It’s not too early to (once again) get used to the concept of a Lamborghini SUV, and the upcoming Urus is easing everyone back into the world of supercar SUVs by making regular appearances at the Nurburgring. Due on sale in 2018, the Urus is expected to serve up 650 hp courtesy of a twin-turbocharged V8, as Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed earlier this year. When it comes to raw power, these specs, if they hold, will place the Urus just above the Huracan Performante with its 640 hp, but it’s no secret which one of these models will offer more space for groceries.
The Urus will share its platform with some expected Volkswagen Automotive Group siblings, including the Bentley Bentayga and the Audi Q7, but as this video shows, the Urus will go a little smaller on the inside owing to a rakish roof and a sleeker greenhouse. When it comes to price, the Urus is expected to land just south of $200,000 when it goes on sale during the third quarter of 2018, according to Domenicali.
As the video shows, there’s not much to hide on the prototype Urus at the moment — Lamborghini has let the cat out of the bag at a number of auto shows — but we can’t help but gawk at the tall and blunt nose of this SUV and the sizable eggcrate vents just below the hood. Viewed in profile, the Urus displays very high-sided front and rear fascias along with a relatively high shoulder line. This doesn’t paint a picture of a high seating position inside, though; the driver appears to be sitting quite low inside the vehicle. And it’s easy to get a sense of scale for the Urus as it slowly drives past other recognizable cars.
The upcoming Urus is expected to double Sant’Agata Bolognese’s production output to 7,000 vehicles annually, and the boutique Italian automaker is currently putting the finishing touches on a dedicated factory for the brand’s second SUV. The new factory in Sant’Agata won’t start cranking these out at full speed until 2019; the factory plans to build around a thousand examples in 2018 but will aim for half of the brand’s entire output of 3,500 vehicles annually the following year.