A long road trip in a Lamborghini sounds great at first, but it’s not all breathtaking highway runs or backroad-carving switchbacks. In-between the fun bits is the reality of driving an extreme performance car tailored for ideal conditions out in the less-than-perfect real world.
I once had the pleasure of driving the Huracán through southern Spain, but one wrong turn sent me miles off course, through mountainous roads that were a sports car owner’s nightmare. Getting bombarded by barrages of loose pebbles, navigating narrow medieval passages and gently guiding a car with just 5 inches of ground clearance over jagged terrain had me gritting my rattling teeth for what felt like a never-ending gauntlet of punishment.
Sitting in a V10-powered hypercar and being overtaken by a worn-out Fiat Panda because your ride can’t bear to go over 45 mph is a humbling experience.
All this was in my mind when I was handed the keys to the Lamborghini Urus, the sports car maker’s first(ish) SUV. Lacking the ability to get lost on the way to Málaga, I decided to put the Urus through its paces on a road trip from New York to Philadelphia.
The Urus is Lamborghini’s second SUV, and while it’s as athletic and svelte as you’d think, it’s also meant to have some truck-like toughness. Where better to test that than the roads of Philly? These streets are capable of delivering an Ivan Drago-like beating to most cars, but this city is also the home of another well-known Italian heavyweight with quick moves.
Urus Origins
Lamborghini’s first ventured into truck territory with the 1986 LM002, the famous “Rambo Lambo.” That truck’s origins lay in a 1970s bid for a military contract, but after the company’s 1978 bankruptcy and another attempt at making a military vehicle in 1981, the LM was reinvented as a production model.
328 were made and most were powered by a Countach-sourced 5.2-liter V12 engine, while some were fitted with a 7.2-liter version originally meant for powerboats. The LM 002 was as wild an off-roader as the Countach was a supercar, and the list of owners was just as exotic, including Tina Turner, Pablo Escobar, the Sultan of Brunei and Rocky Balboa himself, Sylvester Stallone.
The LM002’s limited run was hindered by its steep price and by the arrival of the civilian Hummer H1 in 1992. (Arnold Schwarzenegger bought the first one, stealing some of Sly’s thunder). A year later Lamborghini returned to making its usual supercars, and another SUV did not emerge from Sant’Agata Bolognese until 2018.
Though the LM002 was fittingly outlandish for Lambo, today’s SUV-heavy era demanded that the automaker build a modern utility vehicle to keep in step with its contemporaries. Thus, the Urus was born, and is the company’s top-selling vehicle, shifting 4,391 units in 2020 alone, a far cry from the LM’s tiny production run.
Punching Its Weight
The Urus is a midsize SUV that shares its platform with other SUVs developed under the VW Group’s umbrella including the Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q8. Under the hood is a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 producing 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. That grunt is sent to all four wheels by way of an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The shared nature between Lambo and its close cousins isn’t rare or new, but it’s easier to overlook when we’re talking about the Huracán and R8 rather than the Urus and Q8.
Nevertheless, the style of the Urus is unmistakably Lamborghini, from the busy, aggressive facia to the sharp fastback tail end. Same goes for the interior that packs all the audaciousness one expects from the marque. Your eye is immediately drawn to the center console where a group of chunky, throttle-like levers flank a big red flip-up gate that houses the car’s ignition button. Above that are two touch screens that control navigation, entertainment, climate control and other functions. These are supplemented by a fully digital gauge cluster behind the steering wheel.
The bank of console switches is home to (most of) the drive functions, and Lamborghini labels the various drive modes as the Urus’s “anima,” meaning “soul.” There are three different street “animas” for cruising or track use, as well as three off-road one to handle terrain like snow and sand.
It all rides on an adjustable air suspension that can raise or lower the Urus when needed. Other performance-oriented underpinnings include torque vectoring to instantly send power to whichever wheels need it most, and rear wheel steering to further enhance the midsize utility vehicle’s sharpness.
