Lamborghini Shows Off Jaw-Dropping Manifesto Supercar Concept
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of its in-house design center Centro Stile, Lamborghini has announced the aptly-named Manifesto concept. The hyper-aggressive non-production prototype pulls many cues from the past while pointing to the Italian motor company's vision of the near future.
Unveiled by Lamborghini Design Director Mitja Borkert at the Sant'Agata Bolognese headquarters, the Manifesto definitely follows in the company's philosophy of radical purity and powerful presence. Unlike recent Lamborghini models that favored complex, fragmented surfaces, the Manifesto returns to a more minimal and sculptured look. Make no mistake, the mid-engine car is still a wedge-y Lamborghini through and through, but we definitely applaud the designers for shifting toward cleaner, more architectural lines.
The concept is a bright yellow (Giallo Crius in company parlance) roadster-style design study with Lamborghini's signature exaggerated proportions, but with an almost (gasp) Ferrari-like elegance. Signature Y-shaped light motifs are present at the front and rear, appearing subtly within the headlight signature and forming vertically-oriented brake lights. The rear deck features 12 vents, a clear homage hinting at a V12 heart, even though no mechanical specs were disclosed.
Perhaps the Manifesto's most dramatic feature is the rear, where massive, sculpted fenders (which, side-on can be mistaken for a Countach) flow into an enormous, integrated carbon fiber diffuser, leaving the rear tires dramatically exposed. Don't worry, we're sure you'll be able to find aftermarket mudflaps for these on Amazon, but the F1 racecar look from the rear ain't half bad either.
"Manifesto is fantasy and inspiration made tangible," Borkert stated. "It shows how we connect surfaces, how we create purism, how we project our DNA forward. It is not about an engine or technology, but about imagination—about keeping the Lamborghini dream alive."
The Manifesto shares the same, well, manifesto as the 2017 Terzo Millennio concept, which directly influenced production cars like the Revuelto and Temerario. Thus the new car takes on the role of the fresh reference point for future Lamborghini models, a design bible if you will, for the next generation of supercars.
Even though technical details for the Manifesto are scarce as this point, the prototype also gives us a look at how Lamborghini would embrace hybridization and new technologies while maintaining its core visual identity.
