EXCESSES R US
Lamborghini launches the $550K family soft-roader
Excess has a new name: Urus. Supercar maker Lamborghini has finally buckled and launched an SUV, although the oddly named Urus is no ordinary family soft-roader.
It is powered by a 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 that puts out 485kW and can sprint to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds on its way to 305km/h. Lamborghini claims it is the world’s fastest SUV.
And it will set you back roughly $550,000 – before on-road costs – when it lands here in the second quarter of next year.
“It had to be the most powerful SUV. It’s also the only SUV capable of exceeding 300km/h,” says chief engineer Maurizio Reggiani, adding that the Urus is even quicker than the maker’s Gallardo supercar, last built in 2013.
Riding on standard 21-inch and optional 23-inch rims fitted with bespoke Pirelli P-Zero tyres, the Urus has a dramatic presence on the street, though Reggiani insists the overly large rims are more than capable off-road as well.
“We tested Urus with this wheel and tyre combination especially in places like southern Europe, Mexico and India where you have large, tyre-piercing rocks and we never encountered any problems,” he says.
The Urus heralds the dawn of a new era for Lamborghini. It is the company’s first fiveseater and eventually will use hybrid and electric power – as will the Aventador and Huracan supercars.
Lamborghini plans to double global sales with the hulking SUV, expanding its dealer network from 130 to more than 160 by 2019.
“Without Urus, we would have been forced to be more active on hybrid technology across our super sport models. It has allowed us to invest in the new direction that we need to take later across our full range,” says CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“We are now competing in a segment that is represented by all the manufacturers, not just our traditional rivals. Our next step is hybridisation, though we want to continue with the internal combustion engines we currently have on our super sports cars.”
The new Urus shares its underpinnings with VW Group stablemates: Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and VW Touareg.
It comes either as a four-seater using Huracan seats as individual chairs in the rear or with the option of a family-friendly bench making it a true five-seater. An off-road package will include restyled front and rear bumpers for better approach and departure angles, a tow kit and other ancillaries.
In the metal, Urus is imposing and takes up a big chunk of road. To help here, Lamborghini has adopted the rear-wheel steering from the Aventador S to make it more agile around the city, where most examples will spend their life.
To get all that power to the ground – and to help the hulking SUV negotiate corners – the Urus has active anti-roll bars and can send torque to individual wheels to maximise traction. It also has different settings for offroad and on the bitumen.
“The anti-roll bar helped us a lot with centre of gravity issues we initially faced, as that is the enemy of any supercar,” Reggiani says. “We can see what is possible to take from Urus back into the supercar range as we (gain) experience with rear anti-roll bar development.”
Lamborghini estimates the Urus will attract new customers to the brand and help to double its annual sales to 5000 during its first full year on sale in 2019.
“We need to face the people who will use this car every day and not have it as a weekend car, so we’ll need to expand our support and service network,” says finance director Federico Foscini.
“We are launching our new showrooms with a fresh corporate identity to show what will be a complete new dimension for Lamborghini.”