Lamborghini not eyeing Nurburgring lap record with Urus SUV

Lamborghini says it isn't interested in breaking any Nurburgring lap records in its upcoming Urus SUV, despite the company's insistence on proving the speed of its sports cars around the legendary German circuit.

The Italian marque created global headlines earlier this year when it announced a new outright record around the Nurburgring Nordschliefe circuit in its new Huracan Performante.

The lap record drew the ire of some sceptics, who hinted Lamborghini might have cut corners in its high-speed run.

Speaking at the launch of the Aventador S this month, Lamborghini Asia Pacific boss Andrea Baldi said the high-performance car maker would pursue no such record in the Urus – even ruling out taking on the SUV record currently held by Range Rover’s Sport SVR.

"Hmm, that’s interesting," Baldi said with a quizzed look on his face.

"The Urus will have a target that will also be contemplating some off-road [strengths].

"If you go to the Nurburgring, you go to be the fastest. The Urus is a different concept so it's not really going to be the place to set a record."

Instead, Baldi said the Urus would be the answer to a range or duties, including some adventurous activity. He nominated the upcoming Rolls-Royce Project Cullinan, Bentley Bentayga  and high-performing variants of the Porsche Cayenne as the Urus' logical rivals.

"It's not going to be a Jeep," Baldi said of the car's off-road credentials.

"It's a car that's supposed to be high-performance, but that capability off-road you will see. You will discover that by the end of this year when the car is unveiled in December.

"We are on schedule for the car's production next year. The car is capable of many things. The higher ground clearance gives you a lot of opportunities."

The Lamborghini executive re-affirmed the Urus would likely have a choice of two engines: a pioneering turbocharged V8 petrol, and a hybrid of some form.

"We are considering hybridisation. There is a general discussion about that," he said.

"It comes back to the regulations, these are really [driving] the decisions.

"Sometimes it's not really a matter of emissions, it's a matter of taxation. If you go to one of the most important markets in the future for us given we're producing an SUV, China, every time you increase the engine capacity by one litre, you pay many more taxes.

"So the difference between a three litre and four litre is huge, between a four litre and the six litre of the Aventador is about 50 per cent.

"So taxation is a huge driver, because it affects the final price and position of the car in the market."