Auto blog

Lamborghini Urus ST-X due out in 2020, hybrid with boost mode still on the way

LAS VEGAS — Lamborghini will expand the Urus range by taking it in two completely different directions. The SUV will go racing by the end of 2020, and it will gain a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. Autoblog sat down with Maurizio Reggiani, the head of the Italian firm's research and development department, at CES to get the latest on both projects. An updated variant of the track-bound Urus ST-X concept (pictured) made its debut in 2019. Development work is ongoing in the automaker's Squadra Corsa department, Reggiani told us, and the model is scheduled to appear during the 2020 Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final taking place in Misano, Italy, Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. "There will be a demo race where we'll present the format," Reggiani said. Meanwhile, another team is busily developing the plug-in hybrid variant of the Urus. It's a relatively straightforward process, because the model's platform was designed with electrification in mind, and the other models built on it (including the Porsche Cayenne and the Bentley Bentayga) are already available with hybrid power. The trick is figuring out what Lamborghini can bring to the table to differentiate itself from its sister brands. "The most important part will be to define in what way a Lamborghini must use this electric energy, and in what way we can be different from the other users of this platform," Reggiani said. While he stopped short of revealing what his team has decided, and he didn't share the model's unveiling date, he told us the driving mode selected will have a big effect on how the plug-in hybrid system dispenses electricity.  "We have seven different driving modes in the Urus, and what will be important is that every driving mode use electric power in a different way." Pressed for details, he singled out a "boost-oriented mode" created for maximum performance and an efficiency-focused mode that puts fuel economy front and center. Lamborghini is also taking its supercars into hybrid territory. We already know the Aventador's successor will offer a gasoline-electric powertrain, but the system won't be related to the one fitted to the Urus. Making a hybrid supercar is far more challenging than putting the system in an SUV, due to weight and packaging constraints, and going entirely electric would be even more difficult. Reggiani asserts the technology isn't ready yet. "When you drive a super-sport car, you want to have the freedom to do what you want.

The Lamborghini Urus is the ultimate super-SUV, and you can win one here

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. No donation or payment is necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. The stats: 641 horsepower. 0–60 in just over 3 seconds. A top speed of 190 miles per hour. All of those sound impressive in a performance car, but in a five-seat SUV, theyÂ’re bonkers. That kind of performance is what you get when youÂ’re behind the wheel of the 2021 Lamborghini Urus. Normally one of these super-SUVs will cost you right around a quarter of a million dollars, but for those of us who donÂ’t have that kind of cash, just head on over to Omaze, where theyÂ’re giving away a Urus, along with $20,000 in cash, with all taxes and delivery fees covered. Win a 2021 Lamborghini Urus and $20,000 - Enter at Omaze HereÂ’s what we said about the Urus when we first got behind the wheel: “With a full day of track, street and dirt driving ahead of us, our first impressions arrive hard and fast at the 2.54-mile Vallelunga circuit near Rome. It feels strange to sit behind the wheel of a Lamborghini with a turbocharged V8 and room for five, but the whip-like acceleration from a standstill leaves you neck-strained and satisfied. This thing is wickedly quick, with a claimed 0-to-62-mph time of 3.6 seconds. It might be quicker than that in the real world. That's speedier than a Gallardo, which isn't saddled with a 4,843-pound curb weight. Drop the car's numerical mass from your mind, and Urus also feels shockingly nimble in corners. Aided by active roll stabilization, an air suspension system that can lower the car up to 1.6 inches, active damping, torque vectoring, and sticky Pirelli Corsa rubber, the Urus manages to dance its way breezily through corners despite its relative heft. The standard 10-piston carbon ceramic brakes deliver phenomenal stopping power, though it sometimes felt like there was some additional brake assist that was boosting the slowdown efforts, making it difficult to finely modulate brake release during corner entry. “Dip the throttle and 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque gets laid down with a whole lot of help from the computers; there are some tight corners at Vallelunga that would have yielded understeer from a more analog vehicle, but the Urus's all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and torque vectoring enable a point-and-shoot approach at the track.

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.