For £180,000 you could own Lamborghini's original SUV

One of the rarely-spotted Lamborghini LM002s is coming up for sale in the Coys Spring Classics auction in London on April 12^th. If you want an SUV you might as well have one powered by the engine from the Countach!

The LM002 was a bold move for Lamborghini in the pre-SUV crazy days of 1986 when the angular monster made its debut. It was seemingly the antithesis of everything Lamborghini stood for, even though it did have that glorious 5.2-litre V12 with 450bhp on board.

A big, go-anywhere, luxury trimmed 4x4 wasn’t of course unique in ’86 but the Rambo Lambo’s performance – 130mph and 0-62 in 7.8 seconds – did set a sporty new SUV standard. The car was a favourite with Middle East buyers and, something GRR didn’t know, it was also the choice of Ayrton Senna, according to Coys.

Only just over 300 LM002s were ever made, between 1986 and ’92. The car for sale, a left-hooker delivered originally to Poland, is a ’91 model and among the last 50 produced. For the past few years it has been looked after by Lamborghini Wycombe which gave it a full rebuild in 2005 – and then more fettling in 2007 after it took part in the Gumball Rally through Europe, Thailand and the US. The invoices total £57,000. 

The sensational SUV, which is being auctioned by Coys at its Spring Classics sale in the Royal Horticultural Halls, Westminster, on April 12^th, has a presale guide price of £140-180,000. 

Which probably isn’t a million miles away from what the new one, based on the Urus concept car of 2012, will cost. Rambo Lambos then and now won’t have much else in common – sleek coupe-like styling versus the boxy look, and what’s believed to be a plug-in hybrid option rather than any V12.

But as Coys says, only one of them is “arguably the most collectable sports utility vehicle ever produced.”