Italian sports car maker Automobili Lamborghini is gearing up to test the waters in the SUV space. Five years after the Urus SUV concept debuted at the Beijing Auto Show, the Sant'Agata Bolognese-based car maker is expected to unveil the production– ready version in the upcoming Shanghai Auto Show in April 2017.
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Before the official unveil, the company will give an exclusive preview of Urus to prospective customers at their Sant'Agata plant, reports Autocar. The SUV is expected to be a volume driver with around 3,500 unit sales anticipated annually.
Lamborghini's R&D chief Maurizio Reggiani recently confirmed that the Urus will be the company's first and only plug-in hybrid model. However, the company is saving the specifics for the debut. The SUV will be offered in a twin-turbo 4.0-litre engine as well. Urus is expected to rev up a top speed of 328kmph and is billed to be the world's fastest SUV going past Bentely Bentayga, which boasts of a 301kmph top speed.
Though the SUV is based on the same platform as the Audi Q7, Urus will be a lot lighter than the rival SUVs; thanks largely to the extensive usage of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer. The SUV will be offered in both all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive variants and go up against Bentley Bentayga and upcoming SUVs including Audi Q8, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Aston Martin DBX, BMW X7 and Mercedes-Maybach SUV.
Urus is the second SUV in the history of Lamborghini. The company has rolled out 328 units of the LM002– the first SUV – between 1986 and 1993. The name 'Urus' is derived from aurochs, the first ancestor of domestic cattle.
