Lamborghini have officially unveiled the Lamborghini Urus Concept at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show. The name comes from the Urus or Aurochs, the wild ancestor of domestic cattle. This conforms to tradition as many Spanish fighting bulls are said to closely resemble the extinct animal. The Lamborghini Urus offers enough space for a family of four, complete with luggage.
Of course, the Lamborghini Urus Concept gets permanent four-wheel drive, similar to the rest of the Lamborghini range. Lamborghini are also keen to point out that the luxury SUV segment is nothing new to the brand, having pioneered it with the 1985 Lamborghini LM002. There’s no doubting that this concept is entirely different in magnitude though. For starters, the look is completely different, sleeker, modern and less rugged.
Lamborghini has remained silent about the engine fitted to this concept car. Many have speculated that the SUV will get the V10 from the Gallardo, however, the V12 from the Aventador or the new (bi-turbo or supercharged) V8 unit under development at Volkswagen are both possibilities. Output figures quoted for the Urus Concept are 600 hp. This places it against the BMW X5M and X6M which feature 44hp less. The Urus uses a dual clutch transmission.
The Lamborghini Urus is intended to demonstrate what an everyday Lamborghini would look like. Lamborghini expect their target markets to be the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, the Middle East and China with an annual production volume of around 3,000 vehicles.
The Urus measures 4.99 meters in length, 1.66 meters in height and 1.99 meters in width. This makes it 10cm longer than the BMW X6. It gets an ‘intelligent material’ – perhaps carbon fibre and aluminium- mix for the structure and bodyshell which, for the first time, extends to the interior too. It also features a height-adjustable front spoiler, a deflector at the upper edge of the rear windshield that diverts the airflow onto the adjustable spoiler and an adaptive rear spoiler.
The Y shape headlamps now take on a horizontal, heptagonal form and feature full LED technology with three high-performance LEDs. The wheels are of course 24 inch double-spoke designs forged from matte-finish aluminium and fitted with five carbon fiber winglets for ventilation. Exterior mirrors are replaced with small, aerodynamically optimized cameras. These display through two TFT screens on the left and right of the cockpit.
The Lamborghini Urus is finished with a carbon fiber reinforced polymer interior. The center tunnel is an open, skeletal carbon fiber structure constructed from Forged Composite stretching the length of the inside. Four bucket seats are fitted with a lower position than other cars in this range. The interior is simple, two large shift paddles are found behind the steering wheel. All other functions, indicators, lights and windshield wipers are incorporated into the multifunction steering wheel or the center console. Two touch screens are fitted to the centre console at the front and the rear.
Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini said:
“The Urus is a very concrete idea for the future of Lamborghini – as a third model line and as the perfect complement to our super sports cars. SUVs stand for freedom and emotion. SUVs make up one of the most successful market segments worldwide. The Urus is the most extreme interpretation of the SUV idea; it is the Lamborghini of the SUVs.”
If the Lamborghini Urus is given the green light, expect to see it on the road by 2015!
