Lamborghini approves its first-ever SUV for production; Urus may share V10 with Audi RSQ7

By Miles Branman May 26, 2015

For months, Lamborghini’s first SUV was rumored to be approved for production … then it wasn’t, and now a new report suggests that it’s officially official this time: the Urus will be built.

The tall, angular Lambo will be produced in Italy, and a confirming statement is expected later this week. According to Bloomberg, Lamborghini and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi have agreed on tax breaks to help expand the Italian automaker’s production, and that will lead to the hiring of about 500 new employees to build the new model.

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann and Rupert Stadler, head of Audi AG, parent company to Lamborghini, will announce the agreement at a press conference in Rome on Wednesday.

Lamborghini hopes the Urus will be a significant seller in the automaker’s portfolio. With expensive SUVs and crossovers selling like mad, a performance and styling-focused offering from Lamborghini could inject a new set of buyers and fund future projects. Current projections estimate the Urus could double the brand’s annual sales.

The Urus will have some intense competition from models like the upcoming Bentley Bentayga, Rolls Royce SUV, and Maserati Levante, Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, BMW X5/X6 M, and even from within the fold in the form of the pending Audi RSQ7. In fact, the Urus could share a V10 with the RSQ7.

The Lamborghini’s competitive advantage won’t just be crazy output, but also light weight thanks to extensive use of carbon fiber. With something like 600 horsepower on tap, the Urus could be the quickest SUV ever produced when it rolls off the assembly line.

It’s expected that the Urus will debut sometime in 2017 and Lamborghini hopes to sell 3,000 models each year.

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