Huracán EVO: every champion has a style

Andrea Cassarà is an Italian fencer, an Olympic Gold Medalist in Athens 2004 and London 2012, as well as an 8-time World Champion. During the visit he paid to the Automobili Lamborghini headquarters, he was fascinated by the staggering technological level of the exhilarating Huracán EVO. 

He drew a parallel between the brain of the car, the LDVI (Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata) and the psychology of fencing. Just as the car can anticipate the wishes of the driver, shifting from an underlying feedback logic to a ‘feed-forward’ one, thus from reaction to anticipation, a champion fencer also needs to have a keen intellect and an impeccable ability to anticipate. All of this with a unique, unmistakable style.

“In order to win at the Olympics, there are different paths. Mental strength rather than physical strength, rather than perseverance or talent. You have to be very strong mentally. It’s very important to know how to cover your moves. High-level fencers are able to use their opponent’s body language to understand and interpret the hits in advance. Knowing how to anticipate in order to have the advantage, to have a better choice of timing, is a gift, a talent. It’s called anticipation ability, and knowing how to anticipate is essential for us.

I can perceive the hit before it’s initiated by my opponent. So I might be able to take a step back, to dodge. The best fencers have a style more than a move. Because the actions are basically all codified. There aren’t any new actions or moves you can invent. Every champion has a style.”