Lamborghini LM002

Lamborghini
Lamborghini LM002
LM002
Production period:	1986-1993
Class :	Off-road vehicle
Body versions :	Pick up
Engines:	Otto engine : 5.2 liters (335 kW)
Length:	4790 mm
Width:	2000 mm
Height:	1850 mm
Wheelbase :	2950 mm
Empty weight :	2700 kg

Open rear of the LM002

The Lamborghini LM002 is an off-road vehicle from the Italian car manufacturer Lamborghini . It was produced from 1986 to 1993.

prehistory

It was the result of an order placed by the US company Mobility Technology International with Lamborghini to develop a Jeep successor for the US Army . So in 1977 the prototype named Cheetah was created , equipped with a V8 engine from Chrysler . Mobility Technology International took this vehicle in a tender of the US Army in part, but lost the Humvee by AM General , so that the project initially was buried. The vehicle itself was destroyed in these comparative tests in the California desert.

development

After the takeover of Lamborghini by Patrick Mimran in 1980, the project to build an off-road vehicle was restarted. It was hoped that the vehicle would sell well in Saudi Arabia.

In 1981 the prototype LM001 was completed. It still had a 5.7-liter V8 engine from American Motors Corporation . The following year, the LMA prototype was presented at the Geneva Motor Show with the 4.8-liter V12 engine with 276  kW (375 hp) from the Lamborghini Countach LP500S .

Series production of the LM002 , equipped with the same engine as the LMA , started in 1986.

A planned LM003 with a 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine was discarded in the planning phase, while an LM004 with a 7.3-liter V12 engine was built in 1984, but it remained a one-off.

In 1985 the LM002 was fitted with a larger engine. He received the 335 kW (455 PS) V12 engine with 5.2 liter displacement from the Lamborghini Countach LP5000S QV .

According to a test by the magazine auto motor und sport , the car drives “excellent off-road”, but consumes between 25.7 and 42.0 liters per 100 km.

A total of 301 vehicles were sold.

body

A Lamborghini LM002 at the Gumball 3000

The body of the LM002 stands out from the usual designs for off-road vehicles at the time. Many observers miss the finishing touches to the design; auto motor und sport called it “coarse” in 1987; the car is a "barbarically designed desert limousine". With a height of 1.85 m and a width of more than 2.00 m, the LM002 is one of the largest off-road vehicles; the American Hummer H1 (the civilian version of the former opponent in the tender) or a Chevrolet Suburban, for example, are even bigger. Instead of a trunk, the LM002 has a small loading area, which can also be used as a trunk thanks to an insert.

Despite the width of the vehicle, the space on the front seats is rather limited due to the very wide center console. The LM002 only has two seats in the back. The interior is made with high quality materials.

Special renovation for the Sultan of Brunei

LM 002 of the Sultan of Brunei

In 1989, the Turin coachbuilder Salvatore Diomante produced a conversion version with an elongated, ten-seater station wagon body and luxury interior fittings as a one-off on the order of the Sultan of Brunei .

Performance

Despite its high curb weight of 2700 kg, the LM002 with the 335 kW motor accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in just 8.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 223 km / h. With this performance, it was the fastest off-road vehicle in the world for many years.

successor

The LM002 has neither a series-produced direct predecessor nor an immediate successor model. Based on the modular construction kit system for passenger vehicles with longitudinal engine configuration established in the Volkswagen Group in 2012 , the modular longitudinal construction kit (MLB), specification MLB-Evo , Lamborghini is developing a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) called Urus - an archaic synonym for aurochs .

The Urus study was presented to the public for the first time on April 23, 2012 at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition . In addition to sister models from the Audi , Bentley , Porsche and Volkswagen brands , all of which are based on the same construction kit, the Lamborghini Urus , whose market launch has been decided in 2018, is set to point the way in terms of driving dynamics. The aim is to produce 3000 vehicles a year.

literature

• Anthony Pritchard: Lamborghini . Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2006. ISBN 3-89880-574-3
• Clauspeter Becker: The white elephant . Review. In: auto motor und sport . Issue 8/1987 of April 11, 1987, p. 50 ff.

Web links

Commons : Lamborghini LM 002  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jan Kretzmann: Lambo SUV, part two. autobild.de , April 20, 2012, accessed October 23, 2013 . 
2. ↑ Lamborghini SUV jacks up! autobild.de , May 29, 2015, accessed on June 22, 2015 (video).