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The rationale behind Lamborghini's Urus

If you've been following developments in Sant'Agata Bolognese lately, you'll know that the world's most unabashed supercar producer is adding an SUV. Code-named "Urus," it will join the brand's existing two-model (Aventador/Huracan) lineup. It's a bold move for a company with a reputation built on iconic two-seaters including the Miura, Countach, and Diablo, and by its CEO's own admission the decision "will radically change Lamborghini." Why risk the company's exclusive, extroverted image on a vehicle associated with mundane tasks and parents who can't bear the thought of driving a minivan? Two reasons, says CEO Stephan Winkelmann. "The SUV Segment is still fast growing worldwide," he notes. Indeed, global demand for SUVs is up 88 percent since 2008, making utility vehicles the fastest-growing segment around the world, according to IHS Automotive. Utilities now comprise 19 percent of the global vehicle market. In addition, "sales can be equally distributed over our three major regions...the Americas (the US is Lambo's top market), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), and Asia Pacific." Lamborghini expects Urus to double sales from its current 2,500 cars per year to nearly 5,000. Adding a third model line "supports more consistent volumes and competitiveness of the company and our dealers," he continues. Further, Winkelmann maintains that an SUV fits the DNA of Lamborghini. "Our brand has a history of many types of cars such as GTs, super sports cars, and with the LM002 from 1986 to 1992, even an SUV. We learned together with our designers and product people that the SUV represented this opportunity the best." Structural implications include an expansion of the diminutive company's roughly 1,200-employee workforce by 50 percent, or 500 new hires, and the construction of a new facility near its headquarters to build the Urus. Building the new Lamborghini in Bologna is key to differentiating Urus from the other Volkswagen Group premium SUVs (Bentley Bentayga; Porsche Cayenne; Audi Q7 and Q8; and Volkswagen Touareg) that will share the same platform, and Winkelmann put great effort into persuading VW the move made economic sense. "We worked many months building the business case for approval because we are convinced the SUV will be a success and the best place to build it is in Sant'Agata Bolognese," Winkelmann stresses. "We are not simply adding another line in an existing building. Rather, we are talking about greenfield construction.

Lamborghini beats the odds, sets delivery record in 2021

Lamborghini is one of the luxury carmakers that reported exceptionally strong sales in 2021 in spite of an ongoing global pandemic and a crippling chip shortage. Like Rolls-Royce and sister company Bentley, the Italian firm beat the odds by setting an all-time delivery record. Annual deliveries totaled 8,405 units, an increase of 13% over 2020. Lamborghini's biggest market remains the United States, where deliveries jumped by 11% to 2,472 units in 2021. Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao are lumped into second place, and deliveries there skyrocketed by 55% to 935 sales. Germany and, somewhat surprisingly, the United Kingdom are in third and fourth place, respectively. Deliveries in Germany rose by 16% to 706 and in England by 9% to 564. Italy, where regulations have historically (and ironically) been hostile to cars with large-displacement engines, likes Lamborghini's breed of bulls as well: 359 deliveries were recorded in 2021, a 3% climb. It shouldn't surprise anyone to learn that the Urus was the best-selling Lamborghini in 2021. The company delivered 5,021 examples, so the SUV accounted for over half of the brand's sales. Second place on the podium is occupied by the Huracan, with 2,586 deliveries, followed by the Aventador, with 798 delivered units. While these numbers might sound insignificant in the grand scheme of things, putting them into context tells a different story. Lamborghini remains small, but it used to be a lot smaller: It built precisely 1,999 examples of the Countach during a production run that stretched 17 years. It made more units of the Aventador (pictured) in 2021 than of the Miura between 1966 and 1973. Another interesting point is that Lamborghini's total for 2021 seemingly only includes delivered units. The company left out the cars it sold but hasn't delivered yet, like the 112 planned units of the born-again Countach. The coupe was sold out before it was shown to the public. Lamborghini hopes to keep the momentum going, and company boss Stephan Winkelmann revealed that almost all of 2022's production capacity is already spoken for. The company also plans to unveil four new cars in 2022, including the Aventador's mysterious successor. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

See $1M-worth of Lamborghinis dangle high above New York

Lamborghinis certainly fly on the road, but for an event in New York City on January 30, they showed that they can hover, too. Lamborghini arranged to have a white 2014 Aventador Roadster and a Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradra Corse lifted by crane to the roof of a 12-story venue for the $1,000-per-ticket Big Game Big Give Super Bowl charity party hosted by comedian Alec Baldwin on Friday, January 31.
The cars arrived at the Tribeca Rooftop on Wednesday night and were lifted by crane up to the venue in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Autoblog friend Ethan Stupp was there and received permission to photograph and film the cars being delivered.
Scroll down to watch a video of the Lamborghinis being lifted into the heavens for the party.