If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s the mantra Lamborghini has taken with the new Urus. The Sant’Agata marque’s first SUV, the LM002, was a commercial flop in the 1980s, but it was ahead of its time. In a rather different automotive landscape, Lamborghini is giving it another crack.

Second-time lucky 

Aesthetically, the car looks as you would expect a slightly taller Lamborghini to look, pushing the brand’s design language to its extremes and, pleasingly, making several low-key nods to its distant forebear, the LM002 (hexagonal wheel arches, anyone?). Okay, so there’s some obvious design influence from Audi, but is that really such a bad thing? We think it’s quite a handsome car and certainly better proportioned than some of the other luxury SUVs. And the interior, a melee of leather, carbon fibre, and Alcantara, is similarly impressive.

All weather, all terrain 

Beneath the bulging bonnet, there’s a new 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that develops 650hp and 850Nm of torque, shifting the 2,200kg car from 0 to 62mph in 3.6 seconds. A V8, so says Lamborghini, is the only engine that offers high levels of torque at low revs, which is ideal for off-roading. It’s nice to know the company believes that its clients will get their Uruses muddy — we certainly don’t. There’s a raft of electronic systems promising all-weather, all-terrain versatility, including active torque vectoring, the rear-wheel steering from the Aventador S, and ‘snow’, ‘off-road’, and ‘sand’ driving modes.

Priced at 171,429 euros, exclusive of local taxes, the Urus is certainly not the most affordable car in the segment. But this is a Lamborghini — what did you expect? We’re sure they won’t be able to build them quick enough. First adopters will take delivery of their 2.4-tonne super SUVs in the spring.

Photos: Lamborghini