LAMBO UNLEASHES AN EXOTIC SUPER SPORT UTE
Italian supercar maker steps into the SUV market with radical, 641-hp five-seater, writes Peter Bleakney
Another one bites the dust. Or gravel, snow, mud, sand, the Nürburgring … whatever you want to throw at it.
Lamborghini, arguably the most exotic of the exotic carmakers, is getting into the SUV business. Oh, make that Super Sport Utility Vehicle business, because that’s how Lamborghini labels the upcoming Urus, a suitably wedgy AWD beast that will grace our shores late next year.
And what a coming-out party it had. At the sprawling factory in sleepy Sant’Agata, just outside of Bologna, partygoers were welcomed by a row of Lambo’s earlier SUV exercise, the outrageous 1986-93 LM002. Motivated by the Countach supercar’s V12 engine, the Rambo-Lambo seemed completely bonkers at the time. But hey, you can now amble down to your local Jeep dealership and order a 707-hp Grand Cherokee Hellcat.
High-performance, high-ridin’, high-falootin’ SUVs are now big business. Just ask Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Land Rover. Now, with the 2019 Urus, Lamborghini jumps into this rarefied sand box, just ahead of Aston Martin, RollsRoyce and Ferrari.
You’re going to expect Lamborghini’s SUV to pack some visual wallop, and the Urus does not disappoint, especially in bright colours that show off its complex, angular bodywork and ginsusharp creases. Mitja Borkert, head of design, says they retained the two-thirds body to one-third window ratio of Lamborghini super sports cars. And those angular wheel wells come straight from the Countach and LM002. So ’70s. Designers also lifted a cue from the Rambo-Lambo: the little triangular “grill” just aft of the frontwheel arches.
You could never call the Urus pretty, but as a statement of SUV badass-ness, it hits the mark. Based on the same Volkswagen Group MLB platform that underpins the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, the Lambo is longer, lower and wider than both, and rolls on wheels ranging from 21 inches to an industry-first 23 inches.
The Urus arrives with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that kicks out 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque, second only to the aforementioned Jeep when it comes to SUV bragging rights. This is enough to send the Urus sailing through the 100 km/h mark in a scant 3.6 seconds, on the way to a 305 km/h top speed. And judging by the brief few seconds I heard a Urus running, it will have the vocal histrionics to back up its looks and performance.
It should be noted this 4.0-L blown V8 is an in-house effort, and Lamborghini’s first production turbo engine. Lamborghini has tuned the chassis to its specifications, with rear-wheel steering from the Aventador and air suspension that allows for up to 25 centimetres of ground clearance. The all-wheel-drive system runs with a default 40/60 front-to-rear split, but up to 87 per cent of torque can be sent aft.
The standard carbon-ceramic brake discs would be suitable for locomotive duty, measuring 17.3 inches in front and 14.6 in the rear and evidently enough to rein in 2,200 kg of hard-charging Super SUV.
The only seat time I got was stationary, but I can say the Urus’s interior is spectacular, blending an exotic, fighter jetthemed esthetic with numerous trim and colour choices, all bathed in a rich scent of Italian leather. Plunked in the contoured sport seats that feel equally coddling and supportive, you’re presented with a flat-bottom steering wheel behind which lurk huge metal shift paddles for prodding the eight-speed automatic transmission. Three digital displays dominate: a gauge cluster in front of the driver and two touch screens on the centre console that control all infotainment and HVAC requirements.
As with all Lamborghinis, the starting ritual involves lifting a military-grade red cover to expose the start button. The other cool mechanical affectations in the cabin include the aircraft-style metal pull levers for selecting reverse, custom drive configurations, and the six drive modes: strada (street), sport, corsa (track), sabbia (sand), terra (terrible stuff?) and neve (snow).
The back seat can be configured for either two or three (stick with two), and riders will not have too much to complain about. The appointments are lovely and leg room is adequate, although the raked roofline cuts into headroom and it’s quite cavelike back there, what with the high beltline and slit windows. Again, the roofline cuts into cargo space, but the hatch is at least deep.
Does the world need a sand dune-bashing, Nürburgringstrafing Lamborghini SUV? Damn straight it does. Needs and wants are obviously two separate things, but you know the Urus will sell. Lamborghini expects the Urus will double the automaker’s yearly output from 3,500 to 7,000 vehicles.
No pricing yet, but a starting figure of US$200,000 was bandied about during the festivities. In other words, a well equipped specimen in Canada could easily be sniffing at $300,000. Exclusivity guaranteed.