MoneyWatch

Lamborghini's $2M supercar

By Jason McCormick

August 21, 2012 / 10:19 AM EDT / CBS News

The Sesto Elemento does 0 to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds -- and goes for more than $2 million. Lamborghini, which originally made only tractors, plans to build just 20 Sesto Elementos, and they are strictly for track use, according to LamboCars.com.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento - value

This image shows Lamborghini's Sesto Elemento, a $2M supercar, in August 2012 during Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach, Calif. — LamboCars.com (image), Jason Henry McCormick/CBS (text)

Automobili Lamborghini already sold all 20 units, each for about $2 million. The image at left shows the Sesto Elemento in August 2012 during Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach, Calif. It provides evidence of tweaks made to the car since 2010, when the car made its debut in Paris, below.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, supercar - LamboCars.com

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento - engine

Lamborghini uncovers its Sesto Elemento, a multimillion-dollar supercar, during a VIP event at the 2010 Paris Motor Show — LamboCars.com (image), Jason Henry McCormick/CBS (text)

This car's 5.7-liter 10-cylinder motor, a modification of the V10 engine in the Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera, produces outrageous power -- 570 hp at 8,000 revolutions per minute and a "top speed well over" 185 mph, according to Automobili Lamborghini. The engine has 10 exhausts.

Lamborghini's Sesto Elemento - interior

The lightweight dashboard is seen inside the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, a multimillion-dollar concept car. — specialclub35/Flickr (image), Jason Henry McCormick/CBS (text)

Automobili Lamborghini doesn't put much in the cockpit of its $2 million supercar. The Sesto Elemento's interior includes no standard seat, dashtop or clutch pedal, and hardly more than a set of nonadjustable cushions fastened to the car's carbon-fiber tub.

Lamborghini's Sesto Elemento - weight

Lamborghini's Sesto Elemento, a concept car, is seen on Sept. 29 at Paris Motor Show 2010. — specialclub35/Flickr (image), Jason Henry McCormick/CBS (text)

Sesto Elemento refers to carbon, the atomic number 6, what NASA calls the backbone of life on earth. Thanks to the light weight of carbon fiber, the supercar weighs just 2,202 pounds, or slightly more than two E-Z-GO TXT golf carts.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento - transmission

The new Lamborghini Sesto Elemento is presented during German car giant Volkswagen group presentation in Paris on Sept. 29, 2010, a day before the opening for the press of the Paris Motor Show. — Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images (image), Jason Henry McCormick/CBS (text)

Lamborghini says the Sesto Elemento's all-wheel-drive E-Gear transmission runs on an automated system with electronic management that "shifts smoothly through its six gears much faster than a human being would be able to." Still, if you prefer to shift manually, there are paddle shifts on the steering wheel.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento - design

"The two air intakes just behind the roof and those ten air vents, all marked in red, on the engine cover make the Sesto Elemento unmistakable," a LamboCars.com spokesperson says. "The entire rear section is a single part, just like the front section. Both come off in one solid piece of carbon fiber by unscrewing a few red bolts."

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento - competition

This image shows the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento concept car on Sept. 30, 2010, during a press day at the Paris Motor Show — Francois Durand/Getty Images (image), Jason Henry McCormick/CBS (text)

Few things accelerate quicker than the Sesto Elemento. The supercar zips from a standstill to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds, almost as fast as a fighter jet during a catapult-assisted take off. LamboCars.com says Bugatti's Veyron Super Sport can do 0 to 62 mph in 2.4 seconds but, to do that, the Bug needs special tires and a "master key," the installation of which requires a Bugatti engineer. Koenigsegg's Agera R, a $1.6 million supercar that jumps off a line to 186.4 mph in 15.5 seconds, also competes closely with the multimillion-dollar Lambo.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento - history

Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, presents the new Lamborghini Sesto Elemento in Paris on Sept. 29, 2010, a day before the opening for the press of the Paris Motor Show. — Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images (image), Jason Henry McCormick/CBS (text)

The Bologna, Italy-based Automobili Lamborghini unveiled the Sesto Elemento at Mondial De L'Automobile 2010. President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann presented the concept car a day before the opening of the Paris Motor Show.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento - driver

This image shows the dashboard cluster and steering wheel of the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento concept car — LamboCars.com

The Sesto Elemento is not street-legal; you can drive the car only on private property. And how should you drive the Sesto Elemento? "Like a bull," says LamboCars.com, referring to the Lamborghini logo.

Jason McCormick

View all articles by Jason Henry McCormick on CBS MoneyWatch »

Jason is a producer with CBS MoneyWatch. Click here to contact him.

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