By CRM Staff
Sant’Agata, Bolognese — December 5, 2017 — Supercars are considered pretty by many, but a large question mark hangs over their head in terms of practicality. That’s why Lamborghini has entered the SUV market with its new $200,000 Urus, which it claims to be the world’s first “super sport utility vehicle.”
The most interest aspect of the new vehicle is that Lamborghini appears to be moving away from carbon fiber. Despite a history using the material, the company announced the SUV would be created with a blend of aluminium and steel, according to our US-based content provider Repairer Driven News.
In a statement released yesterday, Lamborghini said that its team of designers and engineers focused on weight reduction throughout the car’s chasis, mixing materials to ensure “maximum stiffness for the best possible comfort and handling as well as lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.” The chassis is a blend of aluminium and steel, with frameless aluminium doors, torsional beams replacing a C-pillar, and cross-members in aluminium contribution to the lightweight vehicle. The OEM said the chassis floor is made with a “high-strength steel material.”
Lightweighting brought the Urus to a 4,850-pound curb weight. For a little context, the Mercedes G65 and Bentley Bentayga, both of which Automotive News Europe called competitors to the Urus, weigh 5,924 pounds and 5,379 pounds, respectively.
Production of the Urus prompted Lamborghini to build a 525,000-square-foot paint shop. The OEM had never previously done its own paint in-house before, according to Automotive News Europe.
“The Lamborghini Urus is a visionary approach based on the infusion of Lamborghini DNA into the most versatile vehicle, the SUV,” commented Stefano Domenicali, Automobili Lamborghini Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The Urus elevates the SUV to a level not previously possible, the Super SUV. It is a true Lamborghini in terms of design, performance, driving dynamics and emotion as well as drivable every day in a range of environments.”
It is expected that Lamborghini could produce between 3,500 and 4,000 Urus vehicles worldwide a year—more units than the entire company sold in 2016.
Other features potentially of interest to repairers:
- The rear wheels can turn up to 3 degrees either way for a better driving experience.
- The SUV has frameless windows, and the C-pillar-less rear windows are “glass-on-glass,” according to Lamborghini.
- The front axle has an aluminium subframe, while the rear axle has “an aluminium and steel hybrid construction cell.”
- The ride height can be controlled, and “Easyload Assist, standard on the Urus, allows the height at the rear of the Urus to be lowered for easy loading.”
- There’s no level 3 autonomy like that found in Lamborghini’s relative the Audi A8. The Urus’ advanced driver assistance systems end at level 2 autonomy, according to Lamborghini.
For more information on Lamborghini, please visit lamborghini.com/en-en.
