There have only been a handful of SUVs with 12 cylinder engines. Bentley’s Bentayga has a W12, of course, as did VW’s Touareg for a while. Audi’s Q7 had an optional V12 turbodiesel with a massive 783 ft-lb of torque. And, of course, Mercedes shoved a 12 under the chunky hood of the Gelandewagen. But the progenitor of them all was Lamborghini’s LM002. And it continues to be the best of the bunch. Even if it wasn’t really that good.
As a Lamborghini, the LM002 doesn’t make much sense. It was an attempt for the Italian company to net various military contracts, but none ever came through. After having spent all of that money developing the car, they couldn’t just shove it off a cliff and clap their hands together. It needed to make the company at least some money, so the LM was offered as a street car.
We probably all know that story, but it deserves to be retold again and again. This weird and wild machine was once made, and nobody would ever dare attempt something like this again. This unorthodox beast might be the best thing Lamborghini has ever produced. It shouldn’t work by any law of nature, but it absolutely does.
Nobody really cares about the Urus, do they? Lamborghini knows this, so it is trotting out the old V12 truck to drum up interest in Lamborghini truck history. Just the fact that I’ve mentioned the Urus in the same thought as the LM002 is a win for Lamborghini today. It’s all marketing.
Anyway, in spite of how great this truck—and the video about the truck—is, I think it’s time we give up the “Rambo Lambo” name. Rambo was lame in the 80s, and it’s lame today. The LM002 stands on its own merits, and has earned its place in history as the only actually cool SUV.
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