Lamborghini unveils customer-commissioned one-off SC20 barchetta
Lamborghini unveiled the mysterious roof-less supercar it has been testing on and off the track for the past few months. Called SC20, it's a one-of-a-kind model positioned at the intersection of road cars and track cars.
Developed by Squadra Corse, the firm's in-house racing division, the SC20 was built at the request of a customer who eagerly participated in nearly every step of the design process. Lamborghini explained the project's goal was to transfer some of the lessons it learned on the track (notably those related to aerodynamic technology) to a street-legal car that falls in line with its current design language without copying an existing model.
Mitja Borkert, the head of the company's design department, cited the Diablo VT Roadster, the Aventador J, the Veneno Roadster, and the Concept S as sources of inspiration. Up front, the SC20 is less angular than the Aventador S, though it's still immediately recognizable as a member of the Lamborghini family, and its vents are modeled after the Huracán Evo GT3's. Out back, the rear lights are reminiscent of the ones fitted to the Sián, but the fascia wears a markedly more aggressive design that incorporates a sizable wing with three positions called low, medium and high load, respectively, a deep diffuser and vents that let hot air escape the engine bay.
Viewed from the side, the SC20 is characterized by the complete lack of a windshield, a layout which provides an unobstructed view of the Alcantara upholstery on the dashboard and of the carbon fiber panel that covers the digital instrument cluster. All told, the SC20 is much closer to a barchetta than to a conventional convertible.
Bare carbon fiber on the dashboard, the firewall, the door panels and the center console hints at the SC20's lightweight construction. Lamborghini used the composite material to make the seat shells, too, and it machined the door handles out of solid aluminum. The center console houses a slanted touchscreen which displays the infotainment software that the Italian company developed in-house and released on the Huracán Evo.
Although the Aventador's replacement will go hybrid, the SC20 eschews electrification. It's powered by a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 which produces 770 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm. It spins the four wheels via an Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) seven-speed automatic transmission linked to a pair of shift paddles and a central electronic differential. Performance specifications haven't been released yet, but it's safe to bet the SC20 takes under three seconds to reach 60 miles per hour from a stop.
Lamborghini hasn't revealed the identity of the customer who commissioned the SC20, or which country it's headed to, but it pointed out the car is street-legal, so it's not just a rolling ode to horsepower that can only be driven on a track. We're hoping to see (and hear) more of it after it joins its owner's collection.
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