RAMBO LAMBO

The entire Volkswagen family uses the same platforms and powerplants, including the Audi Q8, Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentayga. But the Italian job’s the most impressive so far. The Lamborghini Urus is the world’s first super sport utility vehicle, and the Huracán Evo’s an aerodynamical masterpiece

- Dieter Losskarn

PERHAPS I SHOULDN’T HAVE PASSED THE POLICE CAR ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF HERMANUS IN THE MATTE-SILVER LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN EVO. In my rearview mirror, I can see the driver flashing his lights, waving his hand slowly. I contemplate hitting the accelerator. I’d go from nought to 200km/h in nine seconds, so to him, I’d soon be a speck on the horizon.

Just that morning, I’d been driving a different Lamborghini, the first of its kind to have a turbocharged V8, four doors and a large luggage compartment. Wait a minute, let me rephrase that: the Urus actually had a sort of spiritual predecessor, built between ’86 and ’93. At the time, the Lamborghini LM002 was one of the craziest and most powerful vehicles around. Borrowing the V12 of the Countach and featuring all-wheel drive, it was aptly dubbed the Rambo Lambo. Reaching 210km/h and nought to 100km/h in 7.8 seconds, in basically a three-ton box, was quite an achievement at the end of the ’80s. It was actually insane. Only about 300 units were produced for the international market, and if used ones ever come up for sale, they cost as much as a well-equipped Urus.

Which, by the way, is named after one of the large, wild ancestors of domestic cattle. The Spanish fighting bull, bred for the past 500 years, is still very close to the Urus in its appearance. The cows in the fields of the farmlands next to the highway I’m roaring past seem to agree. They’re visibly agitated, and their moo-ing sounds almost like moaning.