It’s trendy in some circles in Great Britain to refer in derogatory terms to any SUV as “Chelsea Tractors”, Chelsea being a Royal Borough of London and one of the more premium zip codes in the country, populated by lots of lovely ladies with spiffy looking, private school-educated and well-groomed children with names like Lilibeth, Humphrey, Geeta and Vladimir, often with a title thrown in. Although the titles have morphed like the population from Viscount and Earls to oligarchs and maharajahs.
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They are usually found driving a Land Rover or big Range Rovers with no hint of mud or grass blemishing the highly waxed exterior or cow hide soft leather seats. HRH Prince Phillip loved the original Range Rovers as one could hose down the interior with water after a good days’ shooting on the highlands of Scotland, the water escaping through holes in the floor.
Naturally with its roots and family lineage firmly in the Tuscan countryside, the Urus is a direct descendant of the famous v12 LM002 – a favourite of African rulers which often came equipped with self-inflating sand tyres and a machine gun on the rear deck. Founder Ferrucio’s original tractor company carried full off-road all terrain credibility, and who better qualified than the storied Sant’Agata manufacturer to produce what is unquestionably the best all-round car in the world today.
Who else can instill outrageous V8 twin turbo power (641bhp) combined with supercar design theme styling, luxuriously comfortable seating for five (plus their considerable luggage), or three baby-seats with room for bottles and strollers, in a wide Porsche / Audi derived chassis with brembo brakes. All this combined with genuine supersports car character and performance plus trans-continental legs and versatility that can take you from the front row valet at Monaco’s Casino Square up the mountain passes to Lake Como and onto St Moritz for a touch of skiing without missing a beat, and producing broad smiles on all the faces. Turns out our 9-month-old little girl loves full power acceleration too!
The Urus is the first practical super SUV. It swallows all the baby gear, allows easier buggy loading than the narrower Porsche Cayenne and, even with genuinely huge 22-inch wheels and low-profile Pirelli P Zero’s, rides very comfortably.
Sales around the world have taken off with Hollywood celebrity waiting lists and production numbers on track to an all-time record for the brand. Competition is fierce. Rolls Royce developed its own cruise ship the Cullinan, sister brand Bentley has the Bentayga which has struggled as a “rebadged” Audi, Aston Martin will soon launch the DBX using AMG turbo power built in a new production plant in Wales, and Ferrari is already in secret development of its own four door 4×4 – likely a stretched and raised version of the excellent and popular V12 FF.
But let’s get back to baby Jolina sleeping quietly in her Grecco babyseat and our destination of Lake Como. She’s used to a Cayenne but settled in very nicely with the Urus, the green headrest badging attracting her attention as she is rear facing.
The steep rear roof line is a little more challenging to lift an infant into and out of, but the extra width is noticeable not just from the driver’s side on narrow truck infested Italian B roads, but when loading the stroller and accessory bags.
Initially, it’s easy to brush off the large Bull as a group badging exercise. That thought stops the moment you climb aboard, press the firm brake peddle and hit the red start button on the center console.
Swapping straight out of the flagship SVJ, the cockpit is totally Lambo – with an upgraded and improved touch screen central control center and a 1,000 watt digital stereo with umpteen speakers all over. You’re just higher up than you’re used to.
The all-encompassing black leather / alcantara-lined interior feels fresh and comfortable to the touch and it is highlighted by lime green stitching – all very Muira.
The dash is an enhanced version of what the driver will be familiar with from the Huracan and EVO, dominated by the rev counter which changes moods as you change the preselect lever where (if offered) the eight speed gear lever would be. Once again, all the design elements and driver toys will be familiar if you’ve any experience with the other models in the range: switchgear, air vents, and the very useful EGO mode are all here, where the driver can design the key dynamics themselves from normal to hard steering, normal to loud exhaust, sports or track suspension. Choices unique to the Urus include snow and sand mode. Makes me think these Italians have over indulged on the grappa. Who drives a $250,000+ Lamborghini up a sand dune? Turns out, the many devotes in Abu Dhabi don’t watch movies on Friday nights, they go sand dune racing. So, Lamborghini made sure they could be ‘King of the hill’ not just a ‘Lord of the ring’.
On the road, the car is hilariously impressive as one just doesn’t associate arriving at roundabouts, decelerating fade free from high speed, diving into the apex and torpedoing out of the exit, in any machine this large. One would be hard pressed to show this car a clean pair of heels – it’s not just very powerful it’s fast. It’s really, really fast in a total master and commander performance that will leave your Labrador breathless in the back. High speed cruising is a breeze, with the aggressive styling helping to inform other drivers that your intentions are to overtake briskly, not tailgate for the next 20 miles (a particular passion of Italian van drivers). Keeping ones driving license will be a challenge simply because the speeds are so aligned with the other V10 and V12 cars, but with 10% of the drama.
The white Urus isn’t intimidating to look at or drive, unless you opt for a high visibility colour – there’s plenty of choice. The 4X4 can easily lose itself in the supermarket car park, its dark colours resembling an Audi Q8 in profile. And there is something to be said for that given the more urban and hostile daily environment it will live in.
Francesco and the boys at the Aero Club on the south shore of Lake Como have enjoyed a few different charging Bulls these past few years and were mightily impressed by this new one. As was the valet at the Villa d’Este – the Grand Dame of Como – who remarked they were “all over Saint Moritz” this past season and that the hotel owner also had one.
My old friend Eddie Irvine, who lives between Milan and his island in the Bahamas and who nearly won the F1 world championship for Ferrari in 1998, calls the Urus “the best car on the market today”. If it’s good enough for him as a driver’s car, and as a high fashion statement for the SheShePoohPooh crowd (The Kardashian’s and Justin Bieber have one too) then bravo!
To Lamborghini, you started it back in ‘63 and now you’ve reinvented the genre as your second act. In Neil Armstrong’s words, sitting aboard Apollo 11 on launch pad 39b, 30 seconds from igniting seven million pounds of thrust to take him, Aldrin and Collins to the moon: “It feels good”.
Written by Nicholas Frankl
Read more: The Frankl family tests Lamborghini’s SVJ
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