a metal mold. Using pressure and heat in an autoclave, the block of carbon fiber is formed into the required shape in less than three minutes. There is less need for curing or reheating the component to finish it, and it can be put into the manufacturing chain almost immediately. The resulting material is strong enough that it can be used to make things like suspension control arms (like in the Sesto Elemento).
During the grand opening of the lab in June, Feraboli showed off prototype connecting rods made completely of forged composite. If the rods go into a production car, it would represent the first time that an engine component was made of carbon fiber.
Lamborghini doesn’t plan to stop with FC. “The future will involve things like forged composites, but we need materials that are much better in terms of performance and weight,” Regianni told Ars in a phone interview. “For us, our Seattle facility is like an antenna for new technology. The technology was developed in the aeronautical field, and the Advanced Composite Lab works to see how we can apply to the car business in the future.”
That future could involve technologies developed in conjunction with MIT, too, Regianni said. “For us, it’s really good to have feet in Boston where there’s some of the best universities in the world with technological development,” he said.
It’s an effort that has the support of Italy’s government. Alberto Sacchi, the former President and Board Member of Federmacchine, explained why this kind of venture is important to the country. “Until now, Italian industry developed through an industrial model based on connections along the supply chain,” he told Ars.
That meant R&D teams working very closely with their end-users. “So we developed innovation through this model, with a great capability for listening to the needs of the customer and flexibility in supplying the tools they need. Today technology is a tremendous boost, and we need to update this model with partnerships like this,” Sacchi said.
As part of the agreement, MIT and Lamborghini will meet and cook up some mutually beneficial projects to work on together. They’ll run workshops, share notes, and generally think outside the typical automotive box. According to the release about the partnership, the collaboration between MIT and Lamborghini “represents a step into the future for the automotive industry, with the ultimate aim of paving the way for a very ambitious project, namely a super sports car ready for the challenges of the third millennium.” That super sports car could look something like the all-carbon-fiber, body-in-white scale models that Feraboli unveiled at the Seattle lab back in June.
Listing image by Abigail Bassett