Round One: Iron Fist, Velvet Glove
Pressing the start button results in a bluster of V8 noise, but the Urus is relatively quiet thereafter. The Lambo performs all of its characteristic burbles and growls when on the move, but from the driver’s seat it’s a very docile beast until prodded.
Indeed, if it’s painted in a subtle enough color, the Urus is one of the stealthiest Lamborghinis ever, despite its all-business grille and beefy stance. In a sea of SUVs, the Urus can sail down city streets without so much as a double-take unless it’s spotted by the cognoscenti or a Kanye West fan.
Happily, the Urus continued to be the antithetical Lambo throughout instances that would be otherwise miserable in a supercar: traffic, construction-forced merges, and southeast Pennsylvania’s pock-marked and poorly-maintained roads. It’s very strange to talk about a Lamborghini and be amazed by its obedience and ride quality.
With that said, the Anima is one click away from reminding you that this is still a Lamborghini. Sport modes in cars usually allow for a slight bump in aggression for the sake of performance, but flipping into this mode and the bull reacted as if I took a hot branding iron to the back of it.
The V8 under the hood becomes a screamer as the Urus rockets forward at an unrelenting pace. As the numbers climb, the Lamborghini’s front end feels light as it settles onto the rear wheels and it genuinely mimics the sensation of a jet rolling out at full throttle for takeoff.
Round Two: Urus Versus the City of Brotherly Love
Entering Philadelphia felt like a sort of homecoming. Though I had endeavored to visit the spots made famous by a fictional Philly fighter, the city has one of the biggest Italian communities in the country, second only to NYC.
It was only right that our first order of business was to roll through South Philly’s Italian Market. The bustle of 9th street looks much like it did in the 19th century. Most shoppers are too busy picking out Arancini, Cassata and Soppressata to notice the Italian automotive delicacy in their midst, but a few heads turn.
Back on track, The Urus and I travel north to, starting at Rocky’s original house in Kensington. This post-industrial neighborhood has (barely) started to gentrify in recent years, but it’s still the opposite of tourist-friendly 9th street. The old two-story row house hasn’t changed since 1976 and the worn 19th century buildings and cracked roads look tough enough to temper the spirit of a resilient boxer or tough-looking SUV.
From there it was just a quick jog to Adrian’s pet shop and Mick’s, and no matter how rough the macadam, the Urus didn’t beat up its occupants. From there we make our way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. If I could have my way, I’d really put the Urus to the test and see if it’s got the capability to ascend the mountain of steps before us, but alas, I have to settle for using my own human legs.
Just as in the film, climbing the steps marked an achievement. It’s not that the journey was particularly harrowing, but the Lamborghini proved itself to be more resilient and adaptable than any of the cars that came before it. It handled lighting fast highway speeds just as effortlessly as it traversed the cobbled roads of Dock Street, declaring that you can indeed have it all with the Urus.
Round Three: Down But Not Out
The Urus was so accommodating, in fact, that it waited for the start of my journey back home to break.
At the start of my drive back to New York, something caused the Lamborghini’s software to bug out in various ways. Screens flickered, certain functions ceased to work, and the Urus was convinced the driver’s side door was open when it wasn’t. This meant for several hours, my drive home consisted of a persistent door chime, dashboard warnings and the sound of the driver side window repeatedly attempting to form a tight seal.
This in turn rendered other functions like adaptive cruise control inoperable. Though I was worried this might leave me stranded, I resorted to the classic IT troubleshoot of turning it off and on again. I tried it a few times. Nothing. The Urus did eventually get me home safely, but it was a keen reminder that, while it performed admirably, the several-hundred-thousand-dollar Lamborghini might not be as rugged as it endeavors to be.
Such fits of pique used to be common among Italian supercars, but most buyers won’t be as patient now as they were in the LM002 era.
Despite this, the Lamboghini Urus left a postive overall impression. It delivers performance, and a soundtrack, that makes it feel special in the way a Lamborghini should, but it also defies expectations. The Urus is simultaneously stealthy and stylish while being civilized where most exotic machinery wouldn’t be, even if a few rounds with Philly’s pavement seemed to scramble its brain a bit.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Automobiles News Click Here
