New World Order

IT’S ONE THING TO DRESS UP AN SUV FOR BLISTERING, LINEAR SPEED; IT’S WHOLLY DIFFERENT TO MAKE IT A G-FORCETHRASHING GYMNAST ON THE TRACK

Part-supercar, part-SUV, all Lamborghini. The Urus is most superior member of its species

Fast SUVs, prolific as they may be, have always been genetic freaks, a product of scientific hubris and a blatant affront to the laws of physics. To filling a machine with a high centre of gravity and a higher kerb weight into a corner with race-like abandon is, for the purist, an exercise in counter-intuition. And purists have been the only breed of motorists that Automobili Lamborghini caters to.

So when news broke out in 2012 that Lamborghini had decided to cash in on the SUV explosion, much brouhaha ensued. Sure, this wasn’t the first time the Italian car-maker had taken a crack at making a super SUV, but the LM001 was more of a cautionary tale, something that kept manufacturers from stepping too far out of their comfort zone. Could Lamborghini give the world its first true super SUV? 

The answer is a loud, thundering yes. Six years on, the production-ready Lamborghini Urus has finally broken cover, and I find it standing tall at the Vallelunga Circuit pit lane in Rome, Italy. Not too tall, mind you – it’s considerably more hunkered in its stance than any other performance SUV, its genealogy making itself evident in that wedge-inspired nose and its muscular wheel arches.