Now Lamborghini has been bitten by the SUV bug too and the Italian sportscar manufacturer is taking the plunge to build its second SUV (the LM002 being the first), christened the Urus. The carmaker had us all drooling with the Urus concept way back in 2012, but the actual production car is inching close to the assembly line sooner than we thought. Here is our exclusive picture gallery of the Lamborghini Urus spotted pushing itself to the limits at the notorious Nurburgring.
Recent developments have confirmed that the Urus will breathe out 650bhp of raw power from its biturbo 4.0-litre V8 lurking under the bonnet. Lamborghini says it isn’t gunning for the lap records with the Urus, as it has distinct duties to cater.
The V8 of the Urus will be the first turbocharged unit from Lamborghini and is sitting on the wrong side in a Lamborghini. However, bigger powerplants from the Huracan and Aventador won’t find their way into Urus in a bid to keep it practical.
The rules of physics can be bent, insists the Italian supercar maker, even as the picture shows the high-riding SUV taking the corner so hard. Based on the underpinnings from Volkswagen, the Urus will share it with the likes of Bentley Bentayga and Audi SQ7.
As far as appearance is concerned, the Urus promises to be worthy of a bedroom poster, just like all other Lamborghinis. All the curves and creases from the Urus concept are right there under the camouflage.
The family face seems familiar upfront, whereas the large bulk at the posterior gives the Urus a “Lamborghini on steroids” demeanour. A keen eye would notice the wheel arch is not a completely circular, similar to the Aventador.
The Urus will send all its power to all four wheels and is expected to have four-wheel steering scrounged from the Aventador S as well.
The Quad exhausts at the back mean business, however, the large diffuser is missing. The silhouette is very Italian-esque, but the wheels look too dull for a flamboyant Italian crossover. They might go away with the camouflage, and get replaced with some stylish pairs.
The Urus isn’t expected to be potent enough for venturing off-road on dirt tracks, and it doesn’t need to be. There are other options if you want to go off-roading. A Lamborghini just needs to look pretty and that’s half the job done.
Based on the versatile MLB Evo modular platform, the plug-in hybrid powertrain for the Urus will follow as well. Being a Lamborghini, special editions with names like ‘Superveloce’ and ‘Superleggera’ are also expected.
The Urus prototype looks production-ready and is expected to hit the production line any time now. Lamborghini is expected to reveal the production-spec Urus later this year at Frankfurt stage before it goes on sale in the second quarter of 2018.
Once it’s out in the wild, the Urus will prey on luxury SUVs like the Bentley Bentayga, BMW X6M, Range Rover SV Autobiography and forthcoming Rolls-Royce Cullinan along with stablemate Porsche Cayenne, and Audi SQ7.
After its global debut, Lamborghini will promptly bring the Urus to India as it did with the Huracan Performante. The Sant’Agata-based manufacturer plans to make around 1,000 Urus’ in 2018 and increase output to 3,500 units before the end of 2019.
