Bodyshops beware, Italian supercar maker Lamborghini has unveiled a new concept car that it says will have self healing powers.
The Terzo Millennio, or "third millennium” concept car was introduced at the EmTech conference in America recently and is the result of a of the first 12 months of a three-year collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The concept may look like a Lamborghini of today but the makers say it will have some big technological advances.
Lamborghini says it plans to develop supercapacitors out of carbon-fiber panels that can be used to form the body of the car, which will store more energy and don’t generate the heat of lithium-ions batteries now in use. Effectively this will mean the car itself is a battery.
The car will also feature a system that will be able to continuously monitor the condition of its own structure, detecting wear and damage. Micro-channels containing "healing chemistries” in the carbon-fiber body will automatically repair small cracks that would otherwise spread.
The supercar, if ever produced would be powered by in wheel electric motors.
Stefano Domenicali, chairman and chief executive officer of Automobili Lamborghini commented, "Collaborating with MIT for our R&D department is an exceptional opportunity to do what Lamborghini has always been very good at, rewriting the rules on super sports cars.”