In May 2013, Lamborghini celebrated their 50th anniversary in style with Walter De Silva’s impressive vehicle, the Lamborghini Egoista, greeting thousands of guests at the occasion. As the Volkswagen Group’s Head of Design, it was De Silva’s homage to celebrating the House of the Raging Bull’s half century.
To get a better look at this one-off masterpiece, click on the below image to walk around the vehicle. Zoom in at various angles to see the sharp lines and a glimpse inside the futuristic one-seater cockpit.
Lamborghini Egoista at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. Source: Google Street View
The car was christened the Egoista – a product of innovation and alternative solutions, the two characteristics that have stood Lamborghini distinctly apart from its competitors.
The vehicle was built for one person only – empowering them with sheer pleasure and the ability to express their personality to the maximum.
The design was focused purely on a person that desired the utmost extreme and rarity a manufacturer could provide. It represents hedonism taken to the extreme, provided no compromises, in a word: egoista (selfish).
The unveiling of the supercar was equally dramatic, having a cinematic entry which was announced by a trailer that was projected onto the nine huge screens within the room.
At its release, the stage took on the appearance of an airport landing strip, where a model aided the Lamborghini Egoista landing with ground crew light paddles. Thrilling every sense was the roar of the V10 engine shaking the 20-meter-tall tensioned event structure.
Concept and Technology
The Lamborghini Egoista was intentionally designed to be extreme and completely different with its unique characteristics setting it apart. The Volkswagen Group design team created the unit, with the exterior design headed by Alessandro Dambrosio and Stefan Sielaff was responsible for the interior design.
The powertrain of the Egoista is a 5.2-liter V10 engine that provides it with a powerful 600 horsepower.
A decision was made by De Silva’s team to build the car as a single-seater to push the boundaries of Lamborghini’s unique characteristics – absolute driving pleasure, style, and unparalleled performance.
The cockpit was designed as if it was a tight-fitting glove tailored for the driver. It has a removable section that once it connects and becomes one with the vehicle, produces the perfect unit in terms of technical, mechanical, and even aerodynamics.
As per a Lamborghini’s tradition, the inspiration of the Egoista comes from the world of aviation – specifically the Apache helicopter where during an emergency, the cockpit can be ejected.
The cockpit is composed entirely of carbon fiber and aluminum that represents some kind of survival cell, giving the driver protection from the outside elements in an isolated part of the car.
De Silva explained that they were keeping an eye on the future when designing the car, creating the concept that its cockpit could have been derived from a jet aircraft and then combined into a road vehicle.
Design
There are two fundamental aspects that characterize the Egoista’s exterior: the materials adopted and the architecture. The design has a highly muscular composure, where solid and empty areas go together with force and power.
On its sides, the stylized profile of a bull that is seemingly about to charge is seen on its bodywork. The bull is edging towards the front wheels, creating highly aggressive lines that are perhaps a reworking of the Lamborghini brand icon – the famous raging bull.
The upper part of the Egoista is not equipped with aerodynamic parts, but instead flaps that are incorporated into the bodywork profile that automatically react depending on the driving state.
When driving at high speeds, two rear flaps are automatically activated for increased stability while at the back of the engine hood are a series of air intakes that produce the cooling airflow to the mighty V10 engine.
The profile of the front of the vehicle was designed to maximize downforce, while the rear has a fully open design with the mechanics on full display to add to the aggressive look while also reducing weight.
The lights of the Lamborghini Egoista take on an appearance similar to an aircraft rather than a car given the absence of traditional headlights. Instead, the Lamborghini Egoista displays LED clearance lights that help to determine its position in three dimensions, as would be expected in airspace.
The exterior lighting creates a unique appearance for this four-wheeled vehicle. It features two white front lights, a couple of red rear lights, the upper part of the tail displays a red flashing light, and as side markers are two orange bull’s eyes. There are also two lights on the roof, a red one on the left, and a green one on the right, making the Egoista unique even when seen in the dark.
The vehicle’s two powerful xenon headlamps are concealed behind the front air intakes, at the base where the central body and two side sections meet. They take on the appearance of two powerful eagle’s eyes that can help scan the darkness even for great distances.
With the Egoista being produced with very lightweight materials like aluminum and carbon fiber, like on airliners, the vehicle is marked with no-walk zones.
The similarities with aeronautics continue with the special antiradar material used on the body, and anti-glare glass has been adopted that has an orange gradation. Even the rims utilize antiradar material and feature carbon fiber to improve aerodynamics.
Cockpit Interior
The cockpit’s interior is remarkably intelligent with the concept of functionality developed to the utmost. Inside you can find a racing seat and a four-point seatbelt, a different color for each strip, airbags, and the most basic instruments. However, a highlight is the adoption of a jet fighter’s head-up display.
On exiting the vehicle, one gets the sensation of disembarking a jet. First, its steering wheel must be removed and set on the dashboard. The dome can then be opened with an electronic command, and the driver must stand up in their seat, sit on a specific point of the left-hand bodywork, then they must swivel their legs 180 degrees towards the outside of the Egoista. It is only at this point that they can set their feet down and stand up.
Lamborghinis manufactured at Sant’Agata Bolognese are already cars for the few, but the Egoista takes it one step further. It is a car made by Lamborghini for Lamborghini – one of a kind.
Where is the Lamborghini Egoista located?
The Egoista can be found at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, being its permanent home.
[Source: Lamborghini]
