► Lamborghini Urus not yet approved
► Crossover Lambo likely to be hybrid
► We interview tech chief Maurizio Reggiani
Lamborghini has yet to give the production green light to the Urus SUV, CAR magazine has learned.
The Lambo crossover was first shown at the 2012 Beijing motor show, when we all oohed and ahhed over its Aventador-in-wellies style shock.
But almost exactly three years later, the project has yet to progress to production readiness. And the R&D tech chief in Sant’Agata, Maurizio Reggiani, has told us that the car still hasn’t been approved.
Why hasn’t Lamborghini given the Urus the nod?
Because building a business case for a low-volume, a-couple-of-thousand-a-year supercar-cum-mud-plugger takes a long time – even with the financial might of the Volkswagen group behind it.
So while Wolfsburg has given the nod to sister brand Bentley’s Bentayga, it has yet to approve the Lamborghini Urus. Or, indeed, a more sporting Asterion-based version of a crossover.
‘The future of the Urus is still not yet decided,’ Reggiani admitted to CAR. ‘It’s still open for discussion.’
Why a Lambo SUV will surely be a hybrid
Reading between the lines, there are numerous signals that the Urus will eventually reach production, however.
In our interview, Reggiani made a couple of remarks which kept referring back to an SUV. Asked if the company was developing hybrids for its super-sports cars, he said no.
‘If we do a plug-in, it would be on an SUV,’ he said at one point.
And, separately, he admitted that ‘it’s easier for a saloon or an SUV to package a hybrid.’
Adding mud to speed
Sounds to us like the bean counters are furiously running the numbers on an off-road Lamborghini. We’d expect an announcement on the Italian super-crossover this year.
Click here to read about why future Lambos could go turbocharged.
And for a reminder of where Lamborghini’s come from, watch our video below of when we introduced the Lambo Countach to the Miura.