Lamborghini's first hybrid will arrive in 2018
Although it won't be the first SUV to emerge from Sant'Agata, it will be the brand's first hybrid when it arrives sometime in 2018.
In an interview with Autocar, Lamborghini R&D chief Maurizio Reggiani confirmed that the upcoming Urus will be offered with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
According to Reggiani, Lamborghini purists need not fear, for hybridization will not spread beyond the Urus SUV.
Rumors of a production Lamborghini hybrid have been floating around the industry from some time.
At the 2014 Paris Motor Show, the Italian supercar maker teased the public with the hybrid Asterion concept.
In a 2015 interview with Business Insider, then-Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann ruled out the hybridization of the brand's supercars, but hinted at the possibility of a hybrid Urus.
The idea of a hybrid Lamborghini isn't as far fetched as one might think. The Urus will be built on VW Group's MLB-evo platform. The award-winning modular platform also underpins, among others, the Audi Q7 SUV which is already available in plug-in hybrid guise.
In addition to the hybrid, the Urus will also offered with a 4.0 liter, twin-turbocharged V8 sourced from parent company Audi.
Upon its arrival, the Urus will become the latest entrant into the new ultra-luxury SUV segment. Others in the segment include the Bentley Bentayga - a fellow MLB-evo platform vehicle- and Rolls-Royce's upcoming Project Cullinan.