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The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is a brutally fantastic EV supercar concept

Lamborghini isn't known for bowing to convention. Ever since Ferruccio told Enzo Ferrari where he could stick his temperamental cars, and decided to build his own, it's been going its own way. This car, the Terzo Millennio ("third millenium"), built in collaboration with MIT, is very much a Lamborghini approach to the EV performance car. To begin with, it is obviously nothing else but a Lamborghini. Wild concept car touches aside, it's as wedgy and mean as anything to come out of Sant'Agata (and definitely anything to come out of Cambridge, MA!). There's some advanced tech here, too, as you might imagine with MIT's involvement. The most notable is the supercapacitor energy storage technology. Supercapacitors aren't ready for primetime yet, being very expensive and not quite as energy dense, although currently they're used in a few niche automotive applications. But MIT and Lamborghini want to produce one that'll work more like a main battery, but with greater ability to recharge and discharge quickly. That's ideal for brutal, explosive acceleration. If Lamborghini and MIT can make a breakthrough here, it'd let the decidedly conventional Lamborghinis of today (naturally aspirated, non-electrified) take a leap into the future on Lamborghini's own terms. The company is also exploring carbon composite batteries utilizing nanotechnology, which the company claims would reduce weight and increase the discharge capacity of the batteries. So, it seems, the Terzo Millennio might combine the two power storage technologies into the same drivetrain. Of course, like most modern Lamborghinis there's all-wheel drive, although it's in-wheel electric motor-based rather than the conventional mechanical type. It'd be easy enough to leave off the front motors for a Performante variant, perhaps. Or maybe in-wheel electric motors become the norm in the future. It's too early to tell; for now, this concept is AWD. The body is carbon fiber, and this concept previews some technology that can detect degradation in the carbon fiber early and potentially repair it with something called "nano-channels" utilizing a form of the technology that allows carbon composite materials to store energy. This technology deserves more explanation than we have room for here, and we'll get a deep dive on it as soon as we can. Lastly, Lamborghini wants a vehicle like the Terzo Millennio to sound like a Lamborghini. That won't be easy, since there's no V12 or V10 to be found.

Mansory tunes Lamborghini Huracan to 838 hp

The Lamborghini Huracan is a pretty potent package right out of the box, but the tuners at Mansory are showing that it's always possible to squeeze just a little bit extra out of a performance car for the willing buyer. The company's more aggressive interpretation of the coupe makes its public debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The Lambo's revised styling might be too brash for some people, but Mansory at least backs the looks up with a significant boost in power. The company keeps the 5.2-liter V10 in place but bolts on a single turbo, new exhaust and retunes the engine and transmission software to push output up to 838 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. Thanks to the boost, the sprint to 62 miles per hour now takes a claimed 2.9 seconds, and the top speed reportedly grows to 205 mph. The stock Huracan is almost curvaceous by Lamborghini standards with a set of tightly focused flowing arcs making up its shape, but Mansory completely ditches subtlety for its carbon-fiber body kit. Up front, the the new lip spoiler adds tiny flying buttresses to each corner, and the wider fenders at the rear cover up the 12.5-inch-wide, 21-inch-diameter forged wheels. There's also a behemoth of a diffuser and massive wing at the back to suck the turbocharged Lambo to the road. If buyers want it, the tuning company offers a bespoke leather interior, as well. MANSORY refines the Lamborghini Huracan to the highest level Deeply rooted in the MANSORY philosophy is the motto to continually provide automotive masterpieces. Shortly before the Geneva Motor Show 2015, MANSORY, specialists for the refining and customisation of exclusive sports cars, granted a first glimpse of the refining program for the Lamborghini Huracan. A wide bodied development model is planned as a world premier at the Geneva Motor Show. The soon to be presented bodywork program makes it clear that MANSORY differs significantly from the standard series vehicle. In addition to design elements such as the specially designed daytime driving lights and the new carbon wing mirrors, targeted design interventions provide for an increase in aerodynamics. Whether front, rear bumper or side skirts - all body components are exclusively shaped and cured under high pressure and high temperatures in an autoclave using high-tech carbon materials. The advantages of this method are proven: Acceleration, stopping distances and fuel consumption are all improved due to the weight reduction of the car.

Italdesign will build five of its Zerouno supercar, a carbon-bodied Lamborghini Huracan

There's a lot going on here. Italdesign is launching its new limited-production brand, Italdesign Automobili Speciali, with the crazy mid-engined supercar you see here. The Zerouno looks more like a place to keep every aerodynamic flourish the company has ever created than a car you will actually be able to buy, but they're going to sell five of them. It also reminds us of a Nissan GT-R in some ways, such as the shape of the roof, but you can be assured this is a Lamborghini underneath. Italdesign says the car is powered by a 5.2-liter V10 that will send it to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds and on to a top speed in excess of 205 mph; the engine makes 602 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque, just as it does in the standard Huracan. The Zerouno uses the Lambo's seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel-drive system as well. Given the fact that Italdesign is controlled by Lamborghini and the two companies often work closely with each other, we're pretty confident this is the world's most exclusive Lamborghini Huracan. Those few buyers will be able to outfit their car to their taste with help from the Italdesign staff. And just look at all of the aero bits! We count three pairs of dive plane blades, two sets of louvered fender vents, some aggressive splitters, and what might be the world's most complex rear diffuser. The bit at the front that sort of resembles a hand vac intake is part of what Italdesign calls the Y-duct, which pulls in air at the leading edge and routes it out of two ports at the rear of the hood to produce downforce. Air flows around and through just about every part of the car, including the floating light units. The silver car is done up with tricolori accents running down the middle and lots of red trim on the exposed carbon fiber. The whole body is made of the lightweight material, in fact, meaning it should be lighter than a run-of-the-mill Huracan. Even the tires are customizable; it features new Pirelli P-Zero rubber available in a choice of white, red, yellow or metallic gray. The car is designed to be registered for street use, but an optional Corsa package turns it into a track-only vehicle and includes such additional aerodynamic aids as a dorsal spoiler. It will be interesting to see how the Zerouno stacks up against the new top-dog Huracan Performante, which is being shown for the first time at this year's Geneva Motor Show, just like the Italdesign car.