Whether you’re a fan or not, you had better get used to seeing a Lamborghini-badged SUV in your neck of the woods as a production version of 2012’s Urus SUV concept has been given the green light.
Lamborghini made the announcement at its 50th anniversary celebratory event in Italy last week.
The sharp-edged Urus was first shown at the Beijing Auto Show a year ago and within a month of its reveal there was talk of a production version. However, the ongoing economic crisis in Europe had Lamborghini’s bosses worried and a final decision put on hold.
It looks like circumstances have changed, as it was also revealed at last week’s 50th anniversary celebration that development of the new SUV remains on schedule.
The SUV is to share a platform with the next-generation Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg. This same platform, a variation of the Volkswagen Group’s MLB, will also be used for Bentley’s planned SUV, though production of this model hasn’t been made official just yet.
To extract the performance one would expect of a Lamborghini from this SUV platform, engineers are expected to use lighter carbon fiber in place of some of the steel and aluminum sections. One of these sections is believed to be a T-shaped structure extending from the central tunnel to the rear suspension hinging points.
Peak output will also likely be higher in the Lambo than in the other VW Group SUVs, with most reports suggesting about 600 horsepower. The standard powertrain is expected to be a twin-turbocharged V-8 though a plug-in hybrid has also been touted.
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