By the mid-1980s, Lamborghini had become well established as the maker of brilliant, eye-catching sports cars.

Since the launch of its first car, the 350 GT, in 1964, the Italian company had rattled off a series of wonderful V8 and V12 powered models including the stunning Miura, the Espada, the Urraco, the Jalpa and, of course, the iconic Countach.

These cars had cemented its sporty reputation, and if you wanted something fast and powerful that most definitely looked like it was fast and powerful, then Lamborghini could deliver.

It was probably something of a surprise then, when the company behind such legendary sports cars popped up with this – the big, brutish LM002.

A powerful, luxury off-roader, the LM002 first debuted at the Brussels Auto Show in 1986 and was the result of years of stop-start development on what was originally planned as a military all-terrain vehicle.

It started life as a prototype, dubbed the Cheetah, that appeared in the late 1970s. A fibreglass-bodied, off-roader with a 5.9-litre Chrysler engine stuffed in the back, the Cheetah would be developed further and be offered to the US military as part of its High Mobility Multi-Purpose Vehicle program. It would not be selected, losing out to the ubiquitous Humvee.

Lamborghini put the off-roader project on the backburner for a while, but resurrected it in 1981 with the LM001, another rear-mounted engine effort, and then the LMA002 prototype.

Revealed in 1982, the LMA002 had fixed one of the major problems with earlier designs by redesigning the chassis and shifting the engine up to the front and by 1986, the production version was just about ready to go.

Now called the LM002 – and dubbed, rather brilliantly, the ‘Rambo Lambo’ for its angular, aggressive look and history of development as a military vehicle – the extraordinary steel framed, aluminium and fibreglass-bodied, 4WD off-roader now had the 335kW/500Nm, 5.2-litre V12 engine from the Countach Quattrovalvole model under its bonnet.

This metallic muscle meant it could reach over 210km/h and skip to 100km/h in a touch under 8 seconds. Not bad at all. It also had specially developed run-flat Pirelli Scorpion tyres, disc brakes up front and drums at the rear, independent suspension, transfer case and three self-locking diffs. Its military DNA ensured it was plenty capable for any off-road scrape and adventures. Of course, by its 1986 reveal, it had now become a vehicle for discerning Lamborghini enthusiasts, and the utilitarian nature of its military beginnings was replaced by a luxurious, leather-bound interior with all the trimmings a luxury car owner might expect.

Big, powerful, thirsty, and expensive, the LM002 did not sell in huge numbers, with around 300 finding their way to owners during its seven-year production life through to 1993.

It would be 25 years before Lamborghini would produce another 4WD SUV – the Urus – and in a sign of the times (and a reflection of today’s market), it took just four years from its market debut for the Urus to become Lamborghini’s best-ever selling model with more than 20,000 models sold.

The Urus is, of course, a lovely car. Powerful, quick, and luxurious, it would be a fine addition to anyone’s garage. But it ain’t the Rambo Lambo.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (July 2022) 

27 July 2022