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Posts filed under ‘Lamborghini’

My Favorite Lambo: The Urraco

September 17, 2012 by Matt

Lamborghini Lambo Urraco Uracco Urracco Red

Yup, this is the one. Forget the Miura, Countach, Gallardo or Aventador (among others); I’d walk past all of them in favor of the lowly, 2+2, slightly ungainly-looking Urraco.

I think I fell in love with it as a boy. I had the standard white Countach wall poster, and I talked my parents into buying me one of those glossy coffee tables books about the history of Lamborghini so that I could drool over more illustrations of the flamboyant ’80s supercar icon. But a funny thing happened: As nice as the half dozen Countach images were, I discovered other Lambos. The Miura had these curves, and looked so different from my beloved Countach, and in between the two there were a few other models like the Sihouette, Jalpa, Espada…and this intriguing-looking mid-engined 2+2: The Urraco.

Lamborghini Lambo Urraco Uracco Urracco Yellow

While its proportions were a bit “off” on account of the rear seats pushing back the transversely-mounted engine, the detailing was understated and tidy, and the car’s uniqueness and lack of notoriety compared to its more flamboyant stablemates was appealing, even more so now that I’ve gotten over my boyish attraction to wings ‘n things.

Lamborghini Lambo Urraco Uracco Urracco Engine Motor V8

Powered by a 2.0l-3.0l range of SOHC (and in the case of the 3.0l, DOHC) V8s, output nudged 250 hp in the later versions, good for an optimistic 5.6 second sprint to 60 mph. The driver was treated to a Porsche-like swath of instrumentation (when it worked) and handling was decently balanced, as you’d expect from the mid-engined configuration.

Lamborghini Lambo Urraco Uracco Urracco Interior Inside Cockpit Console Dash Dashboard

I think my attraction to the Urraco was finally cemented after viewing what’s probably become, for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on, my favorite Top Gear car escapade: The Budget Supercars Challenge (Season 7, Episode 4). In it, the presenters each purchase a mid-engined, Italian exotic for less than $16,000 and have to coax their second-hand thoroughbreds through a number of trials, among them a track test, dyno evaluation, serviceability contest and fuel economy challenge. All three cars— Richard’s Dino 308 GT4, Jeremy’s Maserati Merak V6 and James’ Urraco—perform miserably, but for me that’s kind of beside the point. All three cars are rare and cool and it’s just a treat to see them driving around and to get firsthand impressions and historical tidbits from the guys. The Urraco in particular stands out to me; without hesitation, it’s the one I’d drive home (assuming I could get it home). As far as quirky European supercars go, it’s just right.

Click here to view the entire challenge, in four parts.

6 Comments on My Favorite Lambo: The Urraco

Lamborghini Urus:
Just the Latest Lambo SUV

April 21, 2012 by Matt

Lamborghini Urus Lambo Red SUV

Well folks, I’d like to say that this is one of the signs of the impending apocalypse—a Lamborghini SUV—but believe it or not, there is a precedent here.

See, in the midst of the Italian supercar maker’s 30-year (1970-2000) period of financial distress, they did create a limited run high-end SUV called the LM002. Made to the tune of 328 copies from 1986 to 1993, it seemed just as out of character for Lamborghini then as the Urus does now—perhaps more so, given that the SUV craze of the early ’90s hadn’t yet taken place.

Lamborghini Urus Lambo Red SUV

Whatever the quality of its reception, the LM002 did pave the way at least somewhat for the latest Lambo. Not completely, mind you; they’re still very different cars in concept—the LM002 being more of a rugged, Hummer-like vehicle and the Urus existing more in the vein of a polished Land Rover or BMW X5M.

Lamborghini Urus Lambo Interior Inside Cockpit Dashboard Dash Console

The Urus’ powerplant looks to be a bit less exotic than its forebear’s as well. In contrast to the LM002’s 5.2l V12 (a massive 7.2l marine V12 was even available by special order), the Urus will sport a more “mundane” 5.2l V10 routing 584 hp through all four wheels.

So while the idea of a Lamborghini SUV may still be jarring, it’s a concept with history, and given that Porsche has been cranking out Cayennes for the past ten years, we might well wonder what took Lambo so long?

8 Comments on Lamborghini Urus:
Just the Latest Lambo SUV