Italy’s favourite over-the-top automaker Lamborghini is known for their ridiculously flashy and loud supercars, but in a move that strongly mimics corporate stalemate Porsche in the early 2000’s, they are looking to cash in on the SUV-craze in North America. In a recent interview with UK’s Autocar, Lamborghini revealed some more information about it’s upcoming model line for the expanding über-SUV market.
Photo from topspeed.com
Lamborghini first showed off the Urus concept at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show and announced that it will go into production by 2017. Just at the end of this year, their R&D chief, Maurizio Reggiani, went into further detail about the Lamborghini SUV. “Turbocharging will be completely mandatory” says Reggiani. This is partly due to the torque requirements of an SUV, and partly due to emissions/fuel consumption requirements. The engine will be a 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8, however Lamborghini has previously stated that it will be a unique engine to Lamborghini and not a variation of the ubiquitous 4.0L twin-turbo V8 in other high-performance Audis. Another detail that Reggiani let slip was that there will be a plug-in hybrid variation of the Urus as well. This will be the first time a hybrid system or a turbocharged engine will be offered in a production Lamborghini. It looks like it will also be the only one, for now. “A supersports car is completely different; you need the responsiveness of the engine” Reggiani adds “We will keep normally aspirated engines for our other models. They are still the best choice”. Yeah…tell that to your rivals: Ferrari and McLaren. Although this will undoubtedly keep their models exciting and engaging, many other automakers are turning to turbocharging for the many benefits that they provide. Hopefully Lamborghini finds a way to keep competitive with normally-aspirated engine technology.
As a reminder, this is not Lamborghini’s first attempt at the SUV market. They famously (or maybe infamously) made the V12-powered LM002 SUV in the late 1980s through the early 1990s. However, where that was a failed-military-vehicle-turned-ostentatious-road-car, the Urus is designed from the onset to be a road going SUV.
Photo by: @MrLelong
Currently, this ultra-niche spot in the SUV marketplace is populated by the Porsche Cayenne Turbo/S, Bentley Bentayga, and the Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography. Rolls-Royce, and Aston-Martin have both announced that they are planning on entering this niche as well. Lamborghini hopes to carve out its own niche within this niche by offering the fastest SUV, which the title is currently held by the Bentley Bentayga, and the sportiest one.
No matter how ridiculous a Lamborghini SUV may seem, just remember how much money the Cayenne made for Porsche and how that money helped them create some of the best sports cars on the market today. I say bring it on!
from CarZi http://ift.tt/2ipT807
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hx1jmO
No comments:
Post a Comment