Lamborghini reportedly confirms Urus for production in 2017

The editorial director of EVO, Harry Metcalfe, was at the Lamborghini anniversary gala that saw the launch of the Egoista concept car, and tweeted this bit of news on the Urus: "Lamborghini confirms Urus SUV for 2017 production at tonight's #Lambo50 gala dinner." The Urus, you'll remember, was the concept SUV revealed at the Beijing Motor Show last year and branded "the first Lamborghini for everyday use" by company CEO Stephan Winkelmann. But that would only be if it were produced, and as of December last year it still hadn't been given the green light – even though development had continued.

This year, though, a couple of things have happened to convince some that it's probably on its way. There were patents filed in China in February, and in March Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told Autocar "Lamborghini has to do it. Because of the need to dovetail into production cycles, we should see the Urus in 2017." And since Audi is the official owner of Lamborghini, one would think the CEO knows what he's talking about when he says Lamborghini "has" to do something.

It's predicted that the showroom version will appear in 2016 as a 2017 model, accounting for the time it will take to develop and Stadler's 'production cycle' comment, referring to a slot in the refresh timetable for the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg with which the Urus will share its MQB platform. A report in Car and Driver says the Sant' Agata company will also be looking for the Urus to bolster its sales in China and its coffers in Italy, and cost between $150,000 and $200,000.