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07/10/2009 LAMBORGHINI LEADS DEVELOPMENT OF CARBON FIBER WITH
INVESTMENT IN AEROSPACE RESEARCH AND DESIGN CENTER
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. officially
unveiled the “Automobili Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structures
Laboratory” (ACSL) yesterday with an event held at the University of
Washington. The unveiling of the lab publicly marks the leading super
sports car manufacturer’s commitment to investing in the future of carbon
fiber technologies by partnering with leaders in aerospace and composite
material development, including University of Washington and The Boeing
Company.
Lamborghini has made a substantial financial contribution to the ACSL with
the goal of furthering the university’s long-time research in aeronautics
and astronautics with partners such as The Boeing Company and the Federal
Aviation Administration for application in super sports car development.
Lamborghini intends to utilize the studies conducted through the ACSL to
develop future vehicles with lighter, stronger and more versatile
materials.
“Lamborghini remains committed to investing in its future, and advancing
carbon fiber composite technologies is the key to achieving many our
goals,” said Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili
Lamborghini S.p.A. “As Lamborghini has long been influenced by aerospace
technology, the University of Washington’s collaboration with The Boeing
Company and the Federal Aviation Administration is the complementary fit to
furthering our research and development programs that will continue to set
the benchmark in carbon fiber technology.”
The ACSL has already contributed significantly to Lamborghini’s impact in
certification methodology for carbon fiber composite materials. Lamborghini
has collaborated with ACSL head Professor Paolo Feraboli on research
projects since 2001. In 2007, the super sports car manufacturer increased
activities with projects focused on “Crash Behavior of Composite Automotive
Primary Structures.” Since 2008, Lamborghini has contracted a research
project with the Advanced Structures Technology Group of Boeing Research &
Technology, with the ACSL supporting the research collaboration.
"Partnerships between the University of Washington and industry leaders
like Lamborghini give our students the advantage of working on real-world
problems," said University of Washington President Mark Emmert. “We are
excited that University of Washington researchers and Lamborghini engineers
will be collaborating to bring innovative materials to the automobile
industry.”
Carbon fiber is ideal for use in super sports car manufacturing due to the
density of the material, which is far lower than steel. Substituting steel
with carbon fiber reduces weight, which not only enhances the performance
of the vehicle by increasing the power-to-weight ratio, but also lowers CO2
emissions by reducing the overall mass. Carbon fiber is also stiffer than
other materials, thus creating better handling characteristics. In
addition, carbon fiber provides greater manufacturing versatility,
decreases the time it takes to make parts and simplifies the structure of
the components. These key points provide proof that carbon fiber is the
best material for nearly all applications which are essential for creating
Lamborghini’s extreme, uncompromising and unmistakably Italian super sports
cars.
The ACSL will provide the setting for testing and characterization,
manufacturing and machining of carbon fiber materials.