Lamborghini LM003 for Beijing Auto Show

Italian supercar maker Lamborghini is reeling from revelations that it will attempt to re-enter the SUV world at April’s Beijing Motor Show.

Its management team is said to be shocked that details of its all-new SUV have leaked from German parent company, Audi, even as it has desperately tried to keep details of the project from leaking out of its Sant’Agata design studio.

The SUV has been the subject of fierce negotiations inside the Volkswagen Group ever since Lamborghini showed its Estoque sports sedan (pictured) at the Paris Motor Show in 2008.

The company’s management has been torn over whether its third model line should be based around the acclaimed Estoque or whether there was greater potential and more brand credibility with an SUV.

While speculation has the Lamborghini SUV project, code named LB736, based around the Audi Q7 architecture, sources insist it is instead being twinned with a radical SUV being developed by fellow up-market VW asset, Bentley.

While still based on the core of the next Q7’s MLB modular architecture, Lamborghini is desperate to keep its weight beneath 2000kg. Compared to the next generation Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg that will also share the base architecture, Lamborghini has worked with Audi to pull 400kg out of the total mass already, through the use of structural aluminium and carbon-fibre.

People who have seen the concept sketches suggest that its nose looks a lot like a high-rise Estoque, while having only one door per side further enhances the aggressive look of its widely flared rear wheel arches.

Lamborghini will introduce the concept version of the SUV to the developing Chinese market with the full expectation that it will join the V12 Aventador and the replacement for the current V10 Gallardo in 2015 or 2016.

Yet, while the current Lamborghini models both run mid-engined setups, the SUV will carry its engine up front in a reflection of the LM002’s layout.

The four-seat, three-door super SUV is likely to be dubbed the MLC and will be powered by a retuned version of the Gallardo’s existing direct-injection, naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 power plant.

It’s unlikely that Lamborghini will mate this engine to the supercar’s computer controlled manual gearbox, though, as Lamborghini is hoping to pitch the car as being smoother and less raw than the rest of the range. It could mate up to a seven-speed double clutch unit, but an eight-speed automatic transmission is more likely.

Lamborghini has been given a green light to find lighter solutions for the MLC, and it is said to have even turned to the Aventador’s carbon-fibre boffins to develop carbon versions of key cabin structures, such as the dash bracing and the transmission tunnel.

It’s been allowed to attack the core architecture largely because it’s only targeting around 1500 cars a year, most of which will be from the US and China. Pitched at around $200,000 in the US, it will clearly sit above the current fast SUV pretenders like the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and the BMW X6 as well as the upcoming Maserati Kubang.

Besides being Lamborghini’s first SUV in more than 20 years, it could also introduce its first ever hybrid. While the V10 will be retuned for greater torque at low rpm, it will still put out around 435kW of power, though it will rev lower than the Gallardo’s 8500rpm peak.

It will also be able to accommodate an 80kW electric motor and a Lithium-Ion battery lack to lift the peak power to just under 500kW.

While the SUV is a near certainty to join the Lamborghini lineup, Lamborghini continues to keep hopes of the Estoque alive. Sources insist the Estoque is still in the product planning mix at Sant’Agata and could be fast-tracked onto a lower-riding version of the MLC’s architecture quickly and easily.

Picture courtesy Photo 4

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