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Lambo Urus to stay true to concept, but almost didn't happen

Lamborghini has been making noise about adding a third model line for years, and it's finally going to happen now that the Urus concept has been approved for production. It'll likely be a while yet before all the details are sorted out and revealed to the public, but while visiting the factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Autoblog was able to glean some intriguing details about the Italian automaker's forthcoming crossover and its path it is taking from concept to production. "It's good to have heritage, but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint." - Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann We first saw the Urus concept back in 2012, and Lamborghini has been lobbying its parent company Volkswagen ever since for the go-ahead to put it into production. Now three years later, it finally has the green light. A company representative told Autoblog the production version looks "very" close to the concept. (No ground-up redesign here, then, like sister-brand Bentley did with its inaugural crossover project.) Speaking with a small group of journalists in Sant'Agata, the company's chief executive Stephan Winkelmann confirmed that "the SUV could be the [company's] first car with a turbo, and it could be the first car with a plug-in, if we have the opportunity to have more than one engine." The Urus (or however it's ultimately labeled for production) will also be decidedly geared towards on-road performance – unlike the Rambo Lambo on display in the museum next door. "It's good to have heritage," said Winkelmann, "but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint" for the new model. As to the question of why it has taken three years to get approval, and why it will take another three to put it into production, Winkelmann was frank: "Basically if you look at our numbers, we are a company which is growing at a fast pace, but we are very small," said the affable executive. "We had to find a way to almost double our efforts, because it's not the exchange of a model line, with the Gallardo and Huracan, it's adding a model line. And not out of 20 to come to 21 models, but from two to three is a major effort, and you have to have a rock-solid business case." "Putting 500 more people inside a company which is now at 1,200, you can imagine what it means. Doubling almost the size of the area here where we are sitting today. Investing hundreds and hundreds of millions.

Lamborghini files for trademark on Egoista name

Lamborghini has reportedly filed to register a trademark for the name Egoista. The name was previously used on an outrageous one-off, single-seater concept revealed in 2013. While the trademark application doesn't necessarily mean the concept will be put into production, it certainly bodes well. Fans of the marque will recall that the Lamborghini Egoista surfaced in May 2013 as a birthday present from the automaker to itself on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The radical design penned by Walter De Silva was inspired by helicopter gunships and featured a single solitary seat under a canopy, giving the one-of-a-kind creation its "selfish" name. Motivation (were it ever let out onto the street) came from a 5.2-liter V10 like the one in the Gallardo and Huracan, optimized to the tune of 600 horsepower. The Egoista was never displayed at any auto shows, going straight to the museum in Sant'Agata Bolognese at the entrance to the company's factory and headquarters. At the time of its creation, Lamborghini said that "the Egoista is pure emotion, Never Never Land, which no one can ever possess, and which will always remain a dream, for everyone." The reported filing of the trademark application would ostensibly suggest a change of heart on Lambo's part, or at least that it could be entertaining the use of the name for some application beyond the concept that's now two and a half years old. One can dream, at any rate. Related Video:

Lamborghini Veneno leaks ahead of Geneva

Hey, Lamborghini execs... why the long face? Is it because your double-top-secret Veneno hypercar has leaked ahead of its Geneva Motor Show debut?
This unidentified magazine scan has dribbled its way onto the internet, and the single image shows a radically designed coupe - even by Lamborghini standards - powered by the 6.5-liter V12 from the Aventador tuned to produce 740 horsepower, routed through the company's seven-speed single-clutch gearbox. The bodywork features exposed carbon fiber canards, asymmetric wheel wells, a massive rear wing, and all manner of vents and scoops, all combining for an outlandishly brutal look.
What does "Veneno" mean, exactly? It translates to "poison" in Spanish, but if the company's history is anything to go by, it must also be the name of a noteworthy bull in the history of tauromachia. What the car means to Lamborghini, however, is a celebration of the one-time tractor manufacturer's 50th anniversary.