Wednesday 27th May 2015

Lamborghini Urus confirmed

You thought Lotus making a 4x4 was odd... expect an Urus on the road in 2018!

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Oh gosh, it's actually happening now! Lamborghini has announced a third model will join its model range, a luxury SUV based on the Urus concept from a few years back.

The one they made earlier...

The demand for large SUVs from Europe's luxury manufacturers shows no sign of abating and so the decision to press on with an Urus perhaps isn't that surprising. It's a big deal for Lambo, to the extent that there's even Government investment behind the project; the Urus will funded in part by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

Now of course Lamborghini would love to tell us about the conquest customers the Urus will bring, the significant expansion of Sant'Agata to accommodate the production line and the new staff it will hire to for the car's development. But we need to know more about what the Urus will actually be, information that's frustratingly absent for now. Time to speculate...

Lamborghini has previously said it will have the lowest CO2 of any comparable car. Surely by 2018 this will require some sort of hybridisation? It has already signalled some intent with the Asterion LP910-4 so you would have to assume the Urus will feature electric assistance somewhere in its powertrain. Let's see if 'around 600hp' makes production too.

It'll be in Waitrose before you know it

Moreover, since the Urus was first shown Bentley has announced the Bentayga which will surely share some tech with the Urus. The Bentley is due before the Lamborghini which gives the latter some opportunity to make it a little more Lambo before launch. Which presumably involves making it louder in every single sense.

Lamborghini sees the luxury SUV sector as an "unexploited [really?!], fast-growing and fascinating car segment", one it expects to contribute around 3,000 sales to. Already identified as target markets are the USA, China, the Middle East, the UK, Germany and Russia. Lord help us. More details are they're released!

[LM002 photo: RM Sotheby's]

[dannymullered]

Clearly made for the Middle East, where you can kind of justify it.

Makes absolutely no sense anywhere else.

[ZOLLAR]

dannymullered said:

Clearly made for the Middle East, where you can kind of justify it.

Makes absolutely no sense anywhere else.

Best thing about it

I don't mind Hybrid highpower cars but I hope they do a limited run of V12 N/A

[Vee12V]

Would rather see them do a front engined GT, but this probably makes more financial sense.

Needs more than 600 bhp though, a lot more.

[unsprung]

Inevitably, and in contrast to most other owners, somebody will take one of these on a punishing off-road adventure. Let's look forward to the video!

[tomjol]

Nope.

[J4CKO]

Urus, Sounds like latin for "It Hurts like fire when I pee"

[Fetchez la vache]

If it's going to be a 4x4 coupe on stilts, then anything that makes potential X6 buyers wait and save a bit (a lot) more and buy one of these instead, then it can only be a good thing

Not that it counts for anything, but I like it
Just don't mess this up, Lambo.

[anonymous-user]

Crazy looking thing! Can I have one in orange?

[Rumblestripe]

I did get some amusement the other day from driving behind a completely de-badged black Cayenne with fully blinged chrome wheels and limo-window tints.

Perhaps the badges fell off in an act of self loathing when the vehicle became "self aware"...

"Not as ugly as a Cayenne" there Lambo, you can use that on the posters.

[Impasse]

I like it.

[DonkeyApple]

dannymullered said:

Clearly made for the Middle East, where you can kind of justify it.

Makes absolutely no sense anywhere else.

A Golf diesel makes sense. Sense is boring and st.

This thing could be monstrous and properly entertaining. And ergo, good.

It's brilliant that the SUV sector is finally becoming more 'Paris-Dakar' than 'Alan, in a field, with a tool kit'.

[kieranbennett]

How come the an Italian car manufacturer, owned by a German parent company is allowed to be funded by the Italian Government? I'm sure when things like this has been suggested in the past for ailing British manufacturers both within the automotive sector and without it has been said to have convened some EU law on public assistance!

[PompeyM3]

Looks better than the BMW & Merc offerings. It looks a bit mad, which is what Lambos should be. I'll have mine in bright green please !

[rohrl]

It'll probably sell thousands, like the Cayenne, but I'm not sure that Anus is a good name for a car.

[DonkeyApple]

kieranbennett said:

How come the an Italian car manufacturer, owned by a German parent company is allowed to be funded by the Italian Government? I'm sure when things like this has been suggested in the past for ailing British manufacturers both within the automotive sector and without it has been said to have convened some EU law on public assistance!

Because Porsche told the Italian Govt that the car would be build in Germany by Germans unless they stumped up cash to keep the work in Italy.

The Italian Govt then went to the German Govt and borrowed more money, which as it would be given back to a Herman company they agreed to lend at the appropriate rate for a junk economy.

The Italian people will be paying off that debt for generations and all the profits will go into Porsche AG's offshore entity.

Simples.

Development Grants is the mechanism to replace illegal subsidies. It's hugely different as it costs a lot more.

[sunnydude]

dannymullered said:

Clearly made for the Middle East, where you can kind of justify it.

Makes absolutely no sense anywhere else.

This.

But strangely appealing nevertheless.

[Enricogto]

DonkeyApple said:

Because Porsche told the Italian Govt that the car would be build in Germany by Germans unless they stumped up cash to keep the work in Italy.

The Italian Govt then went to the German Govt and borrowed more money, which as it would be given back to a Herman company they agreed to lend at the appropriate rate for a junk economy.

The Italian people will be paying off that debt for generations and all the profits will go into Porsche AG's offshore entity.

Simples.

Development Grants is the mechanism to replace illegal subsidies. It's hugely different as it costs a lot more.

It would have been built in Bratislava, so, not by the Germans.
Anyway the help is in the form of a reduced fiscal burden for the newly hired and a capped price of energy, plus the permit to enlarge the factory (the area is restricted to new industrial buildings atm).

[RoadRunner220]

Vee12V said:

Would rather see them do a front engined GT, but this probably makes more financial sense.

I'm sure I read in EVO that they're doing a front engined GT as well ?

[pork911]

dannymullered said:

Clearly made for the Middle East, where you can kind of justify it.

Makes absolutely no sense anywhere else.

the majority of 4x4s in the UK make no sense for which they are used

[DonkeyApple]

pork911 said:

the majority of 4x4s in the UK make no sense for which they are used

Nor do most cars with more than one seat.