Over the past 30 years, Lamborghini has been an industry leader in both the development and implementation of advanced lightweight materials. From the Countach to the Huracán, not a single series-produced Lamborghini came to life with less carbon fiber than its predecessor.
“Carbon fiber is a material that Lamborghini has a long history with. It is one of the most important keys to our cars’ success in the past, the present and the future,” said Stefano Domenicali, Automobili Lamborghini Chief Executive Officer.
Since Japan is the producer of the majority of carbon fiber raw material currently available on the market, Lamborghini has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Japanese textiles company, Mitsubishi Rayon, to develop carbon fibre technology and will work together to further develop higher levels of manufacturing automation that are more suitable for larger scale production.
At the moment, Lamborghini can only produce 5 chassis per day, a number that is far too small to accommodate production of the new Urus SUV which is due in 2018.
“By continuing to develop our patented Forged Composite materials, we are able to create a product that can enhance Lamborghini super sports cars in both their performance and their appearance. The ability to leverage this kind of lightweight material gives Lamborghini a competitive advantage that will benefit our cars, as well as the production process, in the future,” said Maurizio Reggiani, Automobili Lamborghini Board Member for Research & Development.
With almost 70,000 employees, Japanese textile company owned by Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, is the country’s largest acrylic fiber maker and represents part of the reason Japan produces around 60% of the world’s carbon fibre.
“Japan is an important market in the development and production of carbon fiber. The long experience of Automobili Lamborghini in the use of composite materials, and its collaboration with leading Japanese companies have led to the development of significant innovations in this area. This combination is one of the key aspects in the field of scientific and technological relations between the two countries and is therefore a source of great pride for both Italy and Japan,” said Italian Ambassador S.E. Dr. Domenico Giorgi.
