Lamborghini is often credited with creating the world’s first supercar, the Miura.
Back in 1964, its two-seated mid-engined arrangement probably seemed utterly bonkers, but its design set the standard for high-performance sports and supercars of the future.
Fast-forward more than half a century later, it’s probably no surprise the Italians have come up with something that on paper today sounds absolutely ridiculous but may shape the future: the world’s first Supercar SUV, the Urus.
Yes, that’s right, the world’s first five-seater supercar – an SUV that cannot just drive fast uphill but wallows in driving on sand, soil, snow, and any other surface you can think to challenge it with.
I don’t think I can remember any other car throwing up so many questions when I first told friends and colleagues about getting my hands on a Super-SUV for a few days.
With the Urus’ price tag starting from 217.500 USD, you may yourself already be wondering what kind of person would risk getting a scratch on their supercar driving it off-road?
Moreover, with the ability to do 0-60mph in just 3.6 seconds, who need an SUV to go that fast?
And doing an average 23 miles to the gallon, you may reasonably be wondering exactly how many petrol stations there is up a mountain?
Or more fundamentally, you may even be wondering whether the fastest SUV money can buy really can really justify the supercar name?
Of course, the term Super-SUV was always bound to upset the ‘purest’ who will argue this isn’t even a proper Lamborghini let alone a supercar. But if you stop to think about it, this brattier, younger brother is far more practical to drive than its prettier older sisters – and has a lot more to offer than being the world’s first supercar that can cope with potholes.
Call it whatever you want, I am about to stun you with a startling fact: the Urus now accounts for 60% – more than half – of all Lamborghini sales worldwide. That’s some clever business.
Its success is no doubt in part down to sharing the same platform as the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne. It’s powered by a 4-liter twin-turbo V8 with an eight-speed automatic gearbox that produces a whopping 641bhp.
All this means that despite weighing 2.2-tonnes, the Urus can really shift, with a top speed of 189mph. But more importantly, it blends comfort and off-ability into a seductive mix.