Lamborghini Urus Production Discussed by Chief Engineer

Intended to take Lamborghini production to new heights, the Urus SUV is slotted to be the best performer in its class, rivaling competitive the performance SUV market.

The goal is for Lambo, a subsidiary company of German giant Volkswagen, to bump up production from the 1,800 units it sold in total last year with an additional 3,000 SUVS annually. A jump like that, however, means the automaker needs to be especially careful to offer the best product possible.

With demand already heating up, Lamborghini chief engineer Maurizio Reggiani tells Automotive News that he understands just how hot the Urus is going to have to be to succeed.

“This is forcing us to think outside the box,” Reggiani explained. “We envisage a start of production no sooner than early 2017.”

While that might leave some people feeling disappointed that the radical truck is still a long way from production, overall approval for the project is expected to be passed down this year.

Once the project gets underway, the Urus, just like the upcoming Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Bentley EXP 9F will rest on VW’s unibody SUV platform. Because of that, the company’s engineers are tasked with a special challenge : making the Urus the lightest vehicle in its class despite sharing parts with many other SUVS.

As we’ve already seen of the Urus’ interior, most of the parts will be made from super lightweight material including carbon fiber for much of the car’s structure with a target weight of 4,400 pounds.

Reggiani also said the company is considering a smaller twin-turbo V8 instead of the 5.2-liter V10 engine currently powering the Gallardo. With a solid five years before any production models are likely to roll out, there’s a lot up in the air, but we’ll be keeping our ears to the ground until then.