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Lamborghini certainly is not the most introverted in the world of supercar manufacturers and over the weekend at a gala dinner to celebrate the firm's 50th anniversary it revealed one of its craziest concepts yet - the Egoista. The car is one of Walter De Silva's boldest designs to date and takes the supercar idea to a different level.

Exterior

The shape of the Egoista is nothing short of spectacular and resembles something more akin to a futuristic fighter jet than a supercar. The single seat cockpit is just that in every sense of the word. It draws inspiration from the world of aviation, particularly the Apache helicopter. The driver's tub is made of carbon fibre and aluminium and, much like a Formula One car, is designed to act like a survival cell. It places the driver in the centre of the vehicle and also has a forward lifting canopy like a fighter jet.

Aerodynamics have played a big part in helping to shape the Egoista, where flaps integrated into the bodywork activate automatically depending on driving conditions. At the rear two flaps lift at higher speeds in order to increase stability while the front section of the car has been designed to maximise downforce. The engine is cooled through a series of air intakes located at the back of the engine cover. As it is made from lightweight materials such as aluminium and carbon fibre, the vehicle has 'no-walk' zones, duly marked like on airliners. The parallels with the world of aeronautics do not end here, however, as the body is made from a special antiradar material, and the glass is anti-glare with an orange gradation.

Even the lights on the Lamborghini Egoista are unlike anything really seen before on a car, instead De Silva opted to choose something more likely to be found in the world of aviation. There are no headlights in the traditional sense of the word, rather LED clearance lights that show the car's position in a three-dimensional sense. Two white front lights, two red rear lights, a red flashing light in the upper part of the tail, two orange bull's eyes as side markers, and a further two lights on the roof (red on the left and green on the right) make this four-wheeled object unique even in the dark. Either side of the driver's cockpit are two powerful xenon headlamps.

Interior

Given the central seating position of the Egoista, Lamborghini has been able to build the cockpit around the driver. A racing seat, complete with four-point harness, holds the driver in place while everything else focuses their attention towards the road ahead. A head-up display gives all essential information to the driver who must remove the steering wheel in order to get in and out of the car - just like a racing driver. Even then, once the dome has been opened, the driver must stand up in their seat, sit down on a precise point of the left-hand bodywork, then swivel their legs 180 degrees from the inside of the cockpit to the outside of the vehicle. At this point they can set their feet down and stand up.

Mechanicals

Naturally, a concept this crazy must have performance to match. Powering the Egoista is a 5.2-litre V10 engine producing 600 horsepower, which, considering the extensive use of lightweight material used and the additional weight saving by being a single-seater, must be capable of giving the car some incredible performance.

Anything else?

Unlike some of Lamborghini's recent creations, such as the Sesto Elemento and Veneno, it is unlikely that the Egoista will ever be made available to the public, even in extremely low numbers, nor does it give a possible hint at any future models that may come down the line. Designer Walter De Silva describes the Egoista as "a gift from Lamborghini to Lamborghini, resplendent in its solitude. The Egoista is pure emotion, Never Never Land, which no one can ever possess, and which will always remain a dream, for everyone".

Dave Humphreys - 13 May 2013