The Lamborghini Urus was finally unveiled at the luxury carmaker's Sant'Agata factory in Italy, five years after the concept Urus was revealed in 2012 and two years after the luxury SUV was officially announced for a 2018 release.
Several years ago, it would have been preposterous to think that supercar brands such as Lamborghini, Bentley, and soon Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce would roll out SUVs. However, the market for the practical vehicle has grown at a tremendous rate, pushing these sports car manufacturers to try their hand at releasing an SUV.
Meet The Lamborghini Urus
The Lamborghini Urus is powered by a 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo engine capable of up to 650 horsepower, supported by an eight-speed automatic transmission. It will go from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds with a top speed of 189 miles per hour.
In comparison, Lamborghini's Huracan Performante, which comes with a V10 engine, goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of almost 202 miles per hour. Comparing the Urus with the Huracan Performante, the SUV comes very close to matching the sports car.
The Lamborghini Urus will be available in spring 2018, with a starting price tag of about £150,890. The official pricing for the United States has not yet been announced, but it is expected to start at just over $200,000.
"It is a true Lamborghini in terms of design, performance, driving dynamics and emotion as well as drivable every day in a range of environments," said Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali in a statement.
Surprisingly to most, though, the Urus is not the first Lamborghini SUV. That distinction goes to the LM002, which was an off-road truck-SUV produced from 1986 to 1993. The Urus actually draws some inspiration from the LM002, including hexagonal wheel arches.
The Rise Of Supercar SUVs
According to IHS Markit, global sales for crossovers and SUVs have increased to 26.47 million units last year, from just 7.93 million units a decade earlier. By 2020, global sales are expected to reach 34.34 million units.
Luxury SUV sales, meanwhile, have increased by almost five times in the six years leading to 2016, IHS added. With the launch of the Lamborghini Urus and the pending arrival of the Aston Martin DBX and Rolls-Royce High Side Vehicle, 29,300 units of luxury SUVs are expected to be sold in 2020.
Analysts claim that the entry into the lucrative SUV market has been a natural move for most car brands, even supercar makers such as Lamborghini. Ferrari is rumored to be the next luxury carmaker contemplating an SUV model.
