Technical expertise elemental to the Bull

Lamborghini unveiled a devilish supercar at the Paris Motor Show, but the real attraction was what is was made of.

Lamborghini unveiled undoubtedly the most sinister and evil-looking concept of the Paris Auto Show with the Sesto Elemento.

Opinions seemed divided as to whether the low, angular, all-black supercar belonged in Batman's lair or whether it came from Hades itself, but everyone seemed entranced by its muscle and presence. Despite the interest, the Italian car maker has no plans to put the concept into production, but that wasn't the point behind its inception. Lamborghini used it as an exercise in new production methods with carbon fibre; Sesto Elemento translates from Italian to "Sixth Element" - carbon.

"In the past, Lamborghini was always known for design and performance, those were the key issues of recognition of the brand," said Manfred Fitzgerald, Lamborghini's director of design and branding. "But I think the technical expertise which is in this company is so outstanding that we'd like to shout louder about it." Lamborghini has developed a new approach to carbon fibre - normally, a mixture of long fibres and resin that are moulded and baked in a large oven to form strong, light shapes - that simplifies its construction and shortens its manufacture time.

Forged composite fibre is made of small, random fibres of carbon in resin that is formed into shapes and then heated and pressed at more than six tonnes of pressure. "It gives you a totally other degree of freedom," said Fitzgerald. "It allows complex geometries and a reduction in production times, which is pretty amazing. For the tub that we have in the car, we only need 500 seconds to make it. If you compare that with prepreg (the conventional method of making carbon fibre), it would take you something like six hours. So you're talking about different volumes, you're talking about different economical figures, and it then becomes viable. You're reducing costs and manpower, because the prepreg is a very intensive process."

The concept utilises what the manufacturer has learnt and developed along with partners such as Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer, and Callaway, the golf club maker, in carbon fibre technology, and it's bound to make its way into future Lamborghinis - as well as other cars in its parent company, Volkswagen/Audi. "I think it would be foolish to keep this all to ourselves," added Fitzgerald. "I believe we have something unique here, so we as a brand have a certain value not only to our products but to a wealth of knowledge that we have. It's a natural development of the brand."

Indeed, technology has become more and more integral to what Lamborghini has become since VW/Audi took over the then-ailing Italian marque more than 13 years ago. And it's something Fitzgerald has been working towards since he took his position, along with the sharp-edged design that culminates in the ominous-looking Sesto Elemento. "If you reduce [what Lamborghini is] down to a few terms, it's design and performance. Design is always debatable; performance, we're pretty well equal [to rivals Ferrari]. But the truth is, the brand values are different from the neighbours [Ferrari]. We are definitely extreme, and we are very uncompromising. We have a certain character and I think we're the last bad boys on the block. For some it works, for some it doesn't. I think if you're pursuing something where you want to be everybody's darling, you're doing something wrong.

"A brand like Lamborghini has to polarise; either you like it or you don't, there's nothing in between. And if we can get more fans out there, the better it is, but I would never compromise on anything for the brand."