Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Mono Loves.... Lamborghini Canto AKA L147

The Canto prototype was an exercise to study the potential designs for supercar replacements. Various versions of the Canto were shown to the president of the Lamborghini company but unfortunately, was not deemed acceptable to carry the Lamborghini name and enter into production. The company responsible for creating the designs was the famous coachbuilding factory, Zagato.


The proposed engine was a 6.0 liter, V-12 engine producing 640 horsepower. If it would have entered into production, the engine would have been slightly detuned to 610 horsepower. This way the factory could have maintained the similar maintenance schedule used for the 530 horsepower Diablo models. The target weight for the canto was to be around 2200 pounds. A semi-automatic six-speed shifter by Valeo with steering-wheel based buttons was proposed to drive the engine and power the rear wheels.


The plans called to debut the Canto at the Geneva Auto Show but due to financial uncertainties and unable to meet the 2200 pound requirement, the Canto project slipped farther away from production.

Here is the car in all of its glory at the Lamborghini Museum.



No comments: