Following last year’s confirmation that the Lamborghini Urus SUV will be produced, company CEO Stephan Winkelmann gave a production timeframe for the SUV at the Detroit Auto Show. The executive said that the company plans to start building the Urus SUV in three years’ time.
According to Bloomberg, Winkelmann said “the expectation” is to introduce the SUV in 2017, as “the luxury SUV market is poised to continue to grow.” VW Group’s luxury brands are all adding SUVs to their lineups, riding the wave of popularity that these vehicles enjoy both in mature markets like the U.S. and in emerging markets.
While Porsche has recently unveiled its second SUV, the Macan, Bentley is gearing up for the launch of its first-ever SUV in 2016. Audi will also add a new SUV, the Q1, in 2016, which will join an already strong Q family of SUVs including the Q3, Q5 and Q7.
For Lamborghini, the Urus (it remains to be seen whether it will keep this name) won’t be its first SUV. Between 1986 and 1993, the Italian sports car manufacturer built the LM002 SUV, which was originally designed as a military vehicle.
The Lamborghini Urus study was unveiled in 2012 in Beijing. At 4.99 m (196.5 inches) long, 1.99 m (78.4 inches) wide and 1.66m (65.4 inches) tall, the Urus is about 120mm longer, 16mm wider and 30mm lower than a BMW X6. Lamborghini didn’t say at the time what type of engine powers the Urus, only disclosing its power output of 600hp.
By Dan Mihalascu
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