Lamborghini Urus Teaser
Our best look yet at the Lamborghini Urus - taking to the dirt and the racetrack in official teaser videos
Lamborghini's controversial re-entry into the SUV market is fast approaching, the all-new Urus will be revealed on 4 December. Ahead of that we've been given our best look yet at the performance SUV thanks to two new teaser videos showing the Urus in off-road and track driving modes.
The first of the short teasers shows the camouflaged Lambo SUV in Terra (dirt) mode, driving through rugged off-road terrain. Following this is another short teaser of the Urus in Corsa (race) mode is more significant. The disguised car is seen driving vigorously on a closed racing circuit but the display screen in the video gives us our first official glimpse of the undisguised Urus exterior.
Previous Lamborghini teaser videos for the Urus have shown it in a new winter driving mode called Neve (snow) and the Sabbia (sand) setting. Six driving modes in total are built into the Urus, titled Strada (road), Sport, Corsa (track), Sabbia (sand), Terra (dirt) and Neve (snow). It's also possible to see the four-wheel steering system that will be fitted to the Urus in action in some of the teaser videos.
In October 2017, Auto Express reader Adham Salam snapped the development car on the road in Nottingham and the 600bhp+ SUV looks to be a few steps closer to production than the test mules our spy snappers have previously caught setting hot laps at the Nurburgring racetrack.
Despite the typical patterned disguise, we could see that the Lamborghini Urus will retain much of the sharp, angular design language of the original 2012 Beijing show concept and Lambo's current supercars. With a low, coupe-like roofline and steeply rising shoulders it's unlikely to be as practical as most SUVs, but it certainly looks distinctive.
Earlier this year bosses told Auto Express that the Urus will cost from around £180,000 when it goes on sale by the end of the year, and it’s set to produce over 600bhp and 800Nm of torque from a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8.
Described by company boss Stefano Domenicali as “a super sports car inside an SUV”, and previewed in our exclusive images, the newcomer is due to be officially revealed in the summer. It’s one of the most controversial models in Lamborghini’s 54-year history, and will cost approximately the same amount of money as a Huracan and come packed with supercar technology.
Speaking exclusively to Auto Express at a separate product launch, Domenicali predicted that the Urus will account for more than half of Lamborghini’s global sales by 2019, with the UK potentially being the car’s third biggest market, as is currently the case for the brand’s sales.
The idea of another Lamborghini SUV – the first since the LM002 went off sale back in 1993 – has been in the pipeline since 2012, when the Italian supercar manufacturer rolled out the Urus concept at that year’s Beijing Motor Show.
Power will be transmitted via a dual-clutch gearbox and four-wheel drive. The Urus will also feature a similar electronic four-wheel-steering system to the new Aventador S, with electronic dampers as well. Further down the line, Lamborghini will offer the SUV with the option of a plug-in hybrid powertrain, too. This will be the Italian brand’s first foray into the world of electrification.
Domenicali told us he remains realistic about his new super-SUV’s longer-term potential, despite the fact that the order books are already swelling. “We need to be humble,” he said. “We need to start step by step because it’s a new world for us.”
But he admitted that, for the first two years, demand for the new Urus might be “a little bit crazy”, because there is always going to be a lot of interest in a new SUV with so much power and performance, especially when it’s made by a brand like Lamborghini. “It’s an exciting time for us,” he added.
However, it’s what happens after this honeymoon period that matters most, according to Domenicali. He knows full well that once the launch fever has faded, the real hard work to sustain the interest – and sales – of a near-£200,000 SUV truly begins.