Things got a little emotional during the amazing gala dinner at the factory to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Automobili Lamborghini SpA on May 11. 2013 … in front of over one thousand VIP, many of whome participated in the Grande Giro leading 350 Bulls from Milan to Sant’Agata earlier that week a very impressive, and totally unexpected car touched down on the landing strip.
Earlier during dinner the already very impressive Lamborghini Veneno made a drive by … but that didn’t prepare the invitees for what Walter De Silva had created over the weeks ahead: the Lamborghini Egoista!
This car has been created with only one thing in mind … building a Lamborghini that empasises what the Raging Bull is all about, a passion to be unconventional and be innovative when it comes to being selfish this is the right car for … only one person can use it, there is no passenger seat, the Egoista is meant for those that can appreciate something alternative, something no other make offers … Lamborghini once again sets a benchmark in the automotive … or as Stephan Winkelmann stated earlier:Â “always different … always Lamborghini”
When it comes to making an entrance I don’t think it gets any better than this … before the Lamborghini Egoista came onto the stage it was transformed into an impressive landing strip, a beautiful super model in a blue flightsuit used actual ground crew light paddles to guide the Egoista … the brutal animal like howl of the V10 engine shook both onlookers and infrastructure.
The engine choice for this very special concept is the 5.2 liter V10 unit also found inside the current Gallardo model range, however for the Egoista power output has been raised to 600hp … a figure we already heard about for the Gallardo successor too, could the Egoista be a test bed for the successor’s engine?
The styling for the Lamborghini Egoista is very extreme and boast totally unique characteristics like the front which resembles a charging Bull with the horns pointed forward … the styling has been executed by Walter De Silva’s design team (Mr De Silva is still Head of Design for the Volkswagen Group), for the angular exterior design we can thank Alessandro Dambrosio while the bright orange interior has been put together by Stefan Sielaff.
The cockpit section is made from carbon fiber and aluminum, but that’s not even the most impressive fact … actually the entire unit has been created as a tailor made suit offering the utmost driving pleasure pushing performance and style to new heights … and even more impressive is the fact the cockpit can be removed from the car … just like on an Apache helicopter in fact, which ejects the entire ‘pilot cell’ in an emergency.
Entering the Lamborghini Egoista involves a few steps to be handled in the correct order, first the orange tinted canopy has to be opened, it hinges at the front and tilts upward using electric motors, very impressive. Once opened you have to sit on the left side of the cockpit, on the right side you’ll find the fuel filler … which mentions ‘jet fuel only’ by the way.
Sitting on the side of the car you swing your legs into the cockpit, actually put you feet onto the bright orange seat with some of the most amazing stitching we’ve ever seen and glide into a driving position, after which you mount the steering wheel back in place as it had to be removed and put on top of the dashboard to allow you to enter.
Strapping yourself in using the amazing looking four point seat belts and activating the head up display completes your preparation to drive the Lamborghini Egoista … there might be a pre-flight checklist to complete however … which brings us right back into the world of aeronautics.
The Lamborghini Egoista is finished in a special grey shade covering a body made from anti-radar composites, the orange canopy isn’t just for looks either, in fact it is made from anti-glare glass. The wheels might look bright in their orange finish, but these too are made from anti-radar material finished in a flat paint over a rough, unfinished surface … the addition of carbon fiber fins on these wheels improve their cooling characteristics, and makes them look really nice too.
While being on the outside you’ll notice there is no massive wing found at the rear, instead the Lamborghini Egoista offers two fins that raise when needed to increase downforce, engine cooling is achieved from multiple intakes behind the canopy while all over the body you’ll find large intakes … in fact the headlights, powerful Xenon units, are located inside the front air intakes, out of sight.
The Lamborghini Egoista has a whole array of LED lights installed, two white ones up front, two red lights at the rear, another red light is flashing in the upper section of the rear while an orange light is used on either side as markers … finally on top of the roof, just behind the canopy you’ll find two more lights, a red one and a green one on the left and right respectively … turning the Egoista into an UFO for the road.
The body of the Lamborghini Egoista is made from combining aluminum and carbon fiber, most of it painted in radar absorbing grey but there are many clear carbon fiber parts still visible … which receive ‘no step’ and ‘caution’ warnings … just like on a fighter plane … the entire jet concept has been taken to the extreme at the rear, which on the Egoista is completely open, you can look through the grilles and admire the ‘internals’ … next to the very large, orange finished exhaust pipes they even put a ‘jet blast’ danger warning.
It is very obvious this Lamborghini Egoista is not a street legal, limited production model … this car is a unique way to show what Lamborghini is all about … thinking outside of the box, creating cars that blow you away … sometimes literally when you hear the engine note … the Egoista has been developed as an homage to Lamborghini … a birthday gift for a very special person, albeit a person with a very strong personality that doesn’t want to share the pleasure of driving ‘his’ car.
The Lamborghin Egoista is the ultimate expression of being different, and that is what Lamborghini is all about, cars that are built with heart and soul, thinking about design and power before thinking about legal hassles … somehow I don’t think the Egoista will be certified for road use, but who cares, someone that would buy a car like this doesn’t think about details like that.
Think about this for a minute … the Lamborghini Egoista is so different from anything else we’ve seen before, it is years ahead of the competition and looks like it just landed from outer space … sound familiar? Remember how the Lamborghini Countach prototype looked back in 1971 … with those upward opening doors and wedge styling … even the dashboard was totally digital back then.
On that initial Countach prototype Lamborghini used flat fins just behind the side windows to cool the V12 engine … take a second look at the air intakes on this Egoista … they do look familiar now don’t they?
Little over 40 years after the totally innovative, almost insane looking Countach prototype from the early Seventies Lamborghini created another totally avant-garde super car with the Egoista … Lamborghini is back to creating cars that become instant classics in the automotive design world, setting a reference to which other makes will be compared to.
Only one Egoista has been made and it is not for sale … the Lamborghini Egoista will remain a dream … a very special dream.
