Looking Back At the First Ultra Luxury SUV, the Lamborghini LM002

We’re currently going through a period where conventional sedans and sports cars are losing favor with consumers relative to higher-riding SUVs and crossovers. That’s true from entry level brands to the top shelf. Ultra luxury and exotic car companies have noticed the kind of success that Porsche has had with the Cayenne and just about all the high end companies — with the exception of McLaren and Ferrari — are working on some kind of utility vehicles.

Lamborghini showed the Urus concept in 2012 and earlier this year said they’d be doubling the capacity at their Sant’Agata, Italy factory to put a SUV into production, starting in 2017. Bentley, like Lamborghini a part of the Volkswagen group, is coming out with the dubiously styled Bentayga, whose platform will be shared by the Lambo SUV and new generations of the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne.

The Urus, or whatever Lamborghini decides to call it, however, won’t be the first SUV to wear the Lamborghini brand. Actually, that won’t be the first off-road capable vehicle that has carried the Lamborghini name either. Before he started making exotic sports cars, Ferruccio Lamborghini made his fortune building tractors. However, by the mid-1970s, Mr. Lamborghini had divested his interests in both Trattori Lamborghini and Automobili Lamborghini and the automaker ended up in receivership.

Within a few years, the Mimran family of Switzerland had acquired control of the automaker and the United States armed forces were then looking to replace their M151 MUTTjeeps with more capable modern vehicles. That program would eventually result in the Humvee, but Lamborghini thought they had a crack at the military market.

2012 Lamborghini Urus Concept

They had no experience making military vehicles, so development of the prototype, called the Cheetah (no relationshp to the Bill Thomas Cheetah sports car), was contracted out to Rodney Pharis’ Mobility Technology International. The idea was that once the miltary contracts were obtained, the factory in Sant’Agata would build the vehicles and MTI would sell them in the U.S.

When the Lamborghini Cheetah prototype was first shown in public at the 1977 Geneva auto show, the FMC corporation threated to sue, saying that it copied their own entrant in the Army’s competition, the XR311.

Never tested by the military, Pharis claimed that the Cheetah, with a 360-cubic-inch Chrysler V-8 located in the back of the vehicle powering all four wheels, was capable of 105 mph off-road. It also wasn’t very stable because of all that weight in the back. Development was costing money and Lamborghini was again in financial trouble — trouble that would affect another car, the BMW M1, for which Lamborghini was a contractor.

Pharis and MTI decided to bail on the project, selling the prototype and related intellectual property to Teledyne Continental Motors. Lamborghini then cancelled the Cheetah.

Lamborghini Cheetah concept

On paper the Cheetah looked promising. It had special run-flat tires and could carry four fully armed soldiers plus the driver. The engine was completely waterproofed and the heat from the radiator was directed away so the Cheetah could not be detected with enemy infrared detectors.

The engine was sourced from Chrysler, no doubt to persuade military purchasers that the Cheetah had domestic content, an important thing in miltary purchases, but that engine only put out 190 horsepower and the Cheetah was large and heavy. It could not meet the armed forces’ proposed specifications.

Lamborghini LM001 concept, still with a rear mounted V8 engine.

Still, despite financial uncertainties, the team in Sant’Agata kept working on the concept with what was named the LM001, for either Lamborgini Military or Lamborghini Mimran, substituting an American Motors V-8, but keeping the engine in back, again creating stability issues. Eventually, they decided on a conventional front engine layout, with a tube-based space frame and a Quattrovalvole V-12 engine from the Countach LP500S, and dubbed it LMA002, debuting at the Geneva show in 1982. This prototype demonstrated superb off-road capabilities, while still being able to fly down pavement.

The engine had 5.2 liters of displacement, double overhead cams and six Weber carbs. It put out 444 horsepower, though a five-speed manual gearbox sending power to all four wheels (the front differential could be disconnected). Suspension was independent at all four corners, with coil springs front and back. Ventilated disc brakes were also at all four wheels. The body was made of aluminum and fiberglass panels riveted to the frame. With an enclosed cabin and small bed with jump seats in the back, it could carry at least four people and their equipment just about anywhere.

Lamborghini LM002 concept, first shown in 1982

The plan then was still to sell it to militaries in the Middle East and elsewhere so the interior was relatively spartan. However, with six, twin choke Weber carburetors to syncrhonize, customers were scared off by potential maintenance issues in the field. Lamborghini changed course and decided that instead of marketing the vehicle to Middle East armies, it would add luxury and market it to Middle Eastern potentates.

If it wouldn’t do as a command car, it might do as a ride for falconry in the desert.

Further development work resulted in the production Lamborghini LM002 being revealed at the Turin show in 1986. Limited production begain with about two dozen vehicles being shipped by the end of that year. King Hassan of Morocco took delivery of VIN #1. Formula One driving champion Keke Rosberg also bought one, as did other celebrities.

I haven’t been able to find out if it was a factor in getting nicknamed the “Rambo Lambo”, but actor Sylvester Stallone ordered one, as did singer Tina Turner and billionaire Malcolm Forbes. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen is also said to have owned a black LM002. Less savory fans of the Lambo SUV were Col. Qadaffi of Libya, druglord Pablo Escobar, and Uday Hussein. Every one of the 300 or so LM002s that were built was made to order, so at least a few included armoring in addition to custom appointments. Standard equipment included four leather upholstered seats, color matched carpeting, air conditioning, and a high end Alpine audio system mounted in a console in the roof.

Despite rumors that Saudi Arabia ordered 40 of the utility vehicles with machine gun mounts or that Qaddafi’s Libya ordered them in quantity, officially no LM002s were ever made with military trim, though apparently some were indeed made with hinged roof panels above the rear seats. The sources say those might have been for armed bodyguards but they just as likely might have been used for bird hunting.

Big, blocky and outrageous, the LM002 was completely unlike anything else on the automotive scene. At 2,700 kilograms (just shy of three tons), it could still do 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds and had a top speed of 120 mph (108 mph off-road), despite its complete lack of attention to aerodynamics. It managed 8 miles to the gallon, but range was still over 500 miles because of the 76 gallon fuel tank.

Early LM002s, as mentioned, were carbureted, requiring two rather large hood bulges to clear the air cleaners and plenum. When fuel injection was introduced, forward visibility improved.

Keeping a LM002 on the road isn’t going to be easy. It came equipped with 325mm wide Pirelli Scorpion run-flat tires that were developed by the tire company specifically for Lamborghini, and offered in two tread patterns, “sand” and “mixed use.” At something like $1,200 a tire back then, I’m sure they’re not easy to find today. Scorpion Zeros will work, but they aren’t usually made in the LM002’s sizes.

Production of the LM002 ended in 1992. By then Lamborghini was owned by Chrysler and the final 60 units were called the LM American, featuring chromed bumpers, special stripes, custom allow wheels from OZ, and different body moldings outside, with upgraded leather.

This particular white 1988 Lamborghini LM002 with black leather upholstery was photographed at RM Sotheby’s Motor City auction this past summer. It’s an early carbureted model, with just 32,000 miles on the odometer. It’s original, save for new master and slave cylinders for the hydraulically operated clutch, and a new set of those difficult to find Pirelli Scorpions (the original rubber came with the car).

It sold at the auction for $192,500 (with commission), about what the next Lamborghini SUV is expected to cost when it hits showrooms two years from now.

Photos of the LM002 by the author. You can see the full photo gallery here.

Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can get a parallax view at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don’t worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS