Lamborghini is going to great lengths to reveal the technical details of its successor to the Murcielago supercar, the upcoming Aventador LP700-4. Already we’ve seen details about its new V-12 engine and Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) automated manual gearbox, its F1-inspired pushrod suspension and now, just a few weeks out from the car’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show debut, we have details on its carbon fiber composite monocoque.

The LP700-4 promises to be a technology-driven supercar, and one standout feature is its extensive use of carbon fiber in its construction. In fact, the central structure of the car is made entirely from carbon fiber and has been designed as a monocoque.

This load-bearing structure of the vehicle is engineered as a “single shell” that functions physically as one component, thus taking full advantage of the extreme rigidity of carbon fiber. Formula 1 race cars have been built using this technique for many years--and have proven their crash worthiness time and again.

Not only is this design very safe, it’s also very light. In this case, the LP700-4’s monocoque weighs in at just 324 pounds.

The monocoque is connected at the front and rear with rigid aluminum sub-frames, on which the suspension, engine and transmission are mounted. The entire body-in-white (the body with no moving parts, trim, powertrain or chassis components) of the new V-12 supercar weighs only 505 pounds and boasts a torsional rigidity of 35,000 Newton meters per degree of twist.

Lamborghini is also boasting about developing its carbon fiber components completely in-house. The automaker uses three main techniques for manufacturing the lightweight components: Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), Prepreg and Braiding. For more details on these processes, hit the next page for Lamborghini’s official explanation.