The next big offering from the Italian sports car maker Automobili Lamborghini is the Urus. Unveiled as a concept model at the Beijing Auto Show on April 23, 2012, the Sant'Agata Bolognese-based car maker is taking over 5 years to come up with production spec version. This also makes it clear that the Urus will be one of the most important vehicles from the Lamborghini.
However, the Urus will be litmus test for Lamborghini as the vehicle will feature many firsts of the company. Here are the reasons why Urus will be the most important Lamborghini vehicle of this century.
The Urus is the first SUV from the sports car specialist in this century and second SUV in the history of Lamborghini. The company produced 328 units of the LM002, its first SUV between 1986 and 1993.
-The Urus SUV will be Lamborghini's first and only plug-in hybrid model. Though specific details on the hybrid set up is not out yet, Lamborghini's R&D chief Maurizio Reggiani confirmed that the SUV will be offered in a twin-turbo 4.0-litre engine as well.
-The Urus will be lighter than many of its rival SUVs with the extensive usage of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer. This is despite the fact that it will be based on the same platform as the Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg.
-The Urus has been linked with a top speed of 328kmph. If Lamborghini achieves this number, Urus will be the world's fastest SUV beating Bentely Bentayga with a top speed of 301kmph.
-The Urus will compete against super luxury SUVs such as Bentley Bentayga, Maserati Levante and upcoming models such as Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Aston Martin DBX.
-Lamborghini will be offering the Urus in both all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive variants. It has been conformed for market entry in 2018.
-According to former Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, the company calculates sales potential 3,000 units per year for Urus. This will make the Urus best selling Lamborghini product in the future.
-In line with the Lamborghini car names inspired from from the fighter bulls, the name Urus comes from aurochs, a large, black European wild ox.