It looks as though the Lamborghini Urus will finally be available for buyers next year. It’s been a long time coming; the Urus concept was introduced to the world in 2012, as a prescient VW moved to begin cornering the coming ultra-luxury SUV/crossover market with a terrific one-two punch that also included the introduction of the Bentley EXP 9, which became the Bentley Bentayga.
The Urus owes little to the previous Lambo SUV, the ultra-utilitarian LM002 which the then-independent Italian automaker hoped would become a military standby. The LM002 packed a Countach’s engine, and featured a boxy design which harkened back to the veldt-hopping Rovers and Mercedes of the 1950’s and 60’s.
The Urus, on the other hand, is designed to impress the Yacht-club Joneses, and flashes a lot of drama, a fair amount of aggression, and the clever prettiness that results from a very large R&D budget and an exotic car design team. The Urus’ profile is hunkering and slick, and busy with creases. From the front, the grilles and air intakes cite supercar tropes. The Urus is the first crossover of its kind, a speed machine designed for off-road-at-will, the ideal conveyance to get you from your Gulfstream fuselage to your Rocky Mountain chalet as the snow bears down, and also to get you from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, and all the way to 190 MPH in better weather. Not bad for 5,000 pounds.
Most appealingly, the Urus’ preset performance modes alter electronic compensation for different terrains, including sand and rugged-road (which triggers a unique roll stabilization system), on top of more conventional sport settings.
VW Group must be doing something right. The Bentley Bentayga sells better than all other Bentley models combined, and has virtually rewritten the company’s marketing performance. Aston, Rolls, and, yes, Ferrari are jumping onboard. In another couple of years, the buyer entering the ultra-luxury SUV/crossover market is going to be spoiled for choice.
The 2019 Urus will see delivery by the springtime of next year. Base price is about $200K—very reasonable for a Lambo. Expect it to outsell other models by a very large margin.
