Lamborghini unveils ‘self-healing’ concept car with no batteries

Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini has unveiled its latest concept car, the Terzo Millennio that is powered without the aid of batteries.

Unveiled on Tuesday at the EmTech MIT Conference, the car is a collaboration between the Italian manufacturer and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Source: Lamborghini, YouTube

The car, that is touted as the vehicle of the future was created after a twelve-month long collaboration between Lamborghini and two MIT research laboratories i.e. Dinca Research Lab led by Prof. Mircea Dinca and Mechanosynthesis Group led by Prof. Anastasios John Hart.

As per the release by Lamborghini the concept, which the company terms as the future of electric super sports cars ‘aims to deliver the most emotional and ultimate driving experience.’

The new car, as reported by Inverse, is capable of storing energy in carbon fiber nanotubes. These supercapacitors are capable of releasing energy faster than traditional batteries used inside electric cars. They not only improve performance but are also lighter than traditional batteries.

In addition, the use of the supercapacitors also enable the car to have what can be termed as the ability to self-heal. This means that if the car detects any damage, it can employ micro-channels with healing chemistries to prevent small cracks in its structure from turning bigger.

The new technology will definitely be a game changer in the electric car segment. The time taken for recharging exhausted batteries is a prime drawback of the electric vehicles. This new technology will certainly revolutionise the electric car industry. It will also give Lamborghini a definite edge in the segment against other manufacturers like the Tesla.

However, the technology still has a long way to go. The supercapacitors are not efficient like traditional batteries when it comes to storing energy in large quantity.

Prof. Mircea Dinca, who was quoted in the report by Inverse too shared his optimism about the new development and stated that the “new Lamborghini collaboration allows us to be ambitious and think outside the box…we look forward to teaming up with their engineers and work on this exciting project.”