Lamborghini Essenza SCV12: An 830-HP Track Car That Might as Well Exist Only on YouTube as Far as You’re Concerned
Like Ferrari’s XX cars, however, owners don’t actually take these home.
After months of tantalizing and teasing, Lamborghini finally unveiled its latest track-only hypercar: the Essenza SCV12. Limited to just 40 units and representing the most extreme performance Lamborghini has to offer, it's a spiritual descendent of cars like the Miura Jota and Diablo GTR. Naturally, it gets the most powerful Lambo V12 ever, a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter pumping out 830 horsepower to the rear wheels thanks in part to something the company calls "aerodynamic supercharging."
Using the racing Huracan-inspired dual-inlets and center rib in the front hood, the Essenza funnels cool air into the ram-air roof scoop, which increases pressure in the intake manifold and ultimately increases power. In short, the Essenza SCV12 makes more power the faster it goes.
Lambo's newest track toy manipulates the air in more traditional ways as well, boasting better aerodynamic efficiency and downforce than a GT3 car—making 2,645 pounds of downforce at 155 mph, to be exact. Its carbon-fiber monocoque frame houses a sequential six-speed transmission that's both directly connected to the car's rear push-rod suspension and acts as a structural part of the chassis. Even though it didn't really have to, Lamborghini Squadra Corse apparently developed the SCV12 to comply with FIA prototype safety regulations.
Speaking of things ripped from real racing cars, the Lambo Essenza's steering wheel is clearly Formula 1-inspired. It's fitted to a cabin that brings Lamborghini's "Y" design motif (most prominently seen in its headlights and taillights) to life in a pretty big way, forming the entire shape of the load-bearing dash design.
Magnesium wheels measuring 19 inches up front and 20 inches in the rear are wrapped in Pirelli slicks and are mounted over Brembo brake discs and calipers.
Like Ferrari's FXX, 599XX, and FXX-K programs, the Essenza SCV12's "owners" don't actually get to drive or even flatbed their cars home. Instead, cars are kept at a dedicated hangar in Sant'Agata and given their own personalized garage space with 24/7 webcams that let their owners check in at any time. Starting in 2021, Lamborghini will hold a series of events at race tracks around the world, letting SCV12 owners experience their cars the way they were meant to be experienced.
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