The Self-Healing Supercar

Gerard Seth

Water is wet, the sun is hot and supercars are cool. But if there is one major caveat to driving around in a Lamborghini, it’s that parts and repairs will cost you an arm and a leg… and then your other leg too.

Not only that, repairs are a cumbersome process. Lamborghini has been collaborating with researchers from MIT in Massachusetts to develop a self-repairing electric concept car.

The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio, ‘third millennium’ in Italian, is taking inspiration from the future – a future where panel beaters and mechanics have been phased out. The Terzo Millennio is composed of a carbon fibre structure with the ability to self-diagnose, using sensors to identify cracks and damage in the substructure. As soon as a small crack is identified, the car begins to self-repair, by filling the cracks with nanotubes to prevent fissures from spreading into the rest of the structure.

Lamborghini also has its eyes towards the future, energy-wise. Supercapacitors power the Terzo Millennio instead of standard conventional batteries, allowing for faster charge and energy storage. The supercapacitors are crafted from carbon and so can easily be tucked away into the car’s body panels, rather than sticking out like a clunky piece of mechanised after-thought.

It almost goes without saying, but just because your Lamborghini can heal itself, doesn’t mean you should go crashing into stuff willy-nilly. Imagine it though: a future where you might not have to worry about paying for panel beaters and mechanics?

Sign me up.