Since it was first previewed as a concept at the 2012 Beijing auto show, Lamborghini’s Urus SUV has been more hype than substance. Fluctuating internal decisions and external considerations left the potentially groundbreaking Lambo in limbo and had us skeptical even after it was confirmed in 2015. But now, nearly two years later, an update from new CEO Stefano Domenicali is the most specific update yet and once again has us longingly staring at photos of the Italian off-road wedge.
In an interview with the website Digital Trends, Domenicali confirmed that Lamborghini’s SUV will indeed be called the Urus and that the factory in Sant’Agata will begin building the SUV this spring—although those vehicles will not be for the public. A Lamborghini spokeswoman told C/D that the Digital Trends interview was “factual.”
“I would say that in regard to the SUV, you will learn a lot of things in the next couple of weeks,” Domenicali said in the interview. “The name is for sure Urus. Production will start in April, though the plant will initially build pre-series models. As you know, this is an entirely new process so the first few cars will be prototypes. It’s a very delicate period, which is why 2017 will be a very important year for us. Don’t underestimate the big step we’re taking.”
Domenicali also discussed the possibility of Lamborghini making a hybrid version of the SUV.
“I think for sure hybrids will be a part of Lamborghini,” he said. “We expect our first hybrid will be the second variant of the Urus to hit the market. It’s clear that hybridization will come through the SUV.
“If you ask me when and how, I believe that in the next three or four years we won’t be ready with the right specifications . . . I believe the right time for us to consider electrification is when—and only when—we can retain the same super-sports-car characteristics that we have today. Weight and center of gravity, for example. Today, I don’t see that possible in the next 10 years.”
Former Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann had hinted at this in the past, but this latest commentary from Domenicali is the most direct and detailed so far. Of course, there’s no word on when the “second variant” actually will arrive, especially considering that he did not offer a concrete timeline of when Lamborghini will begin building the SUV for sale, not just testing. The first variant, according to previous statements from Winkelmann, will be purely about performance with a turbocharged V-8 under the hood, while the second will focus on meeting tightening environmental restrictions.
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