2018 is shaping up to be a big year for Lamborghini. This is the year the Urus SUV goes on sale, becoming only the second Lamborghini SUV in history after the Hummer-like LM002 enjoyed a seven-year run from 1986 to 1993. To be clear, the expectations for the Urus are much higher than they ever were for the LM002. Lamborghini expects its new SUV to spearhead another record-breaking sales year, and by all accounts, the Urus is more than capable of doing that. Just don’t expect Lambo to start having illusions of building another SUV model to complement what it already has. That’s not happening, at least not in the near future.
It’s easy to see the temptation in this scenario. Even by Lamborghini’s own expectations, there’s a possibility that the Urus can exceed those expectations and turns into a hot-ticket item. Given how new and unique the Urus is, that could happen. If it does, it’s easy to look at Lambo suddenly getting ideas of leveraging and milking that popularity by introducing a different SUV — or crossover — to slot below the Urus. Porsche took a bite of that apple once. That’s why we have the Macan crossover now. The possibility is there for Lamborghini.
Well, not really. The Italian automaker is not going to build another SUV, at least according to Research & Development Director Maurizio Reggiani. Speaking with Motor Authority, Reggiani shot down any buzz about a second Lamborghini SUV. “We must remember that we have a positioning of our brand that is fundamental,” he said.
“If you don't have a positioning like we have, you cannot make a car like (the) Urus, you cannot make a car like (the) Aventador, and you cannot make a car like (the) Huracán. For this reason, it is fundamental to guarantee that there is no dilution (to) our brand, and we cannot imagine (having) an SUV smaller than the Urus.”
Reggiani’s comments make a lot of sense. It’s not fair to compare Lamborghini to Porsche because the latter has a mainstream appeal to it. Lambo, on the other hand, belongs in the upper tier of luxury and performance brands where “exclusivity” still matters a great deal. Launching the Urus already rankled the feathers of a lot of Lambo purists. Imagine what happens if the Italian automaker adds a second SUV in its lineup.
The good news is that Lamborghini does have plans to add more variety to the Urus. These plans include adding more special derivatives to the model, similar to what it has done in the past with a lot of its supercars, including the Aventador and the Huracan. “In terms of strategy for the Urus, if you talk about (the) SUV, like we did with Aventador and with Huracan, we made special versions. I think this is what our customers expect.”
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Lamborghini Urus
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