Lamborghini’s in-house design studio, Centro Stile, has been around for 20 years. In those two decades, it’s come up with some of the most striking, memorable supercars the world has ever seen. The studio is responsible for cars like the Sesto Elemento, the Huracán, the Reventon, the Veneno, and the Murcielago. It’s also penned concepts like the Asterion, the Estoque, and the all-electric Terzo Mellennio, just to name a few.
To celebrate the 20 years, Lamborghini’s head designer, Mitja Borkert, has published photos of a new concept from the brand. It’s called the Manifesto, and according to him, it’s meant to showcase “the potential future of our unique Design DNA.”
There aren’t any mechanical details available, though the 12 louvers on the rear decklid suggest a 12-cylinder engine hiding somewhere in the body. Where exactly, I’m not sure — the area where you’d expect an engine and transaxle to be is negative space, taken up by one of the biggest diffuser systems I’ve ever seen. For those unfamiliar, a diffuser is a piece of bodywork mounted underneath a car designed to accelerate the air traveling beneath the body. This creates a low-pressure zone, essentially “sucking” the car into the pavement, increasing downforce, according to Racecar-Engineering.com.
The rest of the car is very Lamborghini, with a cab-forward interior and an ultra-pointy nose. There’s Y-shaped lighting front and rear, staying in line with the company’s corporate design ethos that has blessed nearly all of its concepts since 2017, when the Terzo Melennio debuted. The sharp edges that start at the headlights trail all the way through the windshield, making for a dramatic front-on view—it almost looks like the car has horns.
From the side, the Manifesto could almost be confused for one (or several) of Chevy’s Corvette concepts released this year. The Lamborghini is differentiated by its angular rear fender, a design cue that dates all the way back to the original Countach. There are no visible doors or body lines—perhaps getting inside requires the entire body to be lifted off the chassis, top-fuel dragster style. The glass canopy could also lift up, fighter jet-style. That would be more in line with Lamborghini’s typical design inspirations.
The Manifesto’s long tail features no wing whatsoever. It’s perfectly smooth and flat, and reminds me of something like a McLaren Speedtail, except without the flexible body parts. The rear end also leaves the rear-facing parts of the back tires fully exposed—another signature Lamborghini design element that’s present on its two production sports cars. Except here, it’s far more pronounced.
Like most of Lamborghini’s concepts, there’s no sign the Manifesto is destined for any sort of production run. As Borkert said, it’s simply a display piece to show off what’s to come from the brand, rather than a preview for a road-going model. In the future, we may see elements from the Manifesto appear on production vehicles, but don’t expect to see one at your Local Cars & Coffee event.
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