The new Lamborghini Urus super SUV is not just an homage to yesteryear. It’s a major gear in the brand’s corporate chronology.
What do you see when you look at the Lamborghini Urus? Just another SUV from a premium automaker? An answer to a question nobody asked? A ridiculous and over-the-top way of getting the kids to school?
If you see it the way the design team behind it wants you to see it, the Urus will appear to be a cross between a supercar and an SUV. In other words, a super SUV. But not just any supercar or any SUV. Lamborghinis. The Urus stylists looked to the Countach and the LM002 for inspiration, guidance, and even outright accents. Like the low-slung wedge of the 1970s and 1980s, the Urus has a (relatively) low profile, a striking side window profile, and prominent diagonal lines. The LM002’s DNA shows in the Urus’s unusually shaped wheel arches and side vents ahead of the front doors (too bad the Urus doesn’t have a manual gearbox, too).
One thing you can’t see in the Urus is what it is in the grand scheme of things for Lamborghini. As one of the company’s representatives explains in the video above, the 650-horsepower SUV is a “point of no return.” That goes for the brand’s presence in the automotive market place, which is absolutely ravenous for high-end SUVs these days, and its sales growth. Ideally, the Urus will help Lamborghini double its volume in the next two years. Given the appetite for and massive amounts of money thrown at luxurious and performance-focused SUVs, some of which are coming from brands never previously known for making them, it wouldn’t surprise us if the Urus is the success Lamborghini needs it to be.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
You must be logged in to post a comment.