Ferrari made an SUV? How cute. This Lamborghini is the OG super-SUV

The world might be revelling in the ‘shock’ news that Italian supercar manufacturer, Ferrari, is to build an SUV. Of course, the Ferrari Purosangue has been one of the worst-kept automotive secrets of the last few years, so no one was surprised when Maranello lifted the blankets off what it hopes will become its volume seller.

But, high-performance sports utility vehicles from supercar manufacturers are nothing new. If anything, Ferrari is late to the party, following on from Porsche (Cayenne), Aston Martin (DBX), and Lamborghini (Urus), just to trot out a few hi-po SUV nameplates.

The grand-daddy of them all though, is the Lamborghini LM002, a rugged SUV created by Lambo in the 1980s that remained on sale from 1986 to 1992.

The LM002 can trace its genesis back to the 1977 Lamborghini Cheetah concept (below), a hardcore off-road vehicle designed for the U.S. military.

Mobility Technology International (MTI) was tasked with coming up with an all-terrain vehicle that could be pressed into military service. MTI, in collaboration with Lamborghini, produced the Cheetah, powered by a 5.9-litre Chrysler V8 stuffed into the back. A three-speed automatic transmission sent drive to all four wheels.

Too heavy, and with the rear-mounted 134kW Chrysler V8 affecting handling, the Cheetah never went past the show-and-tell stage with the U.S.’s top brass. Instead, AM General was awarded the initial $US1.2 billion contract to supply what would go on to become another automotive icon, the Humvee, to the U.S. armed forces.

But, all that development work by Lamborghini didn’t go to waste, and by 1981 Lambo engineer Giulio Alfieri had given the Cheetah a new life, this time as a civilian off-roader.

The LM001 retained the Cheetah’s rear-engine layout, with a 5.9-litre American Motors Corporation (AMC) V8 making 134kW. But, like the military vehicle that inspired it, the LM001’s rear-engined layout resulted in poor handling and the project ended after just a single prototype.

Undeterred, Lamborghini forged ahead with its plans to produce a high-powered off-roader and with the lessons learned from its ill-fated Cheetah and LM001 prototypes, the LM002 emerged from Sant’Agata in 1986 with one key difference – the engine was in the front.

And it was no ordinary engine either, the 5.2-litre V12 from the Lamborghini Countach Quattrovalvole pushing out 335kW. A five-speed ZF-sourced manual gearbox sent drive to all four wheels, with off-road underpinnings that included a two-speed transfer case, three self-locking differentials and manual locking hubs.

Sixteen-inch steel wheels clothed in Pirelli Scorpion rubber developed specifically for the LM002 housed ventilated disc brakes also pilfered from the Countach.

The LM002’s body was crafted out of fibre-glass and aluminium yet, thanks to all the off-road wizardry underneath, still tipped the scales at a portly 2700kg.

Still, with the Countach V12 howling like only a Lambo V12 can out front, the LM002 could reportedly hit a top speed of “more than 200km/h”, according to Lamborghini.

Inside, acres of leather and glossy wood dressed a luxurious interior, its centrepiece a beautifully crafted steering wheel straight out of famed Italian design studio, Nardi. Purposeful switchgear, trimmed in rubber, hinted at durability.

The fuel tank measured in at a generous 290 litres.

Lamborghini unveiled the LM002 to the public at the 1986 Brussels motor show and despite its $US120,000 (about $US325,000 in today’s money adjusted for inflation) price tag, the LM002 found plenty of willing customers including celebrity owners like 1982 F1 world champion Keke Rosberg, boxing’s Mike Tyson, metal rocker Eddie Van Halen and Rambo star, Sylvester Stallone, the latter possibly responsible for the LM002’s nickname, the ‘Rambo Lambo’.

Just 300 were built between 1986 and 1992, according to Lamborghini, and while they remained an oddball curio for years, with second-hand prices rarely exceeding the when-new price of $US120,000 ($AUD$178,000), today they have become highly desirable and much sought after, with auction prices now regularly close to the $US400,000 ($AUD595,000) mark.

That type of money will net you a decent example and a slice of history, the original gangster super-SUV decades ahead of its time, previewing an era where SUVs were to become the norm, so much so that almost 40 years later, even Ferrari would be forced to join the high-riding party.