Official announcements about the future of the Lamborghini Urus have been delayed owing to the precarious state of global economy and continued unrest in the Middle East, senior company sources have disclosed to sister publication Autocar UK.
The Lamborghini Urus was supposed to go into production in 2017, following its unveiling in concept form at the Beijing motor show in 2012. The dramatically styled five-seater has been conceived to compete at the very top of the global SUV ranks.
However, despite having undergone early conceptual engineering at Lamborghini’s headquarters in Sant’Agata in Italy, the four-wheel-drive Urus still awaits an official green light for production from parent company Audi, according to Lamborghini president Stephan Winkelmann.
Speaking to Autocar UK on the condition of anonymity, a high-ranking Lamborghini official said that discussions about the future of Urus were “a clear view towards eventual production”.
However, recent indicators suggesting a possible downturn for the world’s economy and the current upheaval in the Middle East are weighing on the minds of those who control the finances. The source said, “We are convinced the Urus can significantly boost global sales, but the financial conditions need to be sound. Right now, there are signs we may be heading for a downturn in the markets due to various factors, including trouble in the Middle East, although this is not reflected in the current sales situation, which puts us ahead of 2013.”
The Urus is planned to be based on an evolution of Audi’s MLB platform, which is set to underpin the upcoming second-generation Audi Q7, along with successors to the second-generation Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg and the Bentley EXP9F. Power to the Urus is likely to come from a high-performance petrol-electric hybrid powertrain.
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