Many years from now, when historians are chronicling Lamborghini’s rise and fall, they may very well split the company’s annals with a dividing line labelled ‘Urus’. Up until the introduction of the firm’s third showroom model, the controversial new Super Sport Utility Vehicle that this week’s road test is focused on, Ferruccio Lamborghini’s eponymous company had built mainly mid-engined supercars – and in numbers that only began to exceed 2000 units a year earlier this decade.
The dark days of 1980s Mimran brothers ownership and of receivership, and the Volkswagen Group’s 1990s resurrection of the company, didn’t seem that long ago. Bi-polar Urus asks you to suspend your disbelief as it goes from track-guzzling berserker to refined road car, with the practical trappings of an SUV, at one flick of the lever.
View Price on AmazonAfter the Urus, however, Lamborghini has become a different company entirely. The site of the firm’s Bolognese headquarters has doubled in size, and it expects to produce more than 8000 cars in 2019 – enough to comfortably outstrip upstart McLaren’s success, and to finally put it on a level footing with eternal rival Ferrari in global volume terms.
The current management certainly seems to approve – much as that should hardly come as a surprise. Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali claims it is “a true Lamborghini in terms of design, performance, driving dynamics and emotion… and a perfect fit within the Lamborghini family”.
Time to find out if – and if so, exactly how – a 2.2-tonne SUV built on a shared platform can hope to deliver in those rarefied terms. Price $167,000. Power 641 horsepower. Torque 627 lb-ft. 0-60mph 3.3sec. 30-70mph in fourth 5.1sec. Fuel economy 19.0mpg. CO2 emissions 335g/km. 70-0mph 43.3m.
The Urus range at a glance: Lamborghini’s SUV line-up currently comprises of one stand-alone model. As such, there is no need to choose engines or trim levels for your Urus: it’s a 4.0-liter V8 with 641 horsepower or nothing. That said, the options list is a fairly extensive one: wheel sizes range from 21in to gigantic 23in affairs; there’s a range of gaudy interior upholstery colors to choose from; and there’s plenty of optional carbon fiber panelling. More sensible options include a hands-free tailgate and additional active safety systems.
Source: autocar.co.uk
