LM002 - the only serial SUV of the Italian manufacturer. It was first presented to the public at the Brussels Motor Show in 1986. From the very beginning, the project was assigned an LM index - “Lamborghini Military”. Prior to that, in 1977, a prototype SUV was created for the American army - the Lamborghini Cheetah.
In the role of the main driving force offered a V-shaped "eight" company Chrysler, which is installed in the rear of the spatial frame-truss, welded from pipes. This copy broke down in trials. The idea of a "supercharger" re-emerged in 1980. Under the leadership of engineer Julio Alfiere, the surviving second Cheetah was equipped with a similar engine produced by American Motors Corporation instead of the Chrysler V8.
This project was named LM001. The test results were depressing: because of the over-heavy tail, the car constantly lifted the "nose" - both during acceleration and in the turn. It became clear that with the rear-mount layout will have to part.
The power unit was decided to change to the V12 from the Countach 5000 model. In this form, the prototype - under the designation Lamborghini LMA - was exhibited at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show. A little later, they presented a prototype LM004 with an even more powerful V12 engine with a volume of 7.3 liters from a high-speed scooter. The development of the LM003 with the turbo diesel VM had to be stopped at an early stage: the recoil of this engine did not exceed one and a half hundred forces, - not enough for a car claiming to be the “superstar”.
For the next prototype LMA002, a completely new chassis was designed, where the V12 engine (5.2-liter capacity of 426 hp from the Lamborghini Countach 5000QV) was placed in front, according to the classical scheme. After a series of tests, the car was put into mass production. Due to the fact that the LM002 SUV is two and a half times heavier than the Countach sports supercar, its maximum speed when using the same engine is less than two hundred and is 188 km / h. Gasoline consumption was huge (at a hundred kilometers per hour - 26 liters). Moreover, these data are valid only for the 426-strong version with four valves per cylinder and injection.
The proposed 444-powerful version with a carburetor consumed even more. The car has a high traffic and remarkable appearance, but was extremely picky in terms of service and spare parts. The main target audience of the Lamborghini LM002 were oil-rich Arabs. Designers of the salon, who put a lot of attributes of comfort and luxury in rough body shapes, decorating the interior with natural leather, were oriented on them. The raid of brutality remained in straight panels and square keys, trimmed with precious wood. There was also a military version of this SUV, which, of course, modernized, in particular, were added to the installation position for attaching a machine gun.
The army of Saudi Arabia has ordered 40 cars, the Lebanese army - 100. In 1988, it was decided that the SUV would participate in the Paris-Dakar rally. With the help of third-party experts began preparing the car for this event. Were removed all the excesses that increased the weight of LM002. The car was equipped with a reinforced suspension, plexiglass windows, GPS. Engine power raised from 444 to 600 hp But the car did not participate in the rally due to lack of funds, however, he took part in the “Rallye des Pharaons” in Egypt and the rally in Greece. This unique and original car, however, did not find a large number of fans.
The company Lamborghini honestly tried to stimulate sales LM002. Spent a lot of effort on the homologation of cars for the US market, even prepared and launched a two-car version, but the demand remained extremely low. For this reason, the production of an SUV was discontinued.
