You know Lamborghini. They come up with a radical design, slap tons of power onto it, set a six- or seven-digit price tag, and roll it out as their latest creation. Customers queue in to buy it, and the car instantly becomes an icon. This has been the brand's scenario since the 1960s. But then, there was the Egoista.
Everything about the Egoista was different. Lamborghini managed to build a car unlike anything else. Over a decade after the moment it was officially unveiled, it still stands as the representation of automotive extravagance. For starters, this daredevil is the most expensive Lamborghini ever built. Nothing else even comes close.
And it wasn't even a production model, but a concept car that wowed the audience in 2013 when it was introduced to a few select guests during a private party. It was Lamborghini's way of celebrating its 50th anniversary. They weren't even going to sell it, so they did not homologate it for the road. They were just flexing their vision and capabilities.
The model looks every inch a fighter jet. Lamborghini also found inspiration in the shape of a charging bull with the head down and horns pointing forward when looked at from the side. The curved silhouette of the Egoista sports active aerodynamic panels that go up and down to provide the optimum airflow and ensure the perfect balance between the drag and the downforce.
Two rear flaps activate automatically at high speeds to increase stability. Meanwhile, air intakes on the engine hood ensure the cooling airflow to that monstrous V10 engine.
Photo: Lamborghini
The body panels and wheels are made from an anti-radar materials, used for fighter jets. Hopefully, they don't work on land, and police radars can detect it when the Egoista flashes along the highway.
Meanwhile, the headlights resemble the lighting of a modern airplane, with markers and indicators on the sides and on top of the car, both front and rear. It is "a four-wheeled UFO" and "hedonism taken to the extreme," designer Walter de Silva described the concept car.
The interior is just as spectacular as the exterior. The car comes with a single-seat cockpit and a removable canopy door. That is why Lamborghini called it "Egoista" in the first place. That is Italian and Spanish for "Selfish" and is intended to suggest that the driver is keeping all the joy of driving the supercar for themselves.
To get in and out of the driver's seat, you have to remove the steering wheel just like Formula 1 drivers. A racing seat with a four-point seatbelt, a head-up display, buttons, and switches inspired by those of a fighter jet are on board, enhancing the fighter jet ambiance.
Photo: Lamborghini
The cockpit is made entirely of carbon fiber and aluminum, following the concept of the Apache helicopter. It "represents a sort of survival cell," says de Silva, suggesting that the driver can isolate and protect themselves in there from any external hazard. One day, Lamborghini is probably going to transfer that cockpit into a road-going car and send it out there with a seven-digit price tag.
A fully functional concept car, the Lamborghini Egoista speaks the same language as the Gallardo, with which it shares the platform and many of the components but with settings taken to a whole new level of supercar-ing.
It came with a mid-mounted naturally aspirated 5.2-liter (317 cubic inch) V10 engine, which pumped out 591 horsepower (600 metric horsepower) and 413 pound-feet (560 Newton meters) sent to all four corners through a six-speed sequential automatic.
Its output is 40 horsepower more than the Gallardo LP560-4. Lamborghini has never disclosed the performance figures of the Egoista. But it should go for at least what the Gallardo is capable of. That would be flashing from a standstill to 60 mph (97 kph) in just 3 seconds and all the way to a top speed of 202 mph (325 kph).
Photo: Lamborghini
The car came with an eye-watering price tag of $117 million, which made it the most expensive Lamborghini ever built. However, Lamborghini decided to keep it all for themselves.
Just one year after the official unveiling, the Italians decided to put the one-off supercar on permanent display at the brand's museum in Sant'Agata Bolognese. It only came out for special events. It was trailered to its destination, displayed, and trailered back to its museum spot.
It is the only one of its kind in the world, so it had to be safeguarded like a treasure. However, it did not spend that much time in the museum. It was eventually purchased by a private collector, whose name remained a secret, and moved to an undisclosed location. Nobody has seen it since.
Lamborghini built the Egoista as a one-off. But if some wealthy customer requests one, they are probably not going to be selfish about it.
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