Admirers of Italian supercars let out shrieks of righteous indignation when Lamborghini revealed the production-ready Urus in 2017, followed by Ferrari with the Purosangue five years later. The purists were asking, are SUVs really necessary from two iconic brands known only for high-performance sports cars? But an automaker can only count on incremental growth when the entire vehicle portfolio has just two seats and barely room for a few duffel bags.
Lamborghini Countach front 3/4 angle in white with doors openLamborghini
That explains why the accountants convinced Lamborghini to launch the Urus, and the bet has paid off: The Urus has been Lambo’s bestseller for eight consecutive years, contributing mightily to the bottom line. Perhaps Ferrari would have similar results with the Purosangue, if not for brand bosses setting production limits that have customers waiting two years or more for delivery. Despite holding back production, the Purosangue is Ferrari’s best-selling model so far this year.
At Lamborghini, the executive who sweats the Urus details more than anyone is Stefano Cossalter, product line director for the SUV. His purview included the Lanzador EV until that program met its demise this past February. CarBuzz sat down with Cossalter at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend, and he was more than willing to talk about the Urus, how it has evolved, what it represents for the company, and how competition drives Lamborghini.
Urus Isn’t Just For ‘Family Man’ Over 50
Lamborghini Urus SE PerformanteGabrielle Schmauderer/CarBuzz/Valnet
“We like competition. We like the challenge of the other brands because competition is good,” said Cossalter, an engineer who spent nearly 14 years at Lamborghini before shifting to Audi Sport and Audi AG before returning to Lamborghini in 2021.
“Competition forces you to make your car better and better and better.”
–Stefano Cossalter, Urus Product Line Director
Gratified that the Urus is doing well on the sales chart (at least 35,000 sold since launch), Cossalter said he is pleased that the Urus is attracting younger shoppers to Lamborghini, even though he generally sees SUVs as a vehicle for “a family man” in his 50s, 60s, or 70s.
Stefano Cossalter, product line director for Lamborghini UrusLamborghini
And Urus has expanded its reach to potential shoppers as the lineup grew in 2024 to include the Urus SE, the brand’s first plug-in hybrid “Super SUV,” while the Italian State Police have been using a Urus Performante for several years now. And just this month, the range steps up with the arrival of a Urus SE Performante version, which did the Goodwood hill climb last weekend.
“We are very happy because at the moment that Urus is the king of the segment.”
Who Actually Competes With Urus?
Lamborghini Urus SE PerformanteGabrielle Schmauderer/CarBuzz/Valnet
Beyond the Ferrari Purosangue and the Aston Martin DBX, it’s not a simple endeavor to identify direct competitors of the Urus, based on varying footprints and price points. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid (which incidentally shares its Volkswagen Group MLB Evo platform with Urus) could be a rival, but priced well below the $242,000 base price for Urus. For that money, you could get into a larger Bentley Bentayga, which also shares the MLB Evo DNA.
Despite all these new high-end SUV players, Cossalter sees the Urus as being particularly attractive to young company founders and CEOs on both coasts of the US. “They really love the car,” as well as Lamborghini’s personalization program, which allows the Urus to be configured in 140 different colors. “Same goes for the interior,” he said, while noting certain limitations based on homologation rules. But performance is the common thread that Cossalter promises in every Lambo. “The DNA of Lamborghini has to be in an SUV as well.”
Lamborghini Urus SE PerformanteGabrielle Schmauderer/CarBuzz/Valnet
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
It’s okay folks – the automotive republic has not crumbled despite the arrival of uber-expensive SUVs from brands that stuck to their knitting for years and never saw the need to expand their lineup in such a radical way. Times change, as do markets and consumers.
In the case of Lamborghini, the financial benefits of launching the Urus clearly outweighed the disgruntled musings of old guys who won’t be buying many Lamborghinis for much longer, anyway. Consider Porsche, where the current existential crisis could have been cataclysmic a decade ago, without the Cayenne and Macan.
